A New Chapter for European Innovation: The EIC Work Programme 2026 Is Now Live

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has released its Work Programme 2026, setting the stage for a new wave of deep-tech breakthroughs, startup growth, and high-impact research across Europe. The programme continues the EIC’s mission: supporting cutting-edge technologies, accelerating market adoption, and empowering innovators to scale globally.

The 2026 Work Programme is built around several core instruments, each tailored to different stages of the innovation journey:

• EIC Pathfinder – Supports visionary, high-risk research where multidisciplinary teams explore breakthrough technologies.

• EIC Transition – Helps researchers transform promising results into innovation pathways, moving closer to market-ready solutions.

• Advanced Innovation Challenges – Focuses on ambitious, high-risk / high-reward challenges that can unlock completely new technological directions.

• EIC Accelerator – Designed for startups and SMEs developing disruptive technologies and preparing for strong market scale-up, combining grants with equity investments.

• STEP Scale Up (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform) – Aimed at fast-growing deep-tech companies that are ready to expand decisively and strengthen Europe’s strategic technological capabilities.

What’s New in 2026

The new Work Programme introduces updates meant to simplify the process and strengthen Europe’s innovation pipeline:

• A streamlined application process, especially for the Accelerator, reducing administrative burden and making evaluations more frequent.

• Greater emphasis on technical due diligence and clearer pathways for companies preparing to scale.

• A strengthened commitment to gender balance, diversity, internationalisation, and investor engagement across all schemes.

• The evolution of the Advanced Innovation Challenges, offering more structured opportunities for radical innovation similar to high-risk, mission-driven models used internationally.

Whether you are a researcher, a startup founder, or an SME innovator, the EIC Work Programme 2026 offers:

• A clear path from early research to market adoption.

• Access to a powerful combination of funding, mentoring, networking, and investor connections.

• Opportunities to scale breakthrough technologies within a European and global context.

• Stronger support for bold, transformative ideas that can create entirely new markets.

The EIC Work Programme 2026 is a powerful opportunity for anyone working at the frontier of technology and innovation. If your project is ambitious, scalable, and capable of reshaping markets, now is the perfect moment to take the leap.