• No thematic requirements
• No individual funding possible. In Pathfinder Open projects, a consortium must consist of at least three independent institutions from three different EU Member States or Associated States.

• Eligible projects should fulfil the following basic characteristics (so-called gatekeepers):
  • Compelling long-term vision of a radically new technology that has the potential to have a transformative positive effect on our economy and society.
  • Concrete, novel and ambitious science-to-technology breakthrough that offers progress towards the targeted technology.
  • High-risk/high-gain research approach and methodology with concrete and plausible goals.
• Goal: Long-term implementation of radically new technology concepts;
• Funding rate: 100 percent of eligible costs;
• Projects funded under the EIC Pathfinder are also eligible for the following instruments:
  • "EIC Booster": here it is possible to receive grants with fixed amounts of up to 50,000 euros to carry out complementary activities. This is to facilitate the path to commercialisation.
  • EIC Transition application under certain conditions.  
  • EIC Accelerator application: Here it is possible to submit an accelerator application via the Fast Track programme.
  • Participation in the 'Next Generation Innovation Talents' programme. The staff costs of researchers participating in this programme are eligible under the Pathfinder grants.

In addition to funding, successful applicants will receive tailored access to a wide range of Business Accelerator services (BAS).

A total of 136 million euros is available as a total budget for the 2024 deadline. 4 million euros are earmarked per project. Higher project budgets can also be applied for with very good justification.

• Applications with a maximum of 20 A4 pages in English;

• Evaluation of applications: The focus is on excellence (weighting up to 60 percent); in addition, "Impact" (20 percent) as well as "Quality and Efficiency of Implementation" (20 percent);

• One-stage application process.

The schedule is designed so that the project can start about 8 months after the deadline:

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There will be a cut-off date in 2024 on which the applications received by then will be evaluated: 7 March 2024 at 17:00.

The EIC Pathfinder Challenges aims to create new opportunities based on high-risk/high-gain research and development. The aim is to realise innovative and technological solutions in research and development that are high-risk.
With specific "Challenges" or challenges, the EIC will create a portfolio of projects covering different perspectives, competing approaches or complementary aspects. The complexity and high-risk nature of this research requires multidisciplinary collaboration.

Up to €4 million can be awarded to individual collaborative projects. Higher project budgets can also be applied for with very good justification. A total budget of 120 million euros is planned for 2023, which will be distributed roughly equally for all "Challenges".

The topics or five "Challenges" for 2024 are given as follows:

1. Solar-to-X devices for decentralised prosumptium of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials as climate change mitigation pathway development
The goal is to progress towards technologies for synthetic fuels and chemicals that integrate all necessary conversion steps in a single device and are powered exclusively and directly by solar energy. Devices powered by electricity or heat are not at the centre of this challenge - with the exception of radically new electrolyser designs, which are being developed via incremental R&D on mature electrolyser designs.

2. Towards cement and concrete as a carbon sink
This challenge will support the development of breakthrough technologies in one or more of the following areas:
(1) Advanced technologies that change the paradigm of prevailing binder technologies with alternative low-carbon compounds based on alternative raw materials and curing processes;
(2) Advanced technologies for more efficient utilisation of clinker in cement (clinker content reduction) and cement in concrete compositions (binder efficiency)
(3) Advanced technologies that reduce or eliminate the need to burn fossil fuels in order to avoid the associated CO2 emissions.
(4) Enabling technologies to support (1), (2) and (3) based on computational materials science or data-driven science technologies (including AI and ML).

3. Nature inspired alternatives for food packaging and films for agriculture
Breakthrough proposals are sought that are able to replace the use of fossil carbon-based plastics from farm to fork, supporting the EU's policy objectives of a more circular, resource-efficient and climate-neutral economy.
The proposals must aim to develop nature-inspired sustainable alternatives to fossil carbon-based plastics and the associated production processes. These alternatives must be designed to be recyclable, safe, sustainable, reusable, recyclable and fully biodegradable. They must address one or more of the current uses of plastics in the food system (e.g. agricultural mulch, food packaging) and utilise bio-based sources and raw materials, such as: naturally derived polymers (e.g. cellulose, chitin, lignin, keratin); natural polymers (e.g. microbial, fungal and plant materials) or synthetic polymers from bio-based materials.
Legal aspects should also be taken into account when developing and incorporating chemical additives that can fulfil high hygiene standards for contact with food.

4. Nanoelectronics for energy-efficient smart edge devices
The overall goal of this challenge is to explore solutions (starting at TRL 1/2) that have a dramatic impact on reducing the power consumption of all smart edge devices, but specifically for edge processing and storage, edge sensing and imaging, edge communication and edge energy management. The proposed solutions should start at TRL 1-2 and reach TRL 3-4.
Projects supported under this challenge should address one or more of the following aspects:

• Fundamental issues such as heat dissipation at the nanoscale, which has been shown to be the most critical bottleneck in information processing, include device design from understanding the physics and heat transport at the nanoscale to component level to bypassing the "heat valley", materials selection and process solutions.
• Demonstrate the potential of the developed technologies to save energy and reduce the environmental footprint in terms of responsible smart edge devices.

Special conditions: Applicants must describe and benchmark energy-related metrics for the technologies and methods to measure them in their proposal. Stable, abundant and non-toxic materials that can withstand the processing steps for devices and circuits should be used.

5. Strengthening the sustainability and resilience of EU space infrastructure
The overall objective of this challenge is to support the development of innovations that will strengthen the protection of the EU space infrastructure.
The specific objectives of this challenge are 1) the development of technologies for the mitigation of space debris and active debris removal; 2) concepts for the recycling of non-functional objects in space; 3) innovations to protect the EU space infrastructure.
Projects funded under this challenge are expected to develop breakthrough concepts in one or more of the following areas:

• Breakthrough technologies for the controlled mitigation of space debris (to reduce its generation) and for the active removal of space debris (through management of existing space debris, de-orbiting, relocation, etc.), including those that prevent damage to spacecraft systems. These include propellantless propulsion technologies such as space-based lasers, laser-based light sails, in-orbit physical sweepers, laser-electric propulsion, ropes or water propulsion for moving debris of any size.
• Recycling and reuse of orbital objects in space - focussing on the recycling and reuse of degraded orbital objects. The overall goal is to recycle, partially and/or fully reuse assets in space.
• Game-changing innovations and innovative space applications to protect the EU space infrastructure, focussing on concepts that enable the detection, identification and prevention of natural and man-made hazards in space.

• Topics are predefined.
• In Pathfinder Challenges projects, a consortium must consist of at least two independent legal entities from two Member or Associated States. For consortia of three partners or more, the Pathfinder Open rules apply. Alternatively, calls are also open to individual applicants (not large companies) from Member or Associated States.

• Eligible activities:
  • New research ideas;
  • Building relevant research communities;
  • Developing industrial research agendas;
• Goal: Build emerging themes and research landscapes;
• Funding rate: 100 percent of eligible costs.
• Eligible projects are also eligible for the following additional services:
  • Business Acceleration Services (BAS): Free support measures such as coaching, mentoring, matchmaking activities.
  • "EIC Booster": Here it is possible to receive grants with fixed amounts of up to 50,000 euros to carry out complementary activities. This is intended to facilitate the path to commercialisation.
  • EIC Transition application under certain conditions.  
  • EIC Accelerator application: Here it is possible to submit an accelerator application via the Fast Track programme.
  • Participation in the 'Next Generation Innovation Talents' programme. The personnel costs of researchers participating in this programme are eligible under the Pathfinder grants.

A total budget of 120 million euros is available for the 2024 deadline. The plan is to invest around 4 million euros per project. Higher project budgets can also be applied for with very good justification.

• Applications with a maximum of 30 A4 pages in English;
• One-stage application process;
• Evaluation of applications: The evaluation is in two steps. In step one, as with the Pathfinder Open in the area of excellence (weighting up to 60 percent); in addition, "Impact" (20 percent) and "Quality and Efficiency of Implementation" (20 percent) are evaluated. In step 2 (portfolio considerations), a team of evaluators examines the contribution of each project proposal to the construction of a consistent "Challenge" portfolio.

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The deadline for the EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2024: 16 October 2024 (17:00).

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Do you have an idea for an EIC Pathfinder application? Contact BayFOR's Unit for SME advisory services: