Delmic Cryo and the EIC Accelerator: An Equity Award Unexplained

Cryo-electron tomography lets biologists see proteins inside frozen cells in three dimensions, but preparing the thin frozen slices it needs is slow and difficult. Delmic, a microscopy company in Delft, makes instruments that help: its METEOR system puts a fluorescence microscope inside the cryo focused-ion-beam microscope used to cut those slices, so researchers can find their target without moving the sample.

At the June 2021 cut-off, the European Innovation Council selected Delmic Cryo BV for an equity-only award for "MIMAS Workflow", described as "unlocking the potential of cryo-electron tomography by simplification of the sample preparation workflow". Equity-only awards have no grant agreement, so there is no CORDIS project or report. Five years on, Delmic appears in the EIC Fund portfolio, but the name MIMAS does not appear anywhere on its website.

Where Delmic Stands Today

Delmic's website describes a company that aims to make electron microscopy "accessible, automated, and actionable", operates on five continents and supports more than 200 publications. For life sciences it sells METEOR 2.0, which integrates cryo fluorescence imaging and targeting into cryo-FIB/SEM instruments, with software for automated correlative milling. It credits imaging to groups at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, UMC Göttingen, Osaka University and AP-HM in Marseille.

The EIC Fund's portfolio page describes the company as automating "electron microscopy workflows to enhance accessibility for material and life sciences applications". It gives no investment amount or date.

The Technology: Finding the Target in the Cold

In cryo-electron tomography, samples are frozen, thinned with a focused ion beam into slices called lamellae, and imaged in an electron microscope. Finding the right spot to cut is a major bottleneck. Integrating a light microscope into the ion-beam instrument, as METEOR does, lets researchers locate fluorescently labelled structures and cut exactly there. The EIC award's MIMAS Workflow was described as simplifying this preparation; whether it became part of METEOR or was dropped is not stated anywhere public.

What the EIC Award Was, and What the Record Shows

The award appears in the EIC's list of June 2021 winners as equity only. Without a grant there are no deliverables, periodic reports or results on CORDIS, and we found no Delmic announcement about the award or about MIMAS.

1. EIC equity investedListedDelmic is in the EIC Fund portfolio; amount and terms not published.
2. MIMAS Workflow on the marketNot shownNo product of that name on Delmic's website.
3. A cryo-ET product in useYesMETEOR 2.0 sold, with named research users.

What Has Happened Since the Award

The Money

In October 2021 Delmic announced its selection for the EIC Accelerator without giving amounts. On 3 April 2023 it announced a €4 million investment from Value Creation Capital and the EIC Fund, to scale service, sales and applications and speed up product development; the release names METEOR among its cryo products but does not mention MIMAS, and does not split the €4 million between the two investors. Delmic Cryo BV's revenue and results are not freely available.

Why Europe Should Care

Cryo-electron tomography is a tool for seeing how proteins work inside cells, relevant to drug discovery, as Delmic's own articles argue. A Delft company that builds instruments for it gives Europe a foothold in the field, and the EIC chose to back it with equity.

The Verdict

Delmic has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements and EU publications, linked throughout.