EIC Accelerator 2027 is designed for a single deep-tech company that has completed TRL 5 and needs funding to finish innovation activities, enter the market and scale internationally. Version 4 of the draft, dated 17 September 2026, allocates €578 million to the Accelerator: €428 million for Open and €150 million for four Challenges. These figures and rules remain provisional until the European Commission adopts the EIC Work Programme 2027.
The indicative Accelerator investment envelope is EUR 347 million: EUR 257 million for Open and EUR 90 million for Challenges. The schedule below follows version 4 and remains provisional.
Deadlines / EIC Accelerator Cut-Off Dates 2027
- Step 1
- Open now: Apply as soon as possible to be eligible for the next Step 2 submission deadline
- Proposals are sent for evaluation on the first Tuesday of every month
- Open now: Apply as soon as possible to be eligible for the next Step 2 submission deadline
- Step 2 (closing 17:00 Brussels Time)
- 1st cut-off 2027: January 21st 2027
- 2nd cut-off 2027: March 17th 2027
- 3rd cut-off 2027: September 1st 2027
- 4th cut-off 2027: November 4th 2027
Who Can Apply to the EIC Accelerator in 2027?
- A startup or SME established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
- A small mid-cap with fewer than 500 employees where the requested support and call conditions permit it.
- Natural persons or legal entities intending to establish, relocate or invest in an eligible company before the required application stage.
- An eligible project entering the full-application stage through an approved Fast Track or Plug-in route.
The integrated innovation must have completed TRL 5. A strong component at a higher TRL does not compensate for an overall solution that has not been validated at the required maturity. The company must also demonstrate a financing gap: private investors cannot fund the project alone at the necessary risk, timing or scale.
EIC Accelerator 2027 Funding Options
Grant Only
The grant component is below €2.5 million and normally funds 70% of eligible innovation costs. It supports activities from TRL 6 to TRL 8, including demonstration, prototyping, system validation, regulatory work, intellectual-property management and market-approval activities.
Blended Finance
Blended finance combines the grant with direct equity or quasi-equity from the EIC Fund. The draft investment range is €1 million to €10 million. The grant finances the remaining innovation work while the investment supports deployment and scale-up.
Equity Only
Equity-only support is available for companies that do not need grant-funded innovation activities but still face a market-financing gap. Companies seeking €10 million to €30 million while assembling a much larger round should assess the EIC STEP Scale Up 2027 route instead.
The Three Application Stages
Step 1: Short Proposal
Short proposals remain continuously open and are evaluated in monthly batches. The application contains a 12-page form, a pitch deck of up to ten slides and a video of up to three minutes featuring no more than three core team members. Four experts assess the proposal, and at least three GO decisions are required to proceed.
Step 2: Full Proposal
The full proposal includes a narrative of no more than 20 pages, detailed company and financial data, ownership information, an IP and freedom-to-operate strategy, a pitch deck, a video and—where grant funding is requested—an implementation plan and lump-sum budget.
An external technology expert performs an in-depth assessment, including an applicant clarification meeting. A thematic panel then scores and ranks the proposal before deciding which applicants proceed to interview.
Step 3: Jury Interview
The jury can recommend GO, GO Reserve, NO GO with a Seal of Excellence, or NO GO. A GO recommendation for investment starts EIC Fund due diligence; it is not a final investment agreement and does not guarantee the requested amount or terms.
At the second interview session, the reserve list is ranked by the number of GO criteria. Equal GO counts are ranked by remote evaluation score, followed by the specified further tie-breaks. The grant-only foreign-control restriction applies to Challenges containing the corresponding specific conditions.
Redress and Submission Limits in Version 4
Version 4 deletes the explicit Step 1 evaluation-review route from the main Accelerator section, which version 3 offered to rejected short proposals with two of four GO votes. Only the general procedural review in Annex 2, Section F.2 remains, with a 30-day request period and 7,000-character limit; it excludes reassessment of proposal merits. The deletion does not establish a broader Step 1 review route.
The draft also removes "of the same/improved proposal" from the three-unsuccessful-submissions rule. It is expressed by legal entity across the stated Accelerator stages and funding forms, counting from 1 January 2024. Do not assume that submitting a different proposal resets the failure count.
What a Competitive 2027 Proposal Must Prove
- The technology is a genuine deep-tech breakthrough with defensible advantages.
- TRL 5 is complete and the remaining technical milestones are measurable.
- The target market, obtainable share, customers and commercial pathway are evidenced.
- The team can execute the technical programme, market entry and financing strategy.
- The requested Union support is additional and will crowd in capital rather than replace available private finance.
- The IP, regulatory, manufacturing and scale-up risks have credible mitigation plans.
For the practical submission walkthrough at each stage, see how to apply for the EIC Accelerator Step 1 in 2027 and how to apply for Step 2 in 2027.
For the complete draft programme context, budgets and cross-instrument comparison, read the EIC Work Programme 2027 guide. For the previous rules, use the EIC Accelerator 2026 guide. For what the 2027 drafts change in the Accelerator calendar, challenge budgets and evaluation rules, see EIC Work Programme 2027 Drafts: What Changes for Pathfinder, Transition and the Accelerator.
