EIC Accelerator Challenges 2027: Topics, Budgets and Eligibility

The draft EIC Accelerator Challenges 2027 call allocates EUR 150 million across four strategic topics: ocean observation, climate-neutral cities, fusion technologies, and carbon removal and circularity. Applicants use the standard Accelerator application process but must also satisfy the scope and expected outcomes of the selected Challenge.

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
• Step 2 (closing 17:00 Brussels Time)
  • 1^st cut-off 2027: February 3^rd 2027
  • 2^nd cut-off 2027: April 1^st 2027
  • 3^rd cut-off 2027: September 1^st 2027
  • 4^th cut-off 2027: November 3^rd 2027

The topics, allocations and schedule remain provisional until adoption of the EIC Work Programme 2027. All four proposed Challenges fall within STEP scope and can lead to a Sovereignty or STEP Seal under the final conditions.

Challenge 1: Advanced In-Situ Ocean Observation

Draft budget: EUR 30 million. The challenge targets persistent, scalable and high-resolution marine-monitoring systems serving climate resilience, biodiversity, the blue economy, maritime security and underwater infrastructure.

Relevant solutions include autonomous sensors and marine vehicles, underwater communication, integrated mapping, interoperable data platforms, environmental-DNA systems and AI-based detection. A strong proposal must explain endurance, maintenance, power, communications, biofouling, data standards and the path from a local pilot to economically sustainable deployment.

Challenge 2: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities

Draft budget: EUR 50 million. Supported areas include building retrofits and district energy, renewable integration, smart grids, waste-heat use, advanced mobility, traffic management, circular construction, recycling, water planning and wastewater treatment.

Applicants are encouraged to involve a city participating in the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. A useful city commitment identifies the deployment site, decision owner, procurement route, data access, success metrics and pathway to adoption after the pilot.

Challenge 3: Fusion Power Plant Concepts and Enabling Technologies

Draft budget: EUR 20 million. The scope covers alternative fusion concepts and enabling technologies such as materials, tritium fuel cycles, high-power lasers, plasma heating, magnets, digital twins and AI-enabled control.

Because fusion subsystems mature at different rates, starting TRLs can vary. The proposal must quantify how the innovation removes a decisive engineering, cost, material or operational barrier to a commercially viable plant.

Challenge 4: Carbon Removal and Circularity

Draft budget: EUR 50 million. The challenge covers direct air and ocean capture, eligible biogenic streams, permanent storage in products, biochar, enhanced weathering, mineralisation, carbon utilisation and systems for quantification, monitoring and verification.

Storage of captured fossil carbon dioxide as an untransformed gas and hydrogen-production technologies are outside the proposed scope. Applicants need credible lifecycle boundaries, permanence evidence, leakage controls and a realistic route to customers or offtakers.

Funding and Applicant Requirements

The Challenge route uses the same funding forms as Accelerator Open: grant only, blended finance or equity only under the applicable eligibility conditions. The grant is below EUR 2.5 million and normally funds 70% of eligible innovation costs; the draft investment range is EUR 1 million to EUR 10 million.

A competitive application must prove TRL 5 completion, technical differentiation, market demand, a credible team and a financing gap. Challenge alignment cannot compensate for weak technology, commercial evidence or execution planning.

Choosing Between Open and Challenges

Use a Challenge only when the proposed innovation and impact directly satisfy its stated scope. A strong deep-tech company outside those topics should apply to Accelerator Open. Artificially forcing a project into a Challenge creates evaluation risk because both normal Accelerator quality and topic-specific outcomes are assessed.

See the EIC Accelerator 2027 guide for the full application process and the EIC Work Programme 2027 guide for programme-wide context.