Hybrid Lidar Systems and the EIC Accelerator: Lidar Report in Doubt

Hybrid Lidar Systems, based at a technology centre in Bad Salzdetfurth near Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, develops LiSSA, a solid-state lidar with no moving parts that combines time-of-flight measurement with a second method, in what it calls a patented hybrid technology, to measure distance with light. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's January 2023 cut-off for blended finance and received an EU grant of €2.40 million for LiSSA 3D, "Next Generation LiDAR for Automotive and Industrial Use Cases", a €3.43 million project that ran from August 2023 to July 2025, according to CORDIS. The project promised "a high resolution (double VGA)" and a goal "to equip every moving object in road traffic with our LiDAR sensor technology".

The project is closed, and its final report claims the company "achieved all major technical milestones as defined in the Grant Agreement" and reached technology readiness level 6-7, according to the CORDIS reporting page. Much of the report describes things other than a lidar. It lists a "full-stack software solution" with "backend cloud storage", "machine learning models (e.g. CNNs, transformers)", demonstrations at "industrial sites" where "incidents of downtime reduced by ~20% due to automated anomaly detection features", and a patent application for "a predictive maintenance algorithm based on continuous learning". It reports no measured range, resolution or accuracy for the sensor.

Where Hybrid Lidar Systems Stands Now

The company's website offers LiSSA Industrial, a compact sensor with 240 × 160 pixel resolution, up to 30 m range and up to 20 frames per second, and describes LiSSA Automotive as "developing the next generation of LiDAR sensing", based on a 240,000-pixel single-photon avalanche diode detector with a range of up to 220 m. Its share capital rose from €70,228 in 2022 to €83,251 in November 2025, and Amr El Taher left the executive board in March 2025, according to register notices compiled by North Data.

The Technology: Flash Lidar Without Moving Parts

A flash lidar lights the whole scene at once and measures the return on a sensor chip, rather than sweeping a beam with mirrors. Hybrid Lidar says its combination of time-of-flight and a second measuring principle gives high resolution with low computing effort, which it argued would make lidar cheap enough for every car. Patent filings by the company on devices and methods for acquiring image data have been published since 2021.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award promised a double VGA automotive lidar able to detect small objects at long range at normal driving speeds. The final report asserts success but reads as if written for a different kind of project, and gives no sensor specifications. The products on the company's website have fewer pixels than double VGA, and the automotive version is still described as in development. Whether the EIC checked the report against the grant agreement is not public.

1. Working prototypePartialTRL 6-7 claimed.
2. Double VGA resolutionNot shown240,000 pixels offered.
3. Automotive productNot yetStill in development.
4. Credible reportingUnverifiedGeneric final report.

The Money

The EU paid 70% of the project's cost. The company's revenue, profit and staff numbers are not freely available; its 2024 balance sheet was published in February 2026 behind paywalled register services. Whether the EIC Fund invested the equity part of the blended finance award, and whether it took part in the 2025 capital increase, is not public.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The final report argues that lidar cost holds back autonomous vehicles, where Europe has strong carmakers and suppliers. A cheaper European sensor would matter. But the public record of this project does not let anyone judge whether the EIC's €2.4 million moved that goal forward.

The Verdict

Hybrid Lidar Systems and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.