The European Innovation Council has recently published its 2026 Work Programme, and the Strata Team has created the EIC Accelerator Guide for Applicants 2026 with the most important changes.
Main EIC Accelerator changes 2026
The main changes for 2026 introduced by the European Commission for its flagship programme can be summarized as follows:
- Short proposals (Step 1) are batched and evaluated monthly (the first Tuesday of every month), with results provided within approximately 4–6 weeks.
- The evaluation includes more detailed due diligence at the application stage to enable faster investment decision.
- Interview sessions with EIC Juries (Step 3) will be organized three times per year.
- For the Critical Raw Materials Challenge, grant-only funding beneficiaries must not be directly or indirectly controlled by a non-associated third country.
- Specific safeguard provisions will be introduced to support in areas like AI, quantum, semiconductors, and biotechnology.
- Full Proposals should be 20 pages long at most and must clearly present the business and the innovation with a very high level of detail.
- Full proposals are first evaluated remotely by an independent expert-evaluator (technology expert) with strong technical and research expertise to assess the innovation’s soundness. The list of technology experts will be published on the EIC website and applicants are able to list up to three reviewers they would like to exclude from the evaluation in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
Other important changes are related to the application process, available budget, available funding options, funding forms and the new EIC Accelerator challenges.
Who can apply for the EIC Accelerator?
There has been little variation in the application criteria:
- A single start-up or SME (including spin-outs) established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe (HE) Associated Country,
- A ‘Small mid-cap’ (up to 499 employees) established in an EU Member State or HE Associated Country, but only for investment-only or for “blended finance” in exceptional cases for rapid scale up purposes;
- One or more natural persons or legal entities willing to set up a SME.
What is the budget for the EIC Accelerator in 2026?
To support disruptive technologies, the EIC Accelerator has a budget of €634 million in 2026 (same as in 2025).
The EIC STEP Scale Up call offers a total indicative budget of €300 million for 2026, which is expected to rise to €900 million for the period 2025-2027.
About the EIC Accelerator
The European Innovation Council (EIC) is Europe’s flagship innovation programme that identifies, funds, and scales up breakthrough technologies and game-changing innovations developed by startups and SMEs. This guide is focused on the EIC Accelerator and intends to serve as an overview or starting point for applicants – startups and SMEs – willing to apply for this programme, and also for tech entrepreneurs seeking European funding.
If you want to know more about the application process for the EIC Accelerator for 2025, learn about its novelties in detail, and access Strata’s unique advice and offering, download our guide filling in this form:
Also, if you want to check our previous EIC Accelerator Guide for 2025, you can now read and download it!
Click on this link and download our guide for free to check on the previous requisites.
