Horizon Europe – It’s a long road. Go together?

Horizon Europe is the European Union's research & innovation framework program running from 2021 until 2027. Sobolt is exploring the best fit. A budget of 95.5 billion euros will be invested in research & innovations that contribute to the following goals:

• Tackling climate change
• Contributing to the SDGs
• Boosting EU’s competitiveness

Sounds great, doesn’t it? We thought so too. However, the structure of the program is quite complex. To save you time, we share our insights + tips.

1. Impact x3

The impact of an innovation is crucial for succeeding in this program. The EU defines 3 categories in which the innovation has to make an impact: on society, the economy and science.

2. Choose the program that fits you best

The budget is split into many smaller pieces - so-called pillars. Read about 2 of these pillars below.

Technologies for EU’s priority topics
Does your technology or solution fall in one of below clusters and do you want to increase your impact? Check the “Global Challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness” pillar. Basically everything seems to be a high priority…

• Digital, Industry & Space
• Civil Security for Society
• Health
• Food, Bioeconomy, Natural resources, Agriculture & Environment
• Culture, Creativity & Inclusive Societies
• Climate, Energy & Mobility

TRLs may differ per cluster. They are typically between 4 and 7. Most important is that there should be a ready-to-market product or service at the end of the program.

Radical innovations
Are you working on a radical innovation that does not fit inside one of the clusters? Check the “Innovative Europe” pillar. Do note that your chances of getting into one of these programs are small:

• Chance of succeeding <1%. Don't overestimate yourself
• Innovations that applied last year are eligible to try again this year. This gives them an advantage over new innovations.

Still interested? The 2 programs offered by the EIC are Pathfinder (TRL 1-4) & Accelerator (TRL 6-8).

3. Ask for advice

The goal of the European Union is to help. They want you to join the program & succeed, as this will indirectly help reach their overall goals. As such, do not hesitate to reach out. Additionally, there are consultancies specialized in these programs. Applying for the first time? It can be helpful to get in touch.

4. Look beyond the Horizon

Horizon not for you? Don’t worry, there are still other funding options out there. EUREKA is 1 example. It offers trans-national programs between countries. The funding is done by each participating country. This means that the amount of funding you receive depends on the country from which you and your cross-border partners operate. An interesting program for SMEs is Eurostars.

Explore together? Plan a 30-minute video call via m.waldus@sobolt.com