Acceleration of advanced materials development and upscaling along the value chain
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Acceleration of advanced materials development and upscaling along the value chain offering max €634.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description – HORIZON-EIC-2025-ACCELERATOR-02-CHALLENGES-01
What the Grant Funds
The call “Acceleration of advanced materials development and upscaling along the value chain” under the EIC Accelerator backs single start-ups, SMEs and small mid-caps that are developing breakthrough advanced-materials technologies and need support to de-risk, industrialise and commercialise them.
Supported activities can cover the full TRL-6 → TRL-9 trajectory, including:
• Final proof-of-concept in relevant environment (TRL-6/7)
• Pilot-line and scale-up of manufacturing processes
• Certification, standardisation and regulatory work
• Market-entry preparation and business model validation
• IP reinforcement, freedom-to-operate and go-to-market actions
Type & Amount of Funding
• Lump-sum grant for innovation activities up to EUR 2.5 million (higher only in duly justified, exceptional cases).
• Optional EIC equity/blended finance component of up to EUR 15 million per company for commercial deployment.
• The work programme indicates an indicative overall call budget of ~EUR 634 million (shared across all 2025 Accelerator challenge topics).
Eligibility Snapshot
• Applicants: single for-profit legal entities established in an EU Member State or Associated Country.
• Non-EU/AC entities may participate only as subcontractors or via associated partners without funding (see [Annex B – Eligible Countries](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2023/general-annexes/he_general-annex_b-eligibility-rules_horizon_en.pdf)).
• Technology readiness: min. TRL-5 demonstrated; applicant must commit to reach TRL-9 within 24–48 months after project start.
• Investment-readiness: strong commercialisation strategy and evidence of market pull.
Key Dates
• Portal opening: 26 Nov 2024
• Cut-off 1: 12 Mar 2025, 17:00 CET
• Cut-off 2: 01 Oct 2025, 17:00 CET
Reference Documents
Consult the [Work Programme – EIC Accelerator](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2025-2027/horizon/wp-call/2025/eic/wp_horizon-eic-2025_en.pdf) and the [General Annexes](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2025/general-annexes_horizon_en.pdf) for full legal details.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for "Acceleration of Advanced Materials Development and Upscaling Along the Value Chain"
1. Single Market Scaling Power
• 27-country domestic market: Immediate access to 450 million consumers and >23 million businesses without tariff or customs barriers.
• Cross-border pilot roll-out: Materials demonstrators can be installed in multiple Member States, collecting broader performance data and accelerating market adoption.
• Pan-European public procurement: Eligibility for joint procurement initiatives (e.g., [Big Buyers Initiative](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/public-procurement/big-buyers-initiative_en)) creates first-customer opportunities for high-tech materials.
2. Integrated EU Value Chains & Strategic Autonomy
• Reducing dependence on imports: Alignment with the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net-Zero Industry Act strengthens supply security for battery, semiconductor, and hydrogen materials.
• Cluster & Eurocluster networks: Leverage 300+ [European Cluster Collaboration Platform](https://clustercollaboration.eu/) members to secure partners for mining, processing, manufacturing and recycling stages.
• Near-shoring advantages: Tariff-free intra-EU logistics lowers cost and carbon footprint versus extra-EU supply chains.
3. World-Class R&D & Pilot Infrastructure
• Open-access pilot lines funded by previous Horizon programmes (e.g., KETs Pilot Lines, [PhotonHub Europe](https://www.photonhub.eu/)) allow rapid TRL 5→8 scale-up without building greenfield facilities.
• European Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) such as [EMPHASIS](https://emphasis.plantphenotyping.eu/) and [ESS](https://europeanspallationsource.se/) provide characterisation & testing otherwise unaffordable to individual SMEs.
4. Deep Funding Stack & De-Risking Instruments
• Grant + Equity mix: Up to €2.5 M lump-sum + €0–15 M EIC equity for TRL 5-8/9, with subordinated conditions attractive to private co-investors.
• Blending & follow-on: Fast-track to EIB venture debt, [InvestEU](https://europa.eu/investeu/home_en) and national innovation banks after receiving EIC funding.
• Seal of Excellence: Projects above threshold but not funded can directly access cohesion funds/Recovery & Resilience Facility in many Member States.
5. Regulatory Sandbox & Standardisation Edge
• EIC ‘Test-Before-Invest’ services unlock REACH authorisations, CE-marking and eco-design compliance early.
• Participation in [CEN/CENELEC](https://www.cencenelec.eu/) working groups fast-tracks creation of pre-normative standards, giving first movers a market-shaping role.
6. IP & Legal Certainty Across Europe
• Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court reduce cost of protecting materials innovations by ~70 % across 17+ countries compared with national filings.
• IP Booster and EIC Business Acceleration Services offer free FTO studies, portfolio valuation and cross-licensing support.
7. Talent & Skills Mobility
• Access to 120,000+ STEM PhD graduates annually and specialised mobility schemes such as [EIT RawMaterials Jumpstarter](https://eitrawmaterials.eu/jumpstarter/) and [Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions](https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/).
• Erasmus+ alliances facilitate rapid hiring and secondments, critical for scale-up phases.
8. Sustainability & ESG Alignment
• Direct contribution to the European Green Deal, Fit-for-55 and Circular Economy Action Plan increases attractiveness to impact investors.
• Eligibility for green procurement and taxonomy-aligned financing instruments lowers cost of capital.
9. Synergies with Complementary EU Programmes
• Horizon Europe Cluster 4 & 5 projects for upstream R&D feed into EIC Accelerator TRL uplift.
• Digital Europe and EuroHPC can fund AI/ML materials modelling that de-risks experimentation.
• LIFE programme can finance downstream demo plants focused on environmental benefits.
10. Time-to-Market Acceleration Services
• EIC “Plug-in” mechanism allows ongoing national or Eurostars projects to jump directly to full application stage, saving ~12 months.
• Multiple cut-offs (Mar/Oct 2025) provide flexible entry points, critical for SMEs aligning fundraising cycles.
Bottom Line: Leveraging EU-level instruments multiplies technical resources, financial leverage and market reach—transforming advanced materials concepts into globally competitive products faster, cheaper and with lower risk than any single-country approach.
🏷️ Keywords
Ready to Apply?
Get a personalized assessment of your eligibility and application strategy
See in 5 min if you're eligible for Acceleration of advanced materials development and upscaling along the value chain offering max €634.0M funding