Wednesday, December 10th, 2025
The European Commission adopted the 2026 Work Programme of the European Innovation Council (EIC), marking one of the most significant annual investments in European deep-tech innovation to date. With over €1.4 billion available, the programme aims to accelerate scientific discovery, strengthen Europe’s industrial competitiveness and support the growth of high-impact start-ups and SMEs. It introduces streamlined processes, new ARPA-inspired challenge mechanisms, and enhanced services for commercialisation and internationalisation.
For the logistics, mobility and freight transport communities represented within ALICE, the 2026 Work Programme offers a broad set of funding instruments that can support the development and scaling of solutions aligned with the ALICE Roadmaps, including digitalisation, automation, energy efficiency, decarbonisation and supply chain resilience.
The 2026 Work Programme invests across five major funding schemes, covering the entire journey from early research to large-scale commercial deployment.
EIC Pathfinder – €262 million
Pathfinder supports visionary, multi-disciplinary research with the potential to generate radical new technologies. Grants can reach up to €4 million, and the 2026 calls include both Open and thematic Challenge schemes, with €362 million allocated for research teams in total. Topics target advanced materials, biotechnology, cognitive AI systems, and other science-driven fields with long-term impact.
EIC Transition – €100 million
Transition funding enables researchers and innovators to mature results originating from EIC Pathfinder, ERC Proof of Concept, Horizon Europe Pillar II projects, and – new in 2026 – research infrastructures programmes. Grants up to €2.5 million support the progression from proof-of-concept to validated prototypes (TRL 3-4 to TRL 5-6), bridging the gap between research excellence and market readiness.
EIC Accelerator – €634 million
The Accelerator remains Europe’s flagship instrument for supporting deep-tech start-ups and SMEs. Companies can receive:
Grants up to €2.5 million,
Equity investments up to €10 million,
Access to the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services.
Six batches throughout 2026 aim to make the process more predictable. Notably, the application procedure has been redesigned to be faster and simpler, with shorter proposal formats and more frequent evaluations.
STEP Scale-Up – €300 million
This equity-focused instrument provides additional support for companies preparing major investment rounds (above €50 million), helping to position European deep-tech firms for global competitiveness.
Advanced Innovation Challenges – €6 million in 2026
The newest element of the programme is an ARPA-style pilot designed to support high-risk, high-reward deep-tech innovation.
It provides:
This mechanism aims to accelerate technological breakthroughs in areas where Europe holds scientific leadership but faces slow commercial uptake.
Beyond the funding structure, the 2026 Work Programme introduces several reforms intended to increase accessibility, speed and impact.
The Advanced Innovation Challenges represent a significant methodological shift. Inspired by the US ARPA model, they encourage solution-driven R&I through flexible, milestone-based funding and a strong emphasis on rapid experimentation. This model is expected to unlock progress in strategic technology domains and address long-standing hurdles in technology transfer.
A core novelty in 2026 is the transformation of the Accelerator evaluation pipeline. Full proposals are streamlined from 50 to 20 pages, evaluations now occur every two months, and due diligence is embedded earlier. This redesign substantially reduces administrative burden for SMEs and speeds up access to funding and investment.
By adding Horizon Europe research infrastructure results to its eligibility base, the Transition scheme now supports a broader innovation pipeline, helping more research-driven technologies enter validation phases and early commercialisation pathways.
The programme enhances the Business Acceleration Services, strengthens corporate engagement, expands internationalisation pathways, and introduces a Gender & Diversity Innovation Index to support inclusive innovation ecosystems.
The programme revives the Plug-in mechanism, enabling national and regional innovation authorities to certify their programmes for direct access to the EIC Accelerator. This aims to strengthen coherence across local, regional and EU funding landscapes.
Several topics in the 2026 Work Programme align directly with ongoing innovation needs in freight transport, logistics and mobility systems.
Relevant challenge areas include:
These themes resonate closely with ongoing work in ALICE’s Thematic Groups, especially those focused on digitalisation, automation, multimodal optimisation, climate resilience and decarbonisation. EIC funding has been identified by ALICE as an effective instrument to scale-up or make market-ready solutions from research and innovation projects.
The 2026 EIC Work Programme reinforces Europe’s commitment to translating deep-tech excellence into industrial leadership. With increased funding, clearer pathways, and a renewed focus on bold innovation challenges, the programme provides an enabling framework for organisations working on the future of logistics, mobility and supply chain systems.
ALICE will continue to monitor upcoming deadlines, fact sheets and information days, and will provide additional guidance for members preparing submissions to Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator calls throughout 2026.
Download EIC work programme: EIC 2026 work programme – European Innovation Council