EIC Accelerator Challenge: Novel technologies for resilient agriculture
HORIZON EIC Accelerator Blended Finance
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-EIC-2023-ACCELERATORCHALLENGES-06
- Programme
- EIC Accelerator 2023
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- December 7, 2022
- Deadline
- January 10, 2023
- Deadline Model
- multiple cut-off
- Budget
- €1,135,239,839
- Min Grant Amount
- €500,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €17,500,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 20
- Keywords
- HORIZON-EIC-2023-ACCELERATORCHALLENGES-06HORIZON-EIC-2023-ACCELERATOR-01
Description
In support of the EU Soil Mission and the EU Green Deal, Farm to Fork strategy, Fit for 55 and REPowerEU policy actions, the key goal of this Challenge is to develop solutions contributing to the development of a sustainable agricultural and food production system resilient to environmental and social disruptions. To achieve progress in this area a new generation of technologies, equipment and materials (such as but not limited to soil tillage, crop protection and harvesting machinery and equipment) is needed, based on principles of regenerative agriculture and supported by Industry 4.0 technologies and in line with the core principles of Industry 5.0, human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience.
The proposals should include groundbreaking innovations that will lead to a radical transformation beyond the state-of-the-art of the current fertilisation, crop protection, irrigation and soil management practices. From a food system point of view, they will take into account strategies for climate adaptation, and a life cycle approach. Consideration should be also given to possible effects of such innovations on the food supply chain. From an environment point of view it is expected they will help to ensure healthier and richer biodiversity and more resilient ecosystems.
If intervening in the food processing stage, applicants are encouraged to pay attention to reducing/replacing food additives with bio-preservation techniques and fast scalability of production.
Solutions should be easy to scale up and/or replicated in different environmental conditions.
The specific objectives of this Challenge are:
- Development and scaleup of interdisciplinary solutions for regenerative agriculture and soil health in the areas of
- Sustainable fertilisation;
- Crop protection under principles of Integrated Pest Management with a focus on mechanical/physical and biological measures;
- Irrigation
- Soil management, protection and restoration;
- Crop and livestock management
- Novel processes, materials, equipment, management practises and microorganisms adapted to harsh environments, climate adaptation needs and resource scarcity, including diversification of crops, mixed farming systems, interseasonal cropping and technologies to increase crops adaptation to climate changes.
This Challenge aims to improve the resilience of the European food supply chain and security, notably by improving agricultural productivity and fostering environmentally sustainable technologies, all while regenerating and increasing soil health and ecosystem services. By aiming to valorise crop residues, this Challenge also aims to contribute to better carbon and nitrogen management practices, to mitigation of
climate change and environmental challenges including biodiversity loss and pollution.
In doing so, the results arising from this Challenge will foster the EU technological autonomy and leadership via focused support of innovations in the areas of sustainable and resilient agricultural production, food security, biodiversity and environmental protection.
For further information, please see the EIC Work Programme 2023.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: To be an eligible applicant to EIC Accelerator, you must apply as one of the following eligible entities:
- a single company classified as a SME and established within a Member State or an Associated Country (see Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2023); or
- a single company classified as a small mid-cap (up to 499 employees) established in a Member State or an Associated Country, but only for exceptional cases for rapid scale up purposes ; or
- One or more natural persons (including individual entrepreneurs) or legal entities, which are either:
a. From a Member State or an Associated Country intending to establish an SME or small mid-cap (as defined above) in a Member State or Associated Country by the time of signing the EIC Accelerator contract or, in case the equity only is awarded, at the latest when agreeing on its investment component;
b. Intending to invest in an SME or small mid-cap in a Member State or an Associated Country and who may submit a proposal on behalf of that SME or small mid-cap, provided that a prior agreement exist with the company. The contract will be signed with the beneficiary company only; or
c. From a non-associated third country intending to establish an SME (including start-ups) or to relocate an existing SME to a Member State or an Associated Country. Your company must prove its effective establishment in a Member State or an Associated Country at the time of submission of the full proposal.
The standard admissibility and eligibility conditions are detailed in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2023.
There are limitations on the number of times you can submit a proposal described in section in section IV (Table 8) of the EIC Work Programme 2023 on resubmission limits.
If you are currently a participant in an eligible project funded by Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020 then you may be able to apply through your existing project under the Fast Track scheme (see Annex 3 of the EIC Work Programme 2023). This scheme is managed by the funding body responsible for the existing project and applies to funding bodies listed in Annex 3. Applicants may also be able to apply if they have a project financed by an eligible programme managed by a Member State or an Associated Country under the pilot Plug-in scheme. The Plug-in scheme to apply to the EIC Accelerator is detailed in Annex 4 of the EIC Work Programme 2023.
Proposal page limits and layout: You must prepare your application (Short and Full application) on the EIC artificial intelligence-based IT platform via on-line forms, by answering a series of questions:
Short applications:
- An on-line form where you must summarise your proposal and respond to a set of questions on your innovation, your potential market and your team;
- A pitch-deck of up to ten (10) slides in pdf format;
- A video pitch of up to three (3) minutes where the core members of your team (up to three people) should provide the motivation for your proposal
Full applications:
- An on-line form that follows a methodology embedded in the EIC artificial intelligence-based IT platform that generates a full and detailed business plan with information on you company’s finances and structure;
- A pitch-deck to be used if invited to the interviews
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex 2 (General conditions for proposals) of the EIC Work Programme 2023.
Applicants from the United Kingdom can apply to the EIC Accelerator, but can only request and receive funding in the form of “grant only”. The signature of any grant agreement will be subject to the positive conclusion of the association negotiation with the United Kingdom.
3. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex 2 (General conditions for proposals) of the EIC Work Programme 2023.
- Award criteria, scoring and thresholds: described in section IV of the EIC Work Programme 2023
- Submission and evaluation processes: described in section IV of the EIC Work Programme 2023
- Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in section IV of the EIC Work Programme 2023
Call documents:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
MGA used for EIC actions under Horizon Europe (HE General MGA)
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).
Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.
European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search Services help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Latest Updates
In light of the disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East, the European Commission has carefully assessed the challenges experienced by partner organisations in the region. We acknowledge that this situation makes it difficult to complete project proposals for Horizon Europe calls on time.
As a result, the deadline of the EIC Accelerator cut-off for full (Step 2) proposals has been extended from 19 October to 8 November 2023 at 17:00:00 (CET).
At the same time, the 12-month limit to submit a full application following the successful evaluation of a short (Step 1) proposal is extended. Successful Step 1 applicants who exceed(ed) the maximum 12 months for submitting a full (Step 2) proposal between 7 June 2023 cut-off date and 8 November 2023 cut-off date, are allowed to submit a full (Step 2) proposal to the 8 November cut-off date.
Please consult this link for further information on deadline extension:
https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/deadline-extension-horizon-europe-calls-following-hamas-terrorist-attacks-across-israel-2023-10-18_en
Updated link to EIC Investment Guidelines document - this is located in the Topic Conditions section.
The deadline for the last EIC Accelerator cut-off for full (Step 2) proposals this year has been changed from 4 October to 19 October 2023. This change of date is to allow applicants additional time to complete their full proposals taking into account the temporary moratorium on the short (Step 1) proposals from 2 June to 3 July 2023.
At the same time, the 12-month limit to submit a full application following the successful evaluation of a short (Step 1) proposal is extended so that successful Step 1 applicants who pass(ed) the maximum 12 months for submitting a full (Step 2) proposal between 7 June 2023 cut-off date and 19 October 2023 cut-off date, are allowed to submit a full (Step 2) proposal to the 19 October cut-off date.
The EIC Accelerator is migrating to the Electronic Submission System hosted on the Funding and tender oppportunities portal. To accommodate the change for applicants, the deadline for submissions for the 7 June 2023 cut-off has been delayed with two weeks until 21 June 2023 at 17.00. For more information, including on how to submit your EIC Accelerator application, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions page on the EIC Website.