EIC STEP Scale Up
HORIZON EIC Equity Only
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-EIC-2025-EICSTEP-01
- Programme
- EIC STEP Scale Up
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- November 26, 2024
- Deadline
- October 28, 2025
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €300,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €10,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €30,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 15
- Keywords
- HORIZON-EIC-2025-EICSTEP-01HORIZON-EIC-2025-EICSTEP-01
Description
The EIC STEP Scale Up call offers a total indicative budget of EUR 300 million for the 2025, which is expected to rise to EUR 900 million for the period 2025-2027[1]. Any unused amount from this budget will be allocated with priority to the EIC Accelerator Open call.[2]
The support will be in the form of equity-only investments managed by the EIC Fund. Applicants to this call will not receive a grant component. It provides significant financial support, and applicants should apply for an investment of a minimum of EUR 10 million[3] and maximum of EUR 30 million, to co-invest in a funding round aiming at least three to five times the amount of the requested EIC contribution. The specific terms of each investment are considered and negotiated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the EIC Fund Investment Guidelines. This ensures the investment is tailored to your company's needs while aligning with EIC's objectives.
EIC STEP Scale Up is designed to fill the funding gap for companies to invest in the scale up of high-risk innovations and where the amount needed for the scale up cannot be fully financed by other investors, including Invest EU implementing partners. Applicants are encouraged to consider complementarity with Venture Debt from InvestEU implementing partners in order to meet their financing needs.
When implementing investments, the EIC Fund will ensure that supported companies keep most of their value, including their IP, in the EU or in the Associated Countries in order to contribute to their economic growth and job creation. Where necessary, the EIC Fund will be requested to take appropriate safeguard measures for individual companies on a case-by-case basis in order to protect European interests as defined in the Investment Guidelines.
Beyond funding, your company will benefit from a strong support system that fosters your continued growth within Europe through Business Acceleration Services (details available in Section V). Applicants to the EIC STEP Scale Up call who meet the evaluation thresholds will also be awarded a Sovereignty (STEP) Seal, to facilitate and provide privileged access to funding and support from other EU programmes and other funders and investors[4].
Objective:The EIC STEP Scale Up call presents a unique opportunity for ambitious scale up companies (SMEs and small mid-caps) with game-changing innovations in Europe's critical technology areas. It offers a powerful combination of financial and strategic support designed to propel your groundbreaking solution to the forefront of these sectors.
The companies selected under the EIC STEP Scale Up call can receive investments ranging from EUR 10 to EUR 30 million. This investment can significantly accelerate the development and market launch of your technology, product, or service. With this funding, you'll gain the power to disrupt established markets and forge new ones across Europe, potentially achieving significant global impact. Crucially, this investment is designed to catalyse major funding rounds, e.g. in the range of EUR 50 to 150 million, and at least 3-5 times the EIC investment.
This call is part of the implementation of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP))[5] which supports the development or manufacturing of critical technologies throughout the Union or safeguarding and strengthening their respective value chains. Besides, support from the EIC, the projects may be eligible for support under other EU programmes included in STEP.
In 2025 support for start-ups in semiconductor technologies and quantum technologies will be pursued in particular through the STEP Scale Up call which foresees larger investments targeting strategic technologies including in support of the Chips Act. The EIC Accelerator Open call remains available in general for startups and SMEs including for quantum and semiconductor technologies.
[1] Amounts for 2026 and 2027 are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general budget of the Union for 2026 and 2027 following the adoption of that budget of the EIC Work Programmes for 2026 and 2027.
[2] If applicants have been selected for funding under the Accelerator Open call. Otherwise, any remaining amounts may be allocated to other calls within the general flexibility of the Work Programme.
[3] Applicants wishing to apply for lower investment amounts may apply to the EIC Accelerator call.
[4] As STEP Seal beneficiary, you might be requested to provide additional documentation for the sake of an Ownership and Control Assessment where there is such requirement.
[5] https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/index_en
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
In order to apply, your innovation must be within the scope of the priority areas defined in the STEP regulation and further developed in the Guidance note:
a. Digital technologies, and deep tech innovations. This includes: advanced semiconductor technologies; artificial intelligence technologies; quantum technologies; advanced connectivity, navigation and digital technologies; advanced sensing technologies; robotics and autonomous systems; Deep tech innovations (see Glossary of the EIC Work Programme 2025).
b. Clean and resource efficient technologies, including net-zero technologies. This includes: solar technologies; onshore wind and offshore renewable technologies; battery and energy storage technologies; heat pumps and geothermal technologies; hydrogen technologies; sustainable biogas and biomethane technologies; carbon capture and storage technologies; electricity grid technologies; nuclear fission technologies, sustainable alternative fuel technologies; hydropower technologies; other renewable technologies; energy system -related energy efficiency technologies; renewable fuels of nonbiological origin technologies; biotech climate and energy solutions; transformative industrial technologies for decarbonisation; CO2 transport and utilisation technologies; wind and electric propulsion technologies; other nuclear technologies; advanced materials, manufacturing and recycling technologies, technologies vital to sustainability such as water purification and desalination; and circular economy technologies.
c. Biotechnologies, including medicinal products on the Union list of critical medicines and their components. Including DNA/RNA; proteins and other molecules; cell and tissue culture and engineering; process biotechnology techniques; Gene and RNA vectors; bioinformatics; and nanobiotechnology.
These technologies are deemed critical where they meet either of the following conditions:
a. they bring to the internal market an innovative, emerging and cutting-edge element with significant economic potential;
b. they contribute to reducing or preventing strategic dependencies of the Union.
The Commission Guidance note, concerning certain provisions of STEP Regulation adopted on May 2024, provides detailed information on the criticality conditions. This call targets companies raising significant funding rounds and you must demonstrate an initial market interest such that the EIC investment acts as a catalyst for larger funding rounds. You will therefore need to demonstrate that the company already has a precommitment for an equity investment which meets the following elements:
- The pre-commitment is from a qualified investor, .
- The pre-commitment represents at least 20% of the total target funding round you are aiming to raise.
The following entities are eligible to apply:
- A single company classified as a SME or small mid-cap (up to 499 employees) established within a Member State or an Associated Country (see Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2025). The company may have a holding entity for the purposes of the investment, and this holding company must also be established in a Member State or an Associated Country.
- An investor may submit a proposal on behalf of an eligible SME or small midcap as defined above, provided that a prior agreement exists with the company. The investment agreement will be signed with the selected SME or small mid-cap.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex 2(B. Eligibility) of the EIC Work Programme 2025.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
described in Annex 2(General conditions for proposals) of the EIC Work Programme 2025.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex 2(C. Financial and Operational Capacity) of the EIC Work Programme 2025.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
described in section V of the EIC Work Programme 2025.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described in section V of the EIC Work Programme 2025.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and investment agreement
described in section V of the EIC Work Programme 2025.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. The scope of this call follows the identification of priority technology areas where there is a need to reduce or prevent strategic dependencies of the Union, in line with EU strategic and security interests. For this reason, and in line with Article 136 of the Financial Regulation, recipients of the Accelerator funding ( i.e., the legal entities which sign the investment agreement and, on this basis, become investees respectively) under this call, must not be directly or indirectly controlled by a non-associated third country or a legal entity established in a non-associated third country.
Furthermore, in case of an investment support, specific safeguards may be introduced in the investment agreement (see Introduction, section on Economic Security in EIC Work Programme 2025).
Call Documents
Application forms:
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE EIC STEP)
Guidance
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
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 help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Latest Updates
The call HORIZON-EIC-2025-EICSTEP-01 will close on October 28th 2025 at 5pm Brussels time. This will be replaced by the 2026 call HORIZON-EIC-2026-EICSTEP-01 upon the adoption of the 2026 EIC Work Programme, indicatively planned around November 6th 2025.