More than Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator: five EIC instruments as of 2026
3rd February 2026 at 2:28 pm
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has expanded its funding toolbox with the 2026 Work Programme. Alongside the well-known EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator, two additional instruments now shape the innovation pipeline: EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges (pilot) and EIC STEP Scale-Up. With a total EU funding budget of € 1.4 billion, these instruments form a support framework for breakthrough technologies from early scientific exploration to industrial-scale growth. The five EIC instruments have different goals and requirements, which are crucial and should be explicitly addressed in your proposal. With success rates currently ranging between just 2-5% (based on 2025 figures), even strong ideas can fail if they are misaligned with the chosen instrument. This blog outlines how to choose the right EIC instrument in an increasingly competitive funding landscape.
The EIC logic in 2026: five instruments, five distinct purposes
The EIC work programme 2026 details the funding in five main schemes, with two new funding schemes in addition to the traditional EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator. In addition, the EIC Pre-Accelerator is now back under the WIDERA Work Programme.
Since its launch, the EIC has structured its support around three core instruments that accompany innovations from early research to market entry. EIC Pathfinder funds high-risk, visionary research aimed at exploring radically new technological concepts. Under this scheme, you can find Pathfinder Open call topics (bottom up) as well as Pathfinder Challenges (top down). EIC Transition bridges the gap between research and market readiness by supporting the further development and validation of promising results with a clearer application in mind. This scheme funds proposals based on results generated by EIC Pathfinder, European Research Council Proof of Concept, Horizon Europe Pillar 2 (societal challenges) collaborative projects and Research Infrastructures projects. EIC Accelerator focuses on start-ups and SMEs and provides them with support to scale up innovations with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones. Under this scheme, you can find Accelerator Open call topics (bottom up) as well as Accelerator Challenges (top down).
Building on this established framework, the EIC 2026 Work Programme introduces additional schemes to address specific gaps along the innovation pathway. The Advanced Innovation Challenges pilot targets high-risk, demand-driven deep-tech innovation in areas where strong research has not yet translated into market uptake. In parallel, the EIC STEP Scale-Up expands support at the upper end of the innovation spectrum, offering larger equity investments to help strategically important companies scale in Europe and attract significant private co-investment. Complementing these instruments, the EIC Pre-Accelerator, under the WIDERA Work Programme supports start-ups in widening countries to strengthen their technological and business readiness ahead of a potential EIC Accelerator application. Together, these new schemes reflect the EIC’s growing focus on strategic autonomy, faster translation and more inclusive participation across Europe.
How evaluators assess “fit” across all EIC instruments
Across all EIC instruments, evaluators place strong emphasis on strategic fit. This goes beyond scientific or technological quality and focuses on whether a proposal genuinely belongs in the chosen instrument. In practice, evaluators assess the alignment between three core elements:
- First, technological maturity. Each EIC instrument targets a specific stage of development, from early scientific exploration to large-scale commercial deployment. Proposals are expected to match the maturity level of the instrument, neither positioning technologies as more advanced than they are nor underplaying their readiness.
- Second, risk profile. The EIC distinguishes clearly between instruments that are designed to absorb high scientific and technological risk and those that prioritise execution, market uptake or scale-up. Evaluators look for proposals that openly acknowledge the relevant uncertainties and address the right type of risk for the chosen scheme.
- Third, instrument-specific objectives. Each scheme has a distinct purpose, whether it is exploring radically new ideas, validating innovation potential, accelerating market entry or scaling strategic technologies. Proposals must demonstrate a clear understanding of these objectives and show how the project contributes to them.
Misalignment with any of these dimensions is one of the most common reasons for rejection. Typical examples include market-ready solutions submitted to Pathfinder, where the focus should be on breakthrough research rather than application; highly exploratory research proposals submitted to the Accelerator, which expects a clear commercial trajectory; scale-up ambitions framed under Transition, where further validation and development are still required; or under-capitalised companies applying to STEP Scale-Up without the financial robustness and growth potential expected at that stage. In an increasingly competitive EIC landscape, demonstrating this alignment explicitly is essential. Evaluators should not be left to infer fit from the technical description alone.
Our experience in the EIC
If you are unsure whether Pathfinder, Transition, Advanced Innovation Challenges, Accelerator or STEP Scale-Up best fits your innovation, our team can support you with readiness assessment, positioning and proposal strategy. accelopment supports innovators across the full EIC pathway, from early breakthrough research to large-scale commercialisation. We at accelopment have successfully supported many EIC Pathfinder projects, including three recently approved Pathfinder Open (BoneOscopy, CORENET, POLINA and PIONEAR) and one Pathfinder Challenge (PEARL-DNA) projects. If you have an innovative idea and are interested in our support for proposal writing, feel free to contact us. From FET-Open to EIC Pathfinder, our taste for project ideas that address global challenges stays the same. Have a look at our Proposal Writing services and contact our EIC Pathfinder experts to discuss how we can best support you with your ambitions.
Nothing suitable in EIC?
Not every strong innovation idea will be a perfect match for the EIC instruments, especially given their high selectivity and specific expectations. This does not mean that funding options are exhausted. On the contrary, there are many alternative opportunities across Horizon Europe that may be better suited to your innovation’s maturity and objectives. Through our strategic grant planning, we help research teams navigate the funding landscape and decide where to focus their efforts. Through this service, we help position your project where it has the strongest chance of success and design a funding pathway that supports long-term development rather than a single call.
