New in 2025 – Swiss participation in Horizon Europe and more funding opportunities for companies
8th April 2025 at 10:33 am
After years of uncertainty, Switzerland is once again fully associated with Horizon Europe and other EU research and innovation funding programmes as of 1 January 2025. Although the formal process is still underway, the outlook is promising: Swiss companies will be able to participate in Horizon Europe on equal terms. This long-awaited development opens up major opportunities and marks a significant shift for Swiss businesses. We have already explored the implications in an earlier blog post (Switzerland associated to Horizon Europe again – new rules as of 1 January 2025).
After the end of Horizon 2020, Switzerland was no longer fully associated with Horizon Europe, which resulted in fewer Swiss companies participating in the funding programme:
This trend could now change again, as Horizon Europe also offers many opportunities for Swiss companies.
What does Horizon Europe participation entail for Swiss companies?
Over the past few years, many Swiss SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups) and industrial players (large companies, including multinational corporations) have participated in European and nationally funded R&D projects. At accelopment Schweiz AG, we have been involved as a project partner since 2008 and regularly hear from Swiss entrepreneurs that participation offers a wide range of additional benefits beyond the non-repayable grants. Additional benefits include collaboration with other companies and academic institutions within and outside Switzerland, access to research outcomes, faster development and validation of new technologies, and the ability to hire additional skilled personnel.
What opportunities are available for Swiss companies?
With Switzerland’s expected association, the R&D funding landscape and range of available programmes have changed considerably. During the early years of Horizon Europe (2021–2024), Swiss organisations were excluded from participating as so-called “Beneficiaries” and were not eligible to receive funding from the European Commission. As a transitional measure, the Swiss government introduced alternative instruments to support Swiss SMEs, such as the Swiss Accelerator managed by Innosuisse. In light of Switzerland’s likely association in 2025, the Swiss Accelerator will no longer issue new calls for proposals, as Swiss SMEs will once again be eligible to apply directly to the EIC Accelerator. However, since success rates for the EIC Accelerator have hovered around 3% in recent years (compared to nearly 10% for the Swiss Accelerator), and given the substantial effort and risk involved in the three-stage application process, we recommend also considering alternative funding options. The best-known programmes for SMEs include the following:
- Eurostars is one of the largest international grant schemes for SMEs working on R&D projects to develop innovative products, processes, or services for market introduction. Switzerland will resume participation in 2025. The application process is relatively straightforward and with an average success rate of around 30%, the chances of approval are comparatively high. The next application deadline is expected to be around mid-September 2025.
- EIC Pathfinder (Open und Challenge) supports the development of disruptive technologies and offers start-ups and other companies the chance to explore entirely new approaches. Through our two ongoing Pathfinder projects, PIONEAR and PEARL-DNA, we have demonstrated that innovative businesses can successfully be supported. The success rates for these EIC instruments are slightly or significantly higher than those for the EIC Accelerator. The submission deadlines are 21 May 2025 (Pathfinder Open) and 29 October 2025 (Pathfinder Challenges).
- DIGITAL Europe aims to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in the digital economy and promotes technological independence through investment and innovation. The programme expands capacities for new technologies and accelerates digital transformation. Switzerland is participating in this programme for the first time, and we expect that Swiss companies will find attractive opportunities in the programme.
The best support for your innovation project
As a leading Swiss service provider in the acquisition and implementation of EU-funded R&D and innovation projects, our team in Zurich has extensive experience with the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Development (FP7, H2020, and Horizon Europe), as well as a track record of numerous successful applications under the Eurostars programme and other European and Swiss funding schemes.
We are happy to discuss your innovation plans with you to identify suitable funding instruments and help create the best conditions for your company to participate successfully in EU projects. We look forward to hearing from you via email or phone call to one of our funding experts.
Dr. Johannes Ripperger
Research & Innovation Manager
Yannic Fechtig
Innovation & Digitalisation Associate
Robin Vanneste
Business & Finance Associate