Ireland ranks second in Horizon Europe EIC Accelerator funding with €22.4m win for three companies

Ireland has ranked second in Europe in the latest funding competition under Horizon Europe’s European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Programme. Three Irish-based companies have been approved €22.4m according to evaluation results released by the European Commission.

Part of the EU’s Horizon Europe 2021-2027 Research and Innovation Programme, the EIC Accelerator Programme provides grant funding of up to €2.5 million combined with an equity investment ranging from €0.5 to €15 million in a blended finance offer. Enterprise Ireland leads the National Support Network for Horizon Europe which helps entrepreneurs to compete and win funding in EIC competitions.

The three successful companies approved for €22.4m in funding are Technology from Ideas Ltd., Versono Medical Ltd. and Nemysis Ltd.

Technology from Ideas, which was awarded blended finance, has developed a novel mooring technology that enables floating offshore wind and aquaculture projects to be more cost effective and sustainable.

Versono Medical, which was awarded grant funding, is developing and commercialising a new technology platform for endovascular surgery that will focus initially on preventing amputation in patients with chronic total occlusions from critical limb ischemia.

Nemysis Ltd, which was awarded grant funding, is developing the first ever preventive treatment for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

The EIC Accelerator Programme provides transformational funding to high-potential, high-risk start-ups, scale ups and SMEs led by a strong, well-balanced leadership team which are already making good progress in commercialising highly differentiated, deep-tech products capable of creating new markets or disrupting existing ones.

The companies were selected in a highly competitive process; out of a total of 476 applications submitted to this round, 159 companies from across Europe were subsequently selected for interview by juries of experienced investors and entrepreneurs, leading to a total of 32 funding awards.

The 32 companies awarded funding will together receive close to €196 million of funding in a combination of grants and equity investments. The equity investments will be made through the EIC Fund. The selected companies have a geographical spread spanning 14 countries.

Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said: “Enterprise Ireland welcomes this announcement by the EIC which brings Ireland’s accumulated EIC funding to €110m since the introduction of the Horizon Europe programme in 2021. Six Irish companies reached interview stage with three selected for €22.4m in funding, ranking Ireland in second place for funding approved after the Netherlands. Ireland’s overall success in the Horizon Europe EIC programme, supported by Enterprise Ireland in our National Contact Point capacity, shines a spotlight on the innovation and capability of our companies to compete on a global level. It is particularly welcome to see a company from the Marine Renewable energy sector feature on this occasion. This funding provides the critical support required to enable these innovative companies to develop and scale their businesses.”

The EIC is an integral part of the Innovative Europe pillar of Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation €95.5bn programme which provides funding to projects through open and competitive calls for proposals and presents insights and expectations from the European Commission whilst offering a unique international networking experience to forge winning partnerships of the future.

European Innovation Council - Horizon Europe

The EIC Accelerator supports individual Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), in particular start-ups and spin-out companies to develop and scale up game-changing innovations. In some cases, small mid-caps (up to 500 employees) are supported.

The EIC Accelerator provides substantial financial support with:

• grant funding (non-dilutive) of up to €2.5 million for innovation development costs
• investments (direct equity investments) of up to €15 million managed by the EIC Fund for scale up and other relevant costs.

In addition, EIC selected companies receive coaching, mentoring, access to investors and corporates, and many other opportunities as part of the EIC community.

The EIC Programme now also includes EIC Pathfinder for earlier stage development of future technologies as well as EIC Transition for taking the next steps towards technical and commercial validation. Both of these programmes are upstream of the EIC Accelerator programme and have their own eligibility criteria.

The EIC welcomes applications from innovators in all EU Member States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme. It particularly welcomes applications from start-ups and SMEs with female CEOs.