€18.75m funding recommended for two Enterprise Ireland client companies in Horizon Europe EIC Accelerator

Two Enterprise Ireland-backed companies have won funding approvals of up to €18.75m in the latest competition under Horizon Europe’s European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Programme. The two successful companies are CroíValve and Lios.

Enterprise Ireland leads the National Support Network for Horizon Europe which helps entrepreneurs to compete and win funding in EIC competitions. To date, 28 Irish companies have secured approvals totalling €175.5m under the EIC Accelerator Programme since the beginning of Horizon Europe in 2021.

Trinity College Dublin spin-out company CroíValve is a clinical-stage medical device company focused on developing a minimally invasive device for the treatment of a severe cardiac disease called tricuspid regurgitation. CroíValve’s DUO Tricuspid Coaptation Valve system will enable a non-surgical solution for the condition as currently less than one percent of elderly patients receive surgical treatment due to the risks involved in this population. CroíValve previously received funding under the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund which is administered by Enterprise Ireland and supports research collaboration to drive disruptive technology development.

Lios, a pioneer in acoustic advanced materials technology, is a Dublin company with strong Sligo roots. SoundBounce is an advanced acoustic material developed by Lios that works better than traditional sound dampening materials. Transport, home appliances, power generation, and construction are among the major industries seeking to reduce noise levels.

Part of the EU’s Horizon Europe 2021-2027 Research and Innovation Programme, the EIC Accelerator Programme provides transformational funding to high-potential, high-risk start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs. Approvals include grant funding of up to €2.5 million combined with an equity investment ranging from €0.5 to €10 million in a blended finance offer. 

959 applications were submitted to this latest competition with 150 companies subsequently selected for interview resulting in a total of 40 funding awards to 16 countries. The 40 companies were allocated funding of up to €229m in a combination of grants and equity investments. 

Almost one third of the selected companies were led by a woman in a key leadership role such as CEO, CTO or CSO.

Minister of State for Trade Promotion, AI and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth TD said, “Today’s announcement is testament to the research and innovation capability of Irish companies and the vibrancy of the start-up and commercialisation eco-system. Collaboration between Higher Education, state agencies, investors and business creates a pathway to success and the government through Enterprise Ireland is committed to helping enterprises like Lios and CroíValve to realise their commercial potential. This announcement provides significant funding to support these companies to bring their innovations to the global market and I wish both every success for the future.”

Jenny Melia, CEO Designate, Enterprise Ireland said: “I’d like to congratulate Lios and CroíValve on their successful applications to the highly competitive EIC Accelerator programme. Both companies, working with the EIC, will be able to enhance their entrepreneurial capability and get the critical support required at this juncture in their development and scaling journey. It is particularly welcome to see that both projects have a female inclusive leadership team which supports Enterprise Ireland’s strategic ambition to increase the participation of women in entrepreneurship and business leadership.”

Lucy O’Keeffe, Co-Founder & CEO, CroíValve said: “Securing European Innovation Council (EIC) funding is very impactful in supporting full alignment of our novel technology with this complex patient population, along with expansion of clinical validation of our DUO System. There is a real unmet clinical need to provide a scalable treatment option for the heterogenous patient population with tricuspid regurgitation. It is CroiValve’s mission to innovate a better way to help more patients suffering with this disease and we are honoured to have EIC support for this journey.”

Rhona Togher, Co-Founder & CEO, Lios said: “This award from the European Innovation Council (EIC) enables us to bring our breakthrough technology to global markets. It’s a major vote of confidence in our mission to tackle noise pollution with advanced materials. This is a truly exciting time for Lios as we launch pilot production. We are proud to be building a quieter, more sustainable world from Ireland, and be among the select group of women-led companies funded in this round.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Photography issued by Coalesce: Fintan Clarke fintan@coalesce.ie 

For further information, please contact:

Deirdre Geraghty

Enterprise Ireland Press Office

Deirdre.geraghty@enterprise-ireland.compress@enterprise-ireland.com 

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 €10 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 women CEOs.

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) is a central coordinating body for R&I funding and works closely with the Horizon Europe National Support Network team. Led by Enterprise Ireland, this team is made up of European advisors based in eight other Irish research and industry agencies including Irish Universities Association, Research Ireland, Health Research Board, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Department of Food, Agriculture and the Marine, Marine Institute, Environment Protection Agency and Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.