Horizon Europe European Union
Neutral-Atom Platform Technologies
This action aims to establish European leadership in neutral-atom quantum simulation and digital quantum computing by delivering: • Fully programmable industry-ready quan…
Horizon Europe · European Union
EIC Pre-accelerator - Widening
Opens 5 May 2027
The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 60 awards of €500,000 – €1 million each, from a total budget of €40 million. Applications close on 18 Nov 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time). Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries such as Türkiye can usually take part; the topic conditions control.
- Deadline
- 18 Nov 2027 (in 368 days)
- Opens
- 5 May 2027
- Grant amount
- €500,000 – €1 million per project
- Total budget
- €40 million
- Funding rate
- 70% (as stated in the topic)
- Total budget
- €40 million
- Expected awards
- 60
- Type of action
- HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions · HORIZON Lump Sum Grant
- Likely applicant types
- Companies, SMEs / start-ups, Non-profits, Universities & research, Public bodies From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
- Funder
- Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
- Reference
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2027-01-WIDENING-01
- Call
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2027-01
- Last checked
- 14 Nov 2026
Expected outcome
This call will increase the innovation potential of deep-tech startups in the Widening countries and enable them to better attract private investments and scale up. It will further strengthen the innovation dimension of the widening component and increase the overall competitiveness of these countries.
The specific outcome expected of this action is increased business, investor, and technology readiness of high potential deep-tech startups in Widening countries to a level where they will:
• be successful in applying and attracting the EIC Accelerator funding and/or;
• manage to secure other private investment and/or;
• attract successfully national or regional funding as alternative funding sources (e.g. through Seal of Excellence programmes).
Scope
This action focuses on early-stage deep-tech startups which 1) have high-impact innovation technology, product, service, or business model that could create new markets or disrupt existing ones, and 2) have the ambition and commitments to scale up.
The successful applicants need to work on deep tech innovation. Such companies often struggle to attract financing because the technology and investment risks are too high.
In the framework of this call, deep-tech [1] is technology that is based on cutting-edge scientific advances and discoveries and is characterised by the need to stay at the technological forefront by constant interaction with new ideas and results from the lab. Deep-tech innovations are understood to be those that have the potential to deliver transformative solutions, rooted in cutting-edge science, technology, and engineering, including innovation that combines advances in the physical, biological and digital spheres. Deep-tech is distinct from ‘high-tech’ which tends to refer only to R&D intensity [2] .
Read the full text
This EIC Pre-accelerator - Widening call is designed to enable promising deep-tech startups to develop further their innovations (from TRL 4 to TRL 5/6) [3] , attract the investment amounts needed for scale up in a shorter timeframe and successfully apply and attract funding from EIC Accelerator or other sources.
The applicants are expected to demonstrate in their application that they:
• have completed all elements of TRL 3 (Experimental proof of concept) and therefore the technology is currently at TRL 4 (Technology validated in lab);
• possess the necessary Intellectual Property Rights to ensure freedom to operate and adequate protection of the idea;
• have a clear vision on the intended pathway and route to market. This includes specific milestones together with concrete and verifiable KPIs to assess progress towards the market.
The support will be in awarded by grants max at 70% funding of the eligible costs. 30% co-funding to be covered by the beneficiary through its own resources.
An amount between EUR 500.000 and max EUR 1.000.000 in the form of a lump sum for a period of up to 2 years is considered appropriate.
The requested grant is expected to be used for:
• addressing the investor and market readiness towards commercialisation and deployment (market research, value proposition, business case and business model, prospects for growth, intellectual property protection, competitor analysis etc.) and if relevant, aspects of regulation, certification and standardisation, aimed at getting both the technology and the business idea investment ready and/or;
• the maturation and validation of novel technologies beyond proof of concept to viable demonstrators of the technology in the intended field of application (i.e., from minimum TRL 4 up to TRL 6).
At the end of the EIC Pre-accelerator project, it needs to:
• demonstrate that the technology component of their innovation has at least been validated in a relevant environment…
Who can apply
Single applicant (one organisation applies alone) (as stated in the topic).
Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.
Timing
Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-11-18. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).
How to apply
- Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
- Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
- This topic is for a single applicant: no consortium is needed (check the topic conditions for who qualifies).
- Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
- Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.
From the call text
- Who can apply
- Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
- Company stage
- Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
- Single applicant or consortium
- Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
- Where applicants must be based
- Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
- Where to apply
- Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Official sources
Facts on this page come from the official source and were last checked 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.
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