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Call / details
EIC Pathfinder 2026
ID 138 2025-12-16 / 2026-10-28
Description
What projects are eligible?
There are two types of calls for the EIC Pathfinder:
Pathfinder Challenges (these projects are focussed on predefined areas) – Grants up to € 4 million per project or more if duly justified (meaning targeted, strategic priorities, complementary to the open call). The overall budget for the EIC Pathfinder Challenges in 2026 is € 96 million.
Pathfinder Open (projects can be in any field of science, technology or application without predefined priorities) – Grants up to € 3 million per project or more if duly justified (meaning open to proposals in any field of science, technology or application, no predefined thematic priorities); The overall budget for the EIC Pathfinder Open in 2026 is € 166 million.
Pathfinder Challenges 2026
There are three topics formulated as the Pathfinder Challenges 2026.
To be eligible for funding from the Pathfinder Challenges, your project should focus on:
- Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems
- Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing
- DeepRAP: Deep Reasoning, Abstraction & Planning towards trustworthy Cognitive AI Systems
The Pathfinder Challenges support collaborative research and innovation from consortia or applications from single legal entities.
Pathfinder Open
Pathfinder Open aims to realise an ambitious vision for radically new technology (TRL 1-4), with potential to create new markets and/or to address global challenges.
Proposals should meet the following characteristics:
- Convincing long-term vision of a radically new deep-tech that has the potential to have a transformative positive effect to our economy and society.
- Concrete, novel and ambitious science-towards-technology breakthrough, providing advancement towards the envisioned technology.
- High-risk/high-gain research approach and methodology, with concrete and plausible objectives.
- The expected outcome is the proof of principle that the main ideas of the envisioned future technology are feasible.
- Interdisciplinary research is key, and in addition, EIC wants to stimulate that promising young researchers or start-ups/high-tech SMEs are empowered in your team.
When to apply in 2026?
The deadlines of the EIC Pathfinder in 2026 are:
- EIC Pathfinder Open: 12 May 2026
- EIC Pathfinder Challenges: 28 October 2026
Who can submit?
Proposals must be submitted by legal entities in a Member State (or associated country). The legal entities may for example be universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups, industrial partners or natural persons.
Open Call: only consortia can apply
Challenges Call: smaller consortia (at least two eligible entities) or single applications as well as larger consortia can apply