Dr Rehman Rafiq, associate director – grants, at Streets explores the European grant funding options available for growing businesses.
For ambitious companies looking to accelerate innovation, European grant funding offers a compelling alternative to private investment. Unlike equity-based finance, these non-dilutive programmes allow businesses to retain full ownership while gaining the resources, credibility, and momentum needed to bring breakthrough ideas to market.
Working with Streets dramatically accelerates your path to funding. Teams that partner with us are up to three times more likely to secure investment and turn bold ideas into real, scalable outcomes.
At the forefront of Europe’s innovation landscape is Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme with a €95.5 billion budget spanning 2021 to 2027. It supports collaborative projects addressing major global challenges across health, climate, digital transformation, and advanced manufacturing. Within this framework, the European Innovation Council (EIC) provides targeted support for high-risk, high-impact technologies through a range of instruments.
The EIC Pathfinder programme offers up to €4 million per project to fund early-stage, disruptive research, with an open call of €166 million and a submission deadline of 12 May 2026. Additionally, three challenge-specific calls totalling €96 million will open until 28 October 2026, encouraging novel solutions to pressing scientific and societal challenges.
For innovations approaching commercialisation, the EIC Transition programme provides up to €2.5 million per project, supporting the translation of Pathfinder research into viable products or services. Applications for this €100 million funding stream are open until 16 September 2026.
A new addition, the EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges, offers two-stage funding for breakthrough technologies: Stage 1 provides up to €300,000 (deadline 26 February 2026) for proof-of-concept development, while Stage 2 offers up to €2.5 million (deadline 18 June 2027) to scale commercially promising solutions.
Finally, the EIC Accelerator remains the flagship route for scaling deep-tech innovations. With an open budget of €414 million across six cut-off dates in 2026, and €220 million dedicated to five challenge-specific calls, it supports companies developing technologies at TRL 6+ with a streamlined proposal process, evaluation by technical experts, and an interview stage. The 2026 cut-off dates are 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September, and 4 November. Complementing this is the EIC STEP programme, with a €300 million budget and four proposal batches in February, May, September, and November, focused on supporting scaling and market entry for high-impact companies.
Another important route for R&D-focused SMEs is the EUREKA Eurostars programme, which funds international collaborations developing novel products, services, or processes with strong commercial potential.
For UK companies, Innovate UK continues to provide a bridge to European funding opportunities, helping businesses access both domestic and cross-border innovation programmes. UK companies are also eligible to apply for European Grant Funding.
Accessing these competitive funding programmes requires strategic planning, aligning innovation goals with funding priorities, building credible partnerships, and demonstrating measurable impact. Companies that combine technical excellence with clear market validation and exploitation strategies significantly improve their chances of success.
For expert guidance, Streets Innovation offers end-to-end support in proposal writing, submission, and project management, increasing the likelihood of securing funding by up to threefold. With the right strategy and support, your next innovation could be Europe’s next success story.
For further information or a conversation to explore how we can help your business please email innovation@streets.uk
See this column in the December issue of East Midlands Business Link Magazine, here.
