EIC Accelerator FAQ for non-EU deeptech companies

Check it yourself with AI

Most founders will run this through ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, and they should. General AI answers on EIC eligibility are often half right, because they mix up old work programmes and blog posts. Give your assistant the source instead:

• Download the EIC Work Programme 2026 (PDF, June 2026 version) and upload it to your AI assistant.
• If defence is relevant, add the EIC dual-use and defence factsheet (PDF).
• Then ask it to answer only from the document and to cite the section, for example: "Using only this work programme, can a Canadian-owned EU subsidiary apply to the EIC Accelerator, and which section says so?"

If the answer still does not fit your case, send me the question. That is usually where the interesting part starts.

Or start with our EIC Accelerator self-assessment, built on the same criteria.

1. The basics

Does my company qualify?

Nobody can promise an outcome before evaluators read the proposal, but the criteria are public and most of them can be checked upfront. Our self-assessment walks through them and shows where you stand and what to fix first. Take the EIC Accelerator self-assessment.

What is the EIC Accelerator?

A European Commission programme that gives a single company up to €2.5M in grant funding to take a breakthrough technology from technology readiness level (TRL) 6 to 8. TRL 5 must be complete when you apply. It backs one company rather than a research consortium, so the proposal reads like a business plan.

Can a Canadian company apply?

Yes, through a subsidiary registered in an EU member state. Canada is associated to Pillar II of Horizon Europe but not to Pillar III, where the Accelerator sits, so a Canadian entity cannot apply directly. The same applies to Australian and US companies. Canadian ownership of the EU subsidiary is not a barrier for the open Accelerator (EIC Work Programme 2026, Section V).

Is the programme closing at the end of 2026?

No. The Accelerator runs within Horizon Europe, whose implementation period covers 2021 to 2027. The last 2026 full proposal cut-off is 4 November. The draft 2027 work programme proposes four cut-offs: 3 February, 1 April, 1 September and 3 November 2027. These dates become final only once the Commission adopts the 2027 work programme, so check the official EIC page before planning around them.

What about the equity side?

The Accelerator can add equity through the EIC Fund on top of the grant. For a subsidiary of a Canadian parent this is rarely practical, because the investment goes into the EU entity and would mean restructuring ownership. I plan every project around the grant.

2. The subsidiary

The European subsidiary is the largest commitment in an application. The Commission funds the programme because it wants the hiring, the development work and the new intellectual property (IP) to sit in Europe, so it suits companies that already plan to grow their European presence. For those companies, the grant pays for most of that build.

Does our company have to move to Europe?

No. Your company stays where it is and keeps its existing IP. The applicant is the EU subsidiary.

When does the subsidiary need to exist?

You do not need it for the short proposal. You incorporate it once Step 1 has passed and before the full proposal goes in. At that point the application needs a business registration number and nothing more. The grant brings the subsidiary to life, and you build it over the course of the project.

Where should it be?

The Netherlands is usually the lightest and cheapest option, with France next, though the choice is yours and should ideally follow your European partners. In either country the subsidiary can have Canadian directors and minimal share capital, can be set up remotely, and is simple to close if needed.

What does it cost to set up, and how long does it take?

Incorporation typically costs $5,500 to $9,600 CAD depending on the country, mostly in notary fees. I work with Spiegeler International Attorneys at Law, a boutique firm with lawyers admitted in the Netherlands, France and Germany that specialises in IP. I negotiated a rate for my clients and take no fee on it.

The business registration number takes one to two months. The bank account takes longer and can follow. The slowest step is certifying your Canadian corporate documents for use abroad, which costs little and can start early, alongside Step 1.

Who needs to be in Europe?

There is no minimum headcount, and your existing Canadian staff can start the project so hiring does not hold it up. The full proposal sets out the autonomous subsidiary you will build during the project, with its own business development and activity in Europe. In practice a senior leader should be based in the EU for most of the project, at least to launch it and hand it over, because the EIC wants to see the technology transfer. The Netherlands and France both run tax regimes for highly skilled workers arriving from abroad, worth roughly a 20 to 30 percent reduction.

3. IP and licensing back to the parent

This is the question Canadian boards ask most, and the answer is better than most expect. Your existing IP never leaves Canada, and the parent can get access to the new IP as long as you plan for it from the start.

What happens to our existing IP?

Your company keeps it. The parent licenses the subsidiary what the project needs once the grant is awarded. Nothing is transferred.

Who owns the IP created during the project?

The EU subsidiary. It owns the results it generates and has to make its best efforts to exploit them, either directly or by licensing them, including to its parent.

Can the new IP be licensed back to the Canadian parent?

Yes. The EIC does not approve licences. It holds a right to object, and that right only covers some deals:

• A non-exclusive licence back to the parent does not trigger it, except in dual-use projects (see section 4).
• An exclusive licence or a transfer of ownership to a company in a non-associated country such as Canada does. The subsidiary notifies the Commission, which then has 60 days to object (EU IP Helpdesk).
• You can ask the Commission in advance to waive its right to object for a specifically identified party, such as your parent company.

So the licence back is something we build into the proposal and the grant preparation, not a permission you ask for years later.

Has the EIC ever refused a licence back?

I have not found a published case of the EIC objecting, so I cannot point to a precedent either way. Canada is not treated as a risk in the programme rules. Even the one Accelerator challenge that restricts foreign ownership, critical raw materials, explicitly accepts companies controlled from OECD countries (EIC Work Programme 2026, Section V.2.4).

Can core development stay in Canada, with the EU project on integration and certification?

Yes, that is eligible. The grant covers prototyping, system-level demonstration, and the testing needed to meet regulatory and standardisation requirements at TRL 6 to 8. It does not cover market entry itself, and work beyond TRL 8 can reduce the grant.

The catch is scoring. Evaluators score the deep tech and ask whether the project contributes to European technological leadership. A project built around integration needs a European pilot or partner that makes that case convincingly. It can work with the right angle, and I will tell you early if it does not.

For the full structure, including investor protections and tax, see our cross-border IP structuring guide.

4. Dual-use, defence and sensitive technology

Are dual-use projects eligible?

Yes. The Commission amended the EIC Work Programme 2026 on 17 June 2026 to "expand the scope of support for innovation activities with potential dual-use applications under the EIC Accelerator" (EIC Work Programme 2026, Section V). In practice:

• You need a credible business case in both civilian and defence markets. Civil-security buyers such as police, border management and civil protection count as civilian (EIC Accelerator FAQ).
• The product cannot be primarily defence. The Accelerator supports dual-use while advancing the civilian application.
• Dual-use proposals are assessed against the same criteria as any other. There is no bonus and no penalty.
• For dual-use projects, the EIC's right to object also covers non-exclusive licences of the results.

Our technical material is export-controlled. Can we still apply?

Yes. Proposals must not contain EU classified information, and the short proposal is written around what the technology achieves and why it matters rather than detailed technical data. I sign an NDA before any documents change hands, and you decide what can be shared once your own export-control review is done.

5. Money

How much of our own money is needed?

The grant covers 70 percent of eligible costs up to €2.5M, so the largest grant needs a project of about €3.6M and roughly €1.07M of your own funding. The co-funding is easiest to evidence when a financing round closes just before or alongside the application, and in practice that round is what unlocks the grant.

Eligible costs cover EU-based staff, research and development, prototyping, regulatory work and IP. Marketing and sales fall outside the grant. Subcontracting is allowed, but most of the budget should be spent in Europe.

How is the grant paid?

As a lump sum fixed at evaluation, paid as a prefinancing at the start of the project and a balance at the end. It is not paid upfront in full.

Can the EIC project run alongside other public funding?

Yes, as long as the costs are kept separate. The grant agreement bars declaring the same costs under another EU grant or a grant from a body implementing the EU budget (Model Grant Agreement, Art. 6.3(b)). The EIC work packages need to cover different work, and the 30 percent co-funding has to come from your own resources rather than another grant or contract. A running programme with another agency on related technology, such as the European Space Agency, often helps, because it is the kind of outside validation evaluators look for.

6. The application

How does the application work?

Step 1 is a short proposal: a 12-page form, a pitch deck of up to ten slides, and a three-minute video featuring up to three members of your team. You can submit it at any time. The EIC evaluates short proposals in a batch on the first Tuesday of each month and returns a result in about four to six weeks.

If Step 1 passes, you move to the full proposal, which expands the form to 20 pages and adds an implementation plan, financial information, letters of intent, a freedom-to-operate analysis and a second video. Full proposals go in at fixed cut-offs through the year. They are scored on three criteria out of 5 each, with a threshold of 13 out of 15, and the strongest are invited to a jury interview (what changed in 2026).

How long does Step 1 take?

About three weeks of focused work. The pace depends on how complete your data room is and which European relationships are already documented.

What is the first commitment?

About three weeks on a short proposal, with no subsidiary needed at that stage. The subsidiary and the co-funding become live questions once Step 1 has passed.

7. Working with Inneuvate

Who does the work?

I do the bulk of the research and writing: the fit audit, the comparison against past winners, and the drafting of the form, the deck and the video script. You supply the evidence and make the decisions, and your team records the video. We review together weekly or every two weeks depending on pace.

How are you paid for the EIC work?

On success only. The fee is 5% of the grant portion of any EIC Accelerator or national award we secure, payable on first disbursement. If you are not funded, nothing is owed.

Can the fee be paid from the grant?

No. Success fees are not an eligible project cost under EIC rules, so the fee is paid from the company's own funds.

Can you help with programs beyond the EIC?

Yes, and the first map is free: where your European customers, partners and funding are, scored on fit and effort. For companies building their first European traction, our Europe-first track targets Horizon Europe Pillar II and Eurostars. Companies from Canada, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia join Pillar II consortia on the same terms as EU partners, with no EU entity required, and Eurostars is also open to Canada, South Korea, Singapore and South Africa, among others. We find and qualify European partners, negotiate the letter of intent for a pilot, and build the proposal that funds it. It runs on a monthly retainer from €3,500 with no success fee, or a hybrid from €2,450 plus 5% of your Horizon grant share. No success fee applies to Canadian federal funding, and a program on retainer is not also charged the EIC success fee.