Horizon Europe for startups and SMEs: how to read a call

By GrantSnap team · Published 2026-10-31 · guide

The EIC Accelerator page in October 2026 — The EIC Accelerator page, captured 31 October 2026.

Horizon Europe is the European Union's research and innovation funding programme, and a startup or SME can use it in three ways: apply alone to a European Innovation Council (EIC) call, join a consortium of organisations from several countries, or apply for a small grant passed on by a funded project. The European Commission's programme page gives an indicative budget of EUR 93.5 billion for 2021 to 2027 and says legal entities from the EU and associated countries can participate.

The money is real, but the portal is built for consortia of researchers, and it shows. This guide explains where small companies fit and how to read a call before you spend weeks on a proposal. Figures are as of 31 October 2026. Confirm them on the official pages.

How Horizon Europe is organised

The Commission's programme page lists three pillars. Pillar I, Excellent Science, includes the European Research Council and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions. Pillar II, Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, groups six thematic clusters. Pillar III, Innovative Europe, includes the EIC, European Innovation Ecosystems and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

For most startups, Pillar III is the natural starting point, because it houses the EIC. The programme page says all funding information and procedures on how to apply are on the Funding and Tenders portal, so every live call sits there. It also says a proposal for 2028 to 2034 is under negotiation, so treat today's rules as belonging to the current period.

EIC Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator

The EIC runs three main instruments, split by technology readiness level (TRL). Pathfinder funds early-stage deep-tech research at TRL 1 to 4. The EIC page states grants of up to EUR 4 million, or more if justified, and a consortium of at least three independent legal entities, although single applicants and two-partner consortia are allowed for Pathfinder Challenges. The page says it is open to research teams from EU Member States and associated countries.

Transition starts at TRL 4 and aims for TRL 5 or 6. It offers grants of up to EUR 2.5 million. Start-ups, SMEs and research organisations can apply alone, or in small consortia.

Accelerator is the instrument built for companies at TRL 6 to 8. The EIC page describes a grant below EUR 2.5 million, an investment of EUR 1 to 10 million, or a blend of the two. Grant-only funding is available once during Horizon Europe. Single start-ups and SMEs from EU Member States and associated countries can apply, and an applicant may submit only one application at a time.

EIT communities and Eurostars

The EIT describes itself as a body of the European Union and lists 10 communities. Its opportunities page lists calls with dates. On 31 October 2026 these included a Financial Support To Startups Open Call 2026, a Seedbed Venture Catalyst Call for Startups and an SME Market Expansion Open Call 2027. Eligibility and funding sit on each call page.

Eurostars is a different scheme. It runs through the EUREKA network. Its own site blocked our check, so these rules come from Germany's research ministry page. It states that the lead participant must be an innovative SME, the consortium needs at least two independent partners from at least two Eurostars countries, SMEs must jointly cover at least half of project costs, and no country or partner may bear more than 70 percent. The maximum project period is three years, and applications are accepted twice a year. Confirm current rules with EUREKA.

Cascade funding: the easiest way in

Cascade funding is the common name for financial support to third parties. A funded project receives money from the EU and passes part of it to outside organisations through its own open call. You apply to that project, not to the Commission.

The Commission's annotated grant agreement says such support can take the form of grants, prizes or similar support, that the call must set a maximum amount for each recipient, and that the selection procedure must be objective and transparent. It also says that amount may not exceed EUR 60,000 unless the objective of the action would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult.

Conditions differ for every project, so read each call's own rules on eligibility, the closed list of qualifying activities and the amount you can receive.

Registering, and choosing consortium or solo

Before you submit anything, every organisation in the proposal must be in the Participant Register and hold a 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC). The portal's Online Manual says you first need an EU Login account, then use the registration wizard. The new PIC is provisional until it is formally validated, and validation is requested only if your proposal succeeds.

The Online Manual says most EU calls target consortia with participants from different countries, and Horizon Europe sets minimum composition rules. Check the topic page for the exact rule. Some calls, such as EIC Accelerator, are open to a single company. These are often called mono-beneficiary calls. A solo EIC call or a cascade call avoids recruiting partners.

How to read a call page

The Online Manual defines a call as a group of topics open in parallel on the same policy area. A topic is the part of a call with one opening and one closing date, and proposals in a topic are evaluated together and compete against each other. The topic page holds the call conditions and the application form.

Read the topic page in this order. Check the topic title and identifier, then the deadline, then the budget for the topic. Check the type of action, such as Innovation Action. Check any TRL range, because the manual lists nine levels and says innovation calls use them to state the readiness expected. Then read eligibility, minimum consortium composition and the page limits. If the scope does not match your project, stop there.

What proposals ask and how they are scored

The Online Manual says an application has two parts. Part A holds structured administrative forms. Part B is the narrative technical description, uploaded as a PDF, built from the template inside the submission system rather than the one on the topic page. Excess pages are made invisible and the evaluators do not read them.

For EIC Accelerator, the EIC page describes the material in two steps. Step 1 is a short proposal made of a 12-page form, a pitch deck of up to 10 slides and a video pitch of up to 3 minutes. Step 2 is a 20-page form with a pitch deck, implementation plan, financial information, letters of intent, a freedom to operate analysis and a 3-minute video. The top-ranked proposals are then invited to a jury interview.

Horizon Europe proposals are scored on three criteria: excellence, impact, and quality and efficiency of the implementation. The Commission's briefing slides for evaluators give a score from 0 to 5 for each, with a default threshold of 3 per criterion and 10 overall. In the first stage of a two-stage call, only excellence and impact are scored, with a threshold of 4 for each. The EIC Pathfinder Open form shows that call types can set different thresholds, so read the form for your topic. It describes implementation as the work plan, the allocation of resources and the quality of the consortium.

The manual adds that at least three experts normally score each proposal alone before a consensus group agrees. For most EU programmes there is no scope for recommending improvements, so what you submit is what gets scored.

Timelines, common mistakes and next steps

EIC Accelerator Step 1 proposals can be submitted at any time and are evaluated in monthly batches, with feedback typically in 4 to 6 weeks. Step 2 proposals go in for a batching date, and the EIC page lists 4 November 2026 as the last one this year. Results arrive within 8 to 9 weeks. Once a Horizon Europe proposal is selected, the manual describes grant preparation as ideally taking 3 months from the invitation letter.

The mistakes the official pages point to are practical ones. Registering the PIC late. Using the wrong template. Going over the page limit. Submitting an incomplete proposal. Applying to EIC Accelerator from outside the eligible countries without relocating first, since the EIC page says relocation must happen before Step 2. Submitting a second EIC application while the first is open.

GrantSnap's catalog held 57 live European Commission listings on 31 October 2026. Examples include the Restack Open Call (2026-11R), with a deadline of 3 November 2026 and EUR 5,000 to 50,000 per project, the EIC Accelerator 2026 short proposal listing with a deadline of 4 November 2026, and the Co-Creation Accelerator 2026-2027, with a deadline of 30 April 2027. Check each deadline on the funder's page.

GrantSnap tracks live calls like these, drafts answers from your profile and fills the funder's form in Chrome. You review every answer before submitting.

Common questions

Can a single startup apply to Horizon Europe without partners?

Yes, in some calls. The EIC page says single start-ups and SMEs can apply to EIC Accelerator, and EIC Transition also accepts single applicants. Many other Horizon Europe topics require a consortium, so check the minimum composition on the topic page.

What is a PIC and when do I need it?

A PIC is a 9-digit Participant Identification Code issued when your organisation registers in the portal's Participant Register. The Online Manual says every participant needs one before a proposal is submitted.

What is cascade funding?

It is the common name for financial support to third parties. A funded project passes part of its EU money to outside organisations through its own open call, and the Commission's grant agreement guidance caps the amount per recipient at EUR 60,000 unless the call justifies more.

How are Horizon Europe proposals scored?

Evaluators score excellence, impact, and quality and efficiency of implementation from 0 to 5. The Commission's briefing slides give a default threshold of 3 per criterion and 10 overall, but specific calls can differ.

Sources

Horizon Europe, European Commission (accessed 2026-10-31)
EIC Accelerator (accessed 2026-10-31)
EIC Pathfinder (accessed 2026-10-31)
EIC Transition (accessed 2026-10-31)
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (accessed 2026-10-31)
EIT opportunities (accessed 2026-10-31)
EU Funding and Tenders Portal Online Manual (accessed 2026-10-31)
EU Grants: Annotated Grant Agreement (accessed 2026-10-31)
Horizon Europe proposal evaluation, standard briefing slides for experts (accessed 2026-10-31)
Evaluation form (HE EIC Pathfinder Open) (accessed 2026-10-31)
Eurostars, German Federal Ministry of Research (accessed 2026-10-31)

Checked the official European Commission, EIC, EIT, Funding and Tenders portal documents and German research ministry Eurostars pages on 2026-10-31; catalog figures come from the GrantSnap catalog as of 2026-10-31.

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