Can my startup get an EU grant?
Yes, if it is a legal entity in an EU Member State or an associated country and the call's eligible applicants include companies. Each call page states both, and whether you can apply alone. Whether you are competitive is a separate question: the call's fit with your project and the field you are up against decide it.
Sources: Horizon Europe: how to apply, European Research Executive Agency, SME definition, European Commission. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
How much funding can my startup get from an EU grant?
It depends on the call. Of the open calls, 932 publish a maximum award. EU calls award a median €4.8M per project, shared across a consortium; national schemes a median €50k; calls open to a single company a median €25k. The EIC Accelerator pays a grant below €2.5M and equity of €1M to €10M.
Sources: last night's read of every open call, EIC Accelerator, European Innovation Council. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
How does non-dilutive funding work?
A grant pays part of your project's costs, takes no shares and is not repaid as long as you meet its conditions. Horizon Europe pays 70% of eligible costs on innovation actions for companies and 100% on research actions, or a fixed lump sum per work package, with the first payment within 30 days of signature by default.
Two things are not grants: the EIC Accelerator's equity, which is an investment in your company, and the national schemes that are loans. Each call page says which it is.
Sources: Horizon Europe Programme Guide, European Commission, Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement, European Commission, EIC Accelerator, European Innovation Council. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
Who is eligible for the EIC Accelerator?
A single startup or SME in an EU Member State or associated country, with deep tech that has completed TRL 5, applying alone. Small mid caps of up to 499 employees only in exceptional cases. It funds a grant below €2.5M, equity of €1M to €10M, or both. After three unsuccessful submissions you cannot apply again under Horizon Europe.
Sources: EIC Accelerator, European Innovation Council, EIC Accelerator FAQs, European Innovation Council. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
When is the next EIC Accelerator deadline?
4 Nov 2026, for full proposals. Short proposals can be submitted at any time and are batched for evaluation on the first Tuesday of each month. The EIC Work Programme 2026 sets 6 cut-offs: 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September and 4 November.
Source: EIC Work Programme 2026, European Innovation Council. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
What are the eligibility requirements for Eurostars?
An innovative SME from a Eurostars country leads the project, with at least one independent partner from another Eurostars country, and at least one of the countries in the EU or associated to Horizon Europe. SMEs carry 50% or more of the budget, no single partner or country carries more than 70%, and the project runs 36 months or less. Each participant is funded by its own national agency under that agency's rules. One Eurostars call is open now, closing 4 Mar 2027.
Sources: Eurostars eligibility, Eureka network, last night's read of every open call. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
What are the chances of winning an EU grant?
Across closed Horizon Europe calls in the same topic areas as today's open calls, 12,750 of 82,794 submitted proposals were funded: 15%. For the six Pillar II clusters alone, it is 1,613 of 10,655: 15%. The European Commission puts the whole programme at 16% for its first three years, with nearly 7 in 10 proposals rated high quality left unfunded for lack of budget, and the main EIC calls at about 5% in 2024. The rate differs by call and by year. Being eligible is the first step, not the hard one.
Sources: proposals submitted from the European Commission's call notices on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, projects funded from CORDIS, Horizon Europe: research and innovation at the heart of competitiveness, European Commission, April 2025. Checked 1 Oct 2026.
Do I need a consortium to apply for an EU grant?
For most Horizon Europe calls, yes: at least three organisations from different countries. The EIC Accelerator and most national schemes take a single company. Of the open calls, 727 accept a single company and 421 need partners; the other 283 do not say.
Sources: Horizon Europe: how to apply, European Research Executive Agency, last night's read of every open call. Checked 1 Oct 2026.