European Commission announces 8 startups for STEP funding; 3 are from the Netherlands
In a major boost to Europe’s strategic technology sector, the European Commission (EC) has announced a fresh batch of companies that are poised to receive considerable scale-up investments. This funding will be provided through the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Scale-Up call, an initiative designed to bridge the funding gap necessary for scaling up breakthrough innovations across Europe. The EC has proposed a total of €171M for equity investments in these innovative firms, a decision that awaits further evaluation by the EIC Fund. The source report can be found Here.
Scale-Up Investments: A Range of €10M to €30M
The EIC STEP Scale-Up scheme is set to make investments ranging from €10M to €30M per company, with the aim of attracting private co-investment. This strategy is expected to enable financing rounds that could potentially reach between €50M and €150M, or even more.
Of the 51 companies that submitted proposals, 36 were invited for interviews with independent high-level experts, and only eight companies passed the stringent selection criteria and are now under consideration for funding by the EIC Fund.
Pioneering Companies in Focus
The selected companies are at the forefront of strategic technologies that are crucial for Europe’s future. The companies list includes Aldoria from France that is working on optimising and securing space operations, Focused Energy from Germany that is innovating with laser-driven fusion technology, and Leyden Laboratories from the Netherlands that is developing solutions to combat respiratory viruses.
Also on the list are Marvel Fusion from Germany that is building a laser-driven fusion power plant, Nexwafe from Germany that is creating next-generation solar wafers, Qphox from the Netherlands that is designing scalable, high-performance quantum processors, Quandela from France that is developing photonic quantum computers, and Smart Photonics from the Netherlands that is producing next-generation chips.
Recognition for Exceptional Potential
Despite not being selected for funding, 21 other companies demonstrated exceptional potential. These companies, along with the eight selected ones, will receive the STEP Seal. This recognition will aid them in accessing additional funding sources and availing the EIC Business Acceleration Services, further propelling the growth of strategic technologies in Europe.
Future Prospects of the EIC STEP Scale-Up Call
The EIC STEP Scale-Up call is set to continue, with a budget of €300M allocated for both 2025 and 2026. This initiative, which has attracted high demand, aims to provide larger investments in companies developing strategic technologies to bring them to the market and reduce strategic dependencies. The funding scheme is an effort to accelerate growth in selected companies by boosting the financing rounds that will scale breakthrough critical technologies in Europe. The call will remain open for submissions on the Funding and Tenders portal, with evaluation sessions scheduled quarterly.
