What is EIC Transition?

EIC Transition is the European Innovation Council's bridge instrument: it takes results already produced by an EU-funded research project and funds the next step — maturing the technology from lab validation (around TRL 4) to demonstration in relevant environments (TRL 5–6), while simultaneously developing the business case. Grants are typically up to €2.5 million at 100% funding.

The catch: you need a qualifying parent project

Unlike most EU calls, Transition is not open to any good idea. Your proposal must build on results from an eligible previous project — EIC Pathfinder, legacy FET actions, ERC Proof of Concept, and other categories listed in the current work programme. That provenance requirement keeps the applicant pool small, which is exactly why funding rates are relatively attractive for those who qualify.

Where it fits

Transition is the middle rung of the EIC ladder: Pathfinder (research) → Transition (validation + venture building) → Accelerator (scale-up with grant + equity). For university spinouts in space tech — propulsion, optical comms, in-orbit servicing — it is often the instrument that funds incorporation and the first commercial hires.

Both technology and business maturity are evaluated; a purely technical proposal without a credible commercialisation path scores poorly.

Official source: EIC — Transition. Eligible source-project categories change per work programme — always check the current annex.

Written by Tymofiy Badikov, founder of VIRA.space (Virtual Innovation Research Assistant) — operated by Space Tech Gateway Sp. z o.o., Kraków Technology Park. VIRA tracks live European space funding calls and checks your eligibility free: see live tenders.