The European Union (EU) will invest €1.4bn ($1.5bn) to advance the deep tech sector within the region next year.

The funding provided by the European Innovation Council (EIC) will support “high-potential startups” and research initiatives.

The launch EIC Work Programme 2025 by the European Commission (EC) raised the previous year’s budget by nearly €200m to €1.4bn.

The 2025 programme will introduce key enhancements, including the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) scale-up scheme, which is designed to enable access to increased equity funding.

The STEP Scale-up scheme, following the STEP regulation adopted earlier this year, will start with a budget of €300m, projected to increase to €900m by 2027.

It will provide substantial investments, ranging from €10-€30m, through the EIC Fund to support companies introducing strategic technologies to the EU market.

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The goal is also to attract private co-investment.

The EIC has recognised “a market gap” in scale-up funding for deep tech in Europe and targets sectors such as digital, clean, and resource-efficient technologies, including biotechnology and net-zero tech.

The STEP scheme will address the market gap, the EC noted.

In addition to the STEP initiative, the EIC plans to allocate €994m across various key areas.

Funds will support early-stage technology R&D, practical research applications, and startups and SMEs in developing, commercialising, and scaling their innovations.

The remaining budget will be distributed through ‘EIC Challenges’, focusing on emerging technologies such as autonomous robots, climate-resilient crops, and genAI.

European Commission Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth commissioner Iliana Ivanova said: “ The European Innovation Council has emerged as a gamechanger in EU support to breakthrough innovation. In 2025, it will boost EU deep tech with even more resources, amounting to €1.4bn from Horizon Europe, our research and innovation programme.

“The targeted support, especially through the STEP scale-up call, will help bridge critical funding gaps and build a stronger, more resilient innovation ecosystem in Europe.”