European Innovation Council Transition Call – 40 Projects Selected

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 40 projects following the 2024 EIC Transition call, the most popular so far in terms of numbers of submissions. Significant proportion of those projects originates from the European Innovation Council Proof of Concept projects (19). It is also the first time when actions stemming from Horizon Europe pillar 2 and Horizon 2020 societal challenges and Leadership in Industrial Technologies could apple for the scheme. Each of these successful proposals, selected among 390 eligible submissions, will receive a grant of up to €2.5 million. The selected participants come from 21 EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries. This funding stream, which has no predefined thematic restrictions, welcomes proposals from all fields of science, technology, and application.

Some examples include:

• HeartWise

The HeartWise initiative aims to revolutionise right ventricular (RV) support with a dedicated device tailored to disease and eliminating the need for external power sources or control units. The project integrates two Proof of Concept technologies: circulation support devices that operate without external power and patient-specific customised cardiovascular surgical planning. HeartWise aims to advance a revolutionary, fully implantable mechanical circulatory support (MCS) prototype, similar to an artificial mechanical heart, for practical clinical implementation.

• FOREVER-WATER

To date, more than 150,000 sites have been identified across Europe and US as contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals due to their extreme persistency in our environment and bodies. Exposure to PFAS is associated with multiple health risks, such as thyroid disease, infertility, cancer, and immunotoxicity.

The project is developing a sustainable, chemical-free treatment system. Using innovative graphene-enabled electrochemical technology, validated in real-world conditions, from groundwater to industrial wastewater, the project targets efficient PFAS destruction.

• UPSPRING

This project seeks to revolutionise microelectronics by drastically reducing energy consumption in chips by up to 1,000 times. The development of the new FerroElectric Spin-Orbit (FESO) device targets both performance enhancement and alignment with EU environmental sustainability goals. UPSPRING contributes to the EU’s ambition of attaining a 20% share in the global semiconductor market, thus bolstering European digital sovereignty.

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