Two Irish SMEs have just been awarded European Innovation Council (EIC) grants, it has been announced.
They are among 64 game-changing European ‘green deal’ startups and SMEs that have been selected for a total of €307 million of EIC funding for contributing to the objectives of the European Green Deal Strategy and the Recovery Plan for Europe.
The two Irish SMEs are: NVP Energy Limited, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, which is to receive funding for its Ambi-Robic technology for treating municipal sewage wastewater; and GlasPort Bio Limited, Co Galway, which is to receive funding for its GasAbate N+ technology for removing greenhouse gas emissions from animal manure. Stored manures account for 16% of all GHG emissions from EU agriculture.
Innovative solutions
Overall, winning proposals range from innovative solutions for the automotive, aerospace and maritime sectors to advanced materials or Internet of Things technologies.
More than a third of the selected companies are led by women CEOs, which is a big increase (tripling) of the number in previous EIC funding rounds.
This increase reflects a pilot measure introduced for the first time in EIC funding which guaranteed at least a quarter of companies invited to the final interviews would have female CEOs.
The 64 startups and SMEs selected are based in wide range of countries, including 17 EU member states – seven of which are countries catching up in their R&I performance – making this the most geographically diverse EIC call so far.
‘Blended finance’
The results demonstrate the high demand for EIC ‘blended finance’, which combines grant and equity (38 companies, representing €182.6 million in equity investments).
Equity investments are through the recently established EIC Fund managing equity stakes on behalf of the European Commission. All selected companies also benefit from exclusive business acceleration services opportunities to support rapid growth and scale.
In addition, the EIC awarded 562 'Green Deal' Seals of Excellence to startups and SMEs to help these companies access funding from other sources.
The EIC is currently in a €3.3 billion pilot phase and is due to be fully fledged in 2021 as part of the new Horizon Europe programme.
In March 2020 the commission amended the pilot EIC 2020 Work Programme in order to include a €300 million budget through the EIC pilot Accelerator for funding game-changing, market-creating innovations that contribute to the goals of The European Green Deal and the UN’’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.