EU funding is a public mechanism that helps European innovators to support the growth and development of their high-impact technologies. Innovators access funding through peer-evaluated calls for proposals under specific EU programmes. Successful applicants receive funding to offset eligible costs and/or support the development and scale-up of their solutions.
EU funding can be, however, complex. The opportunity needs to match the company’s technology, development stage, objectives and timing. Therefore, assessing your company’s relevance against these programmes is crucial. To help you in this task, we take the liberty of answering some of the most frequently asked questions.
Are you eligible for EU funding?
Essential: an organisation is a legal entity incorporated in an EU Member State or an eligible Associated Country, and is proposing a project in scope of the relevant programme and call.
Each programme/call may then have specific participant eligibility criteria/focus, such as:
- SMEs and startups established in EU Member States and/or associated countries
- Universities, research organisations and other academic institutions
Most EU programmes require a consortium, while there are others allowing individual organisations to apply.
How much money do you get with public funding?
Funding rates for EU projects vary significantly (generally from 50–100%) depending on:
- The features of the call/programme
- The technology maturity (higher technical maturity usually implies lower funding rate)
- Nature of the applicant (SME, university, large enterprise, etc.)
- Bonuses
What are the primary types of EU funding for biotech, foodtech and cleantech?
The EU delivers different funding programmes depending on the scope, maturity and objectives.
For biotech, foodtech and cleantech innovators, some of the most relevant programmes include:
- Horizon Europe: Cluster 6 and Cluster 5
- Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), focused on competitive circular bio-based industries
- LIFE, focused on environmental, nature and climate action
- EU Innovation Fund, focused on the deployment of innovative low-carbon and net-zero technologies
The right programme depends on the specific case. There is no single EU grant that is universally “best” for a startup.
What is the EU Horizon Europe Programme?
Horizon Europe is the EU’s main research and innovation funding programme for 2021–2027, with an indicative budget of €93.5 billion following the programme’s mid-term review.
For biotech, foodtech and cleantech innovators, two particularly relevant areas are:
- Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, particularly relevant to biotech and foodtech
- Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility, particularly relevant to cleantech
Horizon Europe also includes the European Innovation Council (EIC), which supports high-risk, high-impact innovation across sectors without the need of a consortium. EIC is sector-agnostic and extremely competitive, as well as, in our view, often NOT a good first choice as EU grant to apply for, especially when sector specific alternatives are available.
What is CBE JU?
The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) is a partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), and it operates under Horizon Europe.
It supports projects that contribute to competitive circular bio-based industries, including the development and deployment of technologies that can replace fossil-based resources with renewable biomass and waste.
CBE JU is particularly relevant to projects involving biotechnology, biomanufacturing, bio-based materials, chemicals, food ingredients and circular value chains.
For example, the 2026 CBE JU call allocated €170.7 million across 13 topics, covering Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions, Flagship projects and Coordination and Support Actions.
What is the EU LIFE Programme?
The LIFE Programme is the EU’s dedicated funding instrument for environment, nature and climate action.
For 2021–2027, LIFE has a budget of approximately €5.4 billion and covers four areas:
- Nature and biodiversity
- Circular economy and quality of life
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation
- Clean energy transition
LIFE can be particularly relevant for innovators moving from technology development towards demonstration and deployment where the project can demonstrate a clear environmental or climate impact, via the so called SAP or “standard action projects”.
Unlike many collaborative Horizon Europe and CBE JU calls, LIFE does not generally require a consortium. The appropriate structure depends on the specific action and call.
What is the EU Innovation Fund?
The Innovation Fund supports the demonstration and deployment of innovative low-carbon and net-zero technologies with significant potential for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
It covers areas including energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, energy storage, carbon capture and storage/use, and other eligible net-zero technologies.
The programme places strong emphasis on:
- greenhouse gas emissions avoidance
- degree of innovation
- project maturity
- scalability or replicability
- cost efficiency
Importantly, Innovation Fund covers a broad scope of budget, covering up to the impressive 200 Million EUR of foreseen CAPEX per project. The programme also includes smaller scale CAPEX projects such as for example at €7.5 million or €20 million or €50 million among others, thus potentially fitting well with different project sizes. This makes Innovation Fund particularly relevant to mature cleantech projects with a credible route towards deployment and significant emissions-reduction potential.
Can startups apply for EU grants?
Yes, and you should… BUT eligibility does not mean suitability for every programme. We know that typically start-up internal resources are limited, and both time and money should be in fact well managed and stay focused, as opposed to chasing grant programmes for the sake of it.
For a startup to use EU funding effectively to de-risk investment, reduce development costs or accelerate growth, it is strongly recommended to think about grants as part of a multi-year funding strategy, rather than as an isolated application.
Ideally, companies should look 1–3 years ahead and map potential funding opportunities against their expected technology development, investment needs, commercial milestones and organisational growth.
By doing so, you will always be ready, not missing any opportunity because the company is not yet ready, nor pursuing the wrong programme at the wrong stage of development.
Ready to explore your EU funding opportunities?
Finding the right EU funding opportunity is about more than identifying an open call. It requires understanding where your technology is today and where you want to take it.
At Magfi, we help biotech, foodtech and cleantech innovators to identify relevant funding opportunities, assess strategic fit and build a funding roadmap aligned with their development and growth plans.
If you are planning your next stage of innovation and want to understand which EU funding opportunities could be relevant to your business, get in touch with our team to explore your options. You can contact us via LinkedIn or via our website.