The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected the next set of proposals under the 2023 EIC Pathfinder Open call. 53 new projects will receive up to €169.5m to develop cutting-edge technologies throughout a wide range of fields, including health, artificial intelligence, computing, environment, and energy.

A total of 783 applications were submitted (6.77% success rate), with the highest number of selected applicants coming from France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Participants mostly come from higher education and research organisations, with SMEs accounting for around 18% of participants.

In addition to the grant funding, selected proposals will receive bespoke coaching under the EIC Business Acceleration Services.

Examples of selected projects are:

• E-COOL – A holistic approach of electric motor cooling: E-COOL develops a holistic cooling technology for electric motors, maximising heat transfer through direct-contact spray cooling optimised with the aid of new Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. The project aims to provide unprecedented cooling rates at local temperature hot spots. The proposed cooling system will significantly contribute to reduce the excess of heat generated during power-demanding operations, making the employment of electric motors in commercial or heavy-duty vehicles possible, for example in earth-moving machines and aircrafts.

• ICONIC – In-situ and operando organic electrochemical transistors monitored by non-destructive spectroscopies for organic CMOS-like neuromorphic circuits: The ICONIC project will develop ultra-flexible, conformable and implantable artificial intelligence organic electronic devices which hold promise to revolutionize the real-time monitoring and treatment of chronic diseases. ICONIC will combine macromolecular synthesis with in-situ and operando non-destructive spectroscopic methods in an innovative way to investigate with unprecedented accuracy ion-to-electron transduction in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), from the molecular to the micrometre scale. In a long-term vision, healthcare devices will enable signal recognition with body-friendly electronics and administer medication without the risk of human error.

• 4TunaTES – For tunable thermochemical energy storage: 4TunaTES will unlock the potential thermal energy storage by delivering a ground-breaking flexible Thermo-Chemical Energy Storage (TCES) technology that can be easily adapted to different applications (variable in- and output temperatures) and thereby reduce the development costs by 90%. 4TunaTES will develop a TCES-prototype that can be also used for domestic use and addresses different challenges in terms of materials used, heat exchanging components with a high degree of manufacturing flexibility, and revolutionary systems with electricity adapted thermodynamic cycles.

• FASTCOMET – Future Data Storage Using Colloidal Memory Technology: Fastcomet will develop a new concept for low-cost, high-storage-density memories which are urgently needed to keep storage capabilities in line with the growing demand. It is based on a colloidal memory concept in which colloidal nanoparticles are considered data carriers. The long-term aim is to develop an integrated device that is able to store data using nanoparticles smaller than 15 nm. This would ultimately result in ultra-high bit densities exceeding 100 Gbit per square millimetre and potentially reaching 1 Tbit square millimetre at a lower cost than existing data storage technologies.

Background information

The EIC Pathfinder scheme supports the exploration of bold ideas for radically new technologies. It welcomes the high-risk/high gain and interdisciplinary cutting-edge science collaborations that underpin technological breakthroughs.

Grants of up to €3m (Pathfinder Open call – fully bottom-up) or up to €4m (Pathfinder Challenges call – with thematic priorities) support early-stage development of future technologies (e.g. various activities at low Technology Readiness Levels 1-3), up to proof of concept.  EIC Pathfinder projects benefit from interactions with EIC Programme Managers and can receive additional funding for testing the innovation potential of their research outputs or for working across projects for portfolio actions. In addition, promising results can receive substantial follow up funding through the EIC Transition scheme to create a commercial venture or use the Fast Track scheme to access the EIC Accelerator to bring innovations to the market.

The EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2023 call opened on 20 June 2023 and will be closed on 18th October 2023 at 4.00pm BST/5.00pm CET.