March 07, 2024 -- The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 27 projects for follow on funding to scale up key quantum, health and measurement technologies.

The 27 were selected from 257 eligible submissions receive a grant of up to €2.5 million. The selected participants come from 16 EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries, with one from the UK.

EIC Transition funding provides follow up funding to results achieved by EIC Pathfinder, FET (Future and Emerging Technologies), and European Research Council Proof of Concept projects for early stage startups. 12 projects were funded under the Open scheme with no predefined thematic priorities, with 4 under the “Chip-scale optical frequency combs” Challenge.

QlibriNANO in Germany for example is developing the world’s most sensitive absorption microscope, enabling the detection, imaging, characterization, understanding and development of nanoscale matter using hyperspectral imaging with an optical microresonator instead of a conventional objective.

The COCOPOP (yes, really) project in Ireland is developing the first coherent-capable external laser source (ELS) for coherent communication in photonic quantum systems. Pilot Photonics in Ireland has the €2.5m funding to commercialise a co-packaged frequency comb design with larger linewidth, higher relative intensity noise, output power, and wavelength stability. This comes from the synchronisation and locking of independent lasers with a low linewidth, frequency-locked optical frequency comb (OFC).

The Italian National Metrology Institute is developing advanced lasers for quantum technologies while Chalmers University in Sweden is developing adaptive microcombs for innovative connectivity in datacentre applications and optical clocks.

In healthtech, Azalea Vision in Belgium is developing a graphene-based artificial iris for active light management in a smart contact lens, while the Georg-August University in Goettingen, Germany, is developing a near natural hearing restoration through waveguide-based optical cochlear implants.

High-temperature oxygen batteries for Industrial Internet of Things are being developed at the Research Institute of Catalunya in Spain, while an anticounterfeiting system based on integrated circuits implementing high-entropy physical unclonable functions (PUF) is funded at Quantavis in Italy.

Quantum technologies are also a key area for EIC and Riverlane in the UK has the €2.5m funding to commercialise real-time quantum decoders for reliable quantum computing while Welinq in France is developing industrial-grade Quantum Memory Links for the Quantum Internet.

The selected projects will have access to EIC Business Acceleration Services including coaching, mentoring, and partnering events. Projects are also eligible for the fast-track scheme to access the EIC Accelerator for supporting the commercialisation and scale up phases.

Under the 2024 work programme the next cut-off date for EIC Transition applications is 18 September.