The European Commission has announced a new group of deep tech companies that will receive large-scale equity investments through the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Scale Up scheme
These companies are expected to receive €171 million in equity support as soon as the EIC Fund finalises its decision.
This announcement is another step in the EU’s efforts to accelerate the growth of companies developing technologies deemed critical to Europe’s long-term competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
Closing the scale-up funding gap
The EIC STEP Scale Up scheme offers investments between €10 million and €30 million per company, designed to attract substantial private co-investment.
With targeted financing rounds of €50 million to €150 million or more, the programme aims to fill a persistent funding gap that has long prevented European deep tech firms from scaling globally.
The call for the EIC STEP Scale Up scheme received 51 proposals from companies, and 36 were invited to interviews with independent, high-level experts. From these, eight companies successfully met all selection criteria and will now proceed to the investment assessment phase.
The eight companies advancing strategic European technologies
The selected companies represent a diverse set of technologies pivotal to the EU’s strategic priorities:
- Aldoria (France) – Enhancing the safety and optimisation of space operations.
- Focused Energy (Germany) – Developing laser-driven fusion concepts.
- Leyden Laboratories (Netherlands) – Working on new solutions to protect populations from respiratory viruses.
- Marvel Fusion (Germany) – Building a next-generation laser-driven fusion power plant.
- Nexwafe (Germany) – Producing advanced, more efficient solar wafers.
- Qphox (Netherlands) – Creating scalable, high-performance quantum processors.
- Quandela (France) – Advancing photonic quantum computing systems.
- Smart Photonics (Netherlands) – Manufacturing next-generation photonic chips.
These companies reflect Europe’s focus on quantum technologies, clean and net-zero solutions, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing.
STEP seal awarded to high-quality runners-up
In addition to the eight selected firms, 21 other companies that performed strongly in the evaluation process but could not be funded in this round due to budget constraints will receive the STEP Seal.
The STEP Seal label is intended to help them attract alternative financing and access EIC Business Acceleration Services, increasing their visibility to investors and partners across Europe’s innovation landscape.
High demand continues for 2025-2026
The EIC STEP Scale Up call carries a budget of €300 million for 2025, with the same level of funding planned for 2026. The strong demand for the scheme underscores the growing need for substantial, late-stage investment opportunities for deep-tech companies in Europe.
The call remains continuously open on the EU’s Funding and Tenders Portal, with quarterly evaluations. For 2026, proposals will be reviewed in batches on 11 February, 6 May, 9 September, and 25 November.
Supporting Europe’s strategic technologies
The EIC STEP Scale Up initiative is part of the EU’s broader effort to strengthen technological sovereignty across digital technologies, clean and resource-efficient solutions, and biotechnologies.
By focusing on companies capable of delivering breakthrough innovations at scale, the programme aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on external technologies and ensure long-term economic and industrial resilience.
