In Innovation, Sustainability

Two calls are opened till 8 April 2022 to join business support programmes of the EIT Raw Materials: the accelerator programme for Start-ups and the booster programme for start-ups and SMEs.

The EIT Raw Materials is linked and funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an EU body funded by Horizon 2020. This major consortium brings together more than 120 partners in the raw materials sector. It aims to ensure the accessibility, availability and sustainable use of metal and mineral raw materials for the economy and citizens.

The EIT Raw Materials does not only cover “industrial” recycling projects for mineral and metal raw materials, but also

  • biomasses and polymers as substitutes for mineral and metal raw materials;
  • the whole value chain, including the design of products, services and new business models for resource recovery, the extension of product lifetime, products as a service, sharing platforms, etc.

The EIT Raw Materials has currently two interesting calls to join the programmes for business support. These calls do not require partners contrary to the Cluster 4 and Cluster 6 of Horizon Europe or the classic EIT Raw materials Call for innovation projects.

In both case, successful applicants get also access to the EIT RawMaterials network and they may become members.  Selected participants receiving funding will also be required to contribute to the financial sustainability strategy of EIT RawMaterials by an EIT RawMaterials Option for Equity participation (preferred) or a revenue sharing system.

Accelerator Programme for start-up

The Accelerator program is a tailored 3-phases program for start-up teams dedicated to introduce impact innovations (products and/or services) in the raw materials sector. Phase 1 is a 3 months program and is about building proof of concept for the business model in the targeted raw materials market segments. It starts with ideas at TRL 4-6 and aims to find a market niche, to develop a financial model and to build a business model. Selected Start-ups will receive 10K EUR funding to cover the costs for participating in phase 1 of Accelerator. The Accelerator call is open all year long with 2 cut-off dates for application, is open for Startups and the next deadline for applications is set on 8 April 2022. Startups (not for SME’s) interested in the RM Accelerator program should apply over here.

Start-up teams graduating from Phase 1 can then apply to the next phase of the program and get additional support from EIT RawMaterials to establish a viable business model, a commercial strategy and validate /test their offering with launching customers (Phase 2: duration 6 months) and eventually build their investment case, find enabling partners and scale their business (phase 3: duration 9 months). Start-ups selected for both Phase 2 and Phase 3 will receive up to 80K EUR funding.

In addition to customised support and funding, the selected start-ups will also gain access to the EIT RawMaterials partner network, participate in our networking events and gain visibility through EITRawMaterials channels. In the long-term, supported start-ups and SMEs may join our network as members and continue working with our partners to fully benefit from the ecosystem.

Booster programme for start-up & SMEs

The Booster program is tailored to support mature Startups and SME’s who need to achieve a pivotal milestone first to be able to move forward and introduce impact innovations in the raw materials sector. Thanks to this program, we have been able to support more than 200 start-ups in Europe, who in turn have demonstrated to be able to deliver significant impacts in the sector by: launching innovative products and services in the market, creating new jobs, attracting significant growth capital and by rapidly scaling their businesses. The booster call is open all year long with 3 cut-off dates for proposal submission (funding up to 200K EUR), is open for both Start-ups and SME’s and the next deadline for application is set on 8 April 2022. Startups and SMEs interested in the Booster program should apply over here. The next two deadlines will be 6 June and 5 September 2022. 

It is aimed at start-ups or SMEs that are not members of the EIT RawMaterials, but which could become members of the EIT at the end of the project (what will involve the payment of a membership fee) or contribute to the network created by that EIT in a different way (for instance through a backflow in revenue or equity sharing).  The booster support SMEs increasing the TRL from their technology or business model from at least TRL 4.

For more information, you can contact Camille Lépinay clepinay@hub.brussels who can put you in contact with the EIT Raw Materials colocation hub for Belgium.

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