Within the scope of the European Innovation Council (EIC), there is an EIC Accelerator program to which SMEs and start-ups can apply on their own. The EIC Accelerator is a Horizon Europe mechanism that supports SMEs that have the potential to scale and want to implement an innovation idea that aims to create a new market or shake up the existing market.
The EIC Accelerator application process consists of two stages: Short Application and Full Application. You can find detailed information about the EIC Accelerator application processes here.
The “Plug-in” tool gives companies, already supported by national support programs approved by the European Commission, the right to make a Full Application directly to the EIC Accelerator Program without making a Short Application within a certain quota. A detailed evaluation and certification process has been carried out by the Commission to determine the programs suitable for the Plug-in mechanism.
As the announcement within the scope of the Türkiye-EU High-Level Dialogue on Science, Research, Technology and Innovation, which was held in Istanbul on 25 April 2024 and attended by our Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır and the European Union Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Iliana Ivanova stated:
Programs carried out by TÜBİTAK TEYDEB;
- 1501 Industrial R&D Projects Grant Program
- 1507 SME R&D Startup Support Program
- 1707 SME Support Program for Order-Based R&D Projects
have been officially approved by the European Commission to receive plug-in certification.
Thus, our companies supported by any of these programs in question will have the right to apply to TÜBİTAK in order to continue their relevant projects and, if they are deemed appropriate during the subsequent evaluation process, to make a Full Application directly to the EIC Accelerator Program without making a Short Application within a certain quota.