More than 60 European startups developing breakthrough innovations are to receive a share of €363 million in new funding.
The 65 early stage companies selected by the European Commission’s European Innovation Council (EIC)will each get access to up to €17 million to accelerate and scale their innovations, which are in areas including digital technologies, energy, and biotechnology. They are first cohort of companies to be funded through the EIC Accelerator.
“The EIC Accelerator is a unique European funding instrument of the European Innovation Council,” said Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. “It supports the development of top-class innovations through crowding-in private investors and offers a portfolio of services to support their scaling-up. With the European Innovation Council we aim to bring Europe to the forefront of innovation and new technologies, by investing in new solutions for the health, environmental and societal challenges we are facing.”
Kaffe Bueno, which converts by-products from coffee into new ingredients used in a variety of goods – and featured on these pages last year, is among the 64.
“When we brew a cup of coffee, less than 1% of these compounds are being utilised. The remains stay intact in the coffee grounds, which are usually disposed as waste,” said Alejandro Franco, Chief Commercial Officer and Co-Founder at Kaffe Bueno, a Danish biotech startup dedicated to unlocking coffee´s health potential. “Through Kaffe Bueno’s circular biorefinery model, we are able to utilise the remaining 99% in the most valuable way.”
The €2.5 Million grant Kaffe Bueno has received from the EIC will be used to build Europe’s first coffee biorefinery.
Discover more about the other 65 companies selected.
Applications for EIC Accelerator funding can be submitted at any time through the EIC platform. Keep an eye on our challenges page for initiatives targeting innovators and sign up for our newsletter to get all the latest challenges and funding news direct to your inbox.
