Scaling up Strategic Defence Technologies under the European Innovation Council: an Information Event Was Held for Participants from Ukraine
On October 12, the European Innovation Council (EIC), in collaboration with Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine 2.0, NRFU, held an information event dedicated to the EIC STEP Defence Scale Up call 2026 – Ukraine Info Event. The online event brought together researchers and innovators focused on defence and dual-use technologies.
The event was moderated by Marco Grancagnolo, Head of the Sector EIC Accelerator, who welcomed the participants and gave a brief presentation on the grant support instruments. Olga Polotska, Executive Director of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, also gave a welcome speech. She highlighted the role of the Office 2.0, whose efforts ensured the event received appropriate coverage and attracted participants. She also emphasised that Ukrainian defence companies are among the most innovative in the world, and that, thanks to European support, our country’s defence industry is developing and producing cutting-edge technologies that protect Ukrainian lives every day and demonstrate just how important Ukraine’s security is to Europe. This is precisely why European investment in Ukrainian defence innovations is so important.
Paola Lo Bue Oddo, EIC Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, EC, spoke about the implementation of policy initiatives that encourage investment in defence innovation and dual-use technologies within EU grant programmes, including Horizon Europe. Such policy decisions respond to geopolitical threats, foremost among them russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, and are aimed at strengthening Europe’s industrial and defence technology base.
In particular, from June 2026, the EIC Accelerator and the EIC STEP Scale Up calls will be open to dual-use technologies until Horizon Europe’s deadline date. Other new initiatives include STEP Scale Up Defence Call.
Susana Getman, EIC Accelerator Evaluation Team Leader, presented in detail the procedure for evaluating project proposals and the novelties regarding dual-use technologies. She emphasised that the calls are individual and clarified the eligibility criteria, which apply to start-ups, SMEs (up to 299 employees) and mid-cap companies (up to 499 employees). The EIC Accelerator offers several funding opportunities (grant only, grant and investment, investment only) to support breakthrough innovations in “deep” technologies, which require substantial long-term funding and are too risky for individual private investors.
Moreover, the speaker highlighted the dual-use of the innovations in the EIC calls, which are in demand in both the civil and defence markets. She emphasised that project proposals for the development of dual-use technologies are evaluated with the same criteria as those for only civil applications, without any preferention.
Catalin Ticheru, Project Adviser, EIC Accelerator, provided information on the EIP’s call for proposals on scaling up strategic critical technologies, the key technological application areas in accordance with the Regulation on the European Platform for Strategic Critical Technologies, beneficiaries, eligibility criteria for participation, etc. In particular, support within the framework of the call is provided exclusively in the form of investments ranging from 10 to 30 million euros per project, along with services to prepare for the main funding rounds (from 50 to 150 million euros). The speaker outlined the criteria and stages for evaluating project proposals, which generally align with the evaluation criteria of the EIC Accelerator.
For her part, Project Officer Maria Romero gave a detailed presentation on the EIC STEP Scale Up Defence Call, which helps ambitious start-ups developing critical innovative technologies in the defence sector to gain access to investment. The call topics priorities cover a wide range of technologies, from air defence systems, missiles, drones and anti-drone interceptors to electronic systems, cyber defence and AI. The specialist therefore emphasised in particular that any developments, technologies or services proposed under the call must be exclusively for defence purposes.
Maria Romero also provided information on the countries eligible to participate in the call, which includes Ukraine. She highlighted the criteria for funding, limited-access information, and limits regarding the control of potential participating companies by legal entities or individuals from third, non-associated countries.
Apart from that, a Q&A Session took place at the end of the event, during which participants submitted their questions and received immediate answers directly from the speakers. The information session attracted considerable interest and provided an excellent opportunity for Ukrainian researchers and innovators to gain useful insights into the EIC calls for the defence and dual-use technologies.
Igor Taranov, Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU, summed up the event. He thanked all the speakers for their high-quality and insightful presentations and outlined three key takeaways from the event. The Head of the Office highlighted the high potential of Ukraine’s research and innovation community, which continues to demonstrate exceptional resilience, technical excellence and close alignment with Europe’s strategic priorities. He also emphasised the effective support provided to the potential applicants by the European Innovation Council, Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine 2.0 and the National Contact Points network.
“Navigating the funding rules and selection criteria for Horizon Europe calls can be challenging, but you will not be alone in this process. The EIC, as well as the Office and our network of NCPs, are fully committed to supporting you at every stage of preparing your project proposals,” – understate Igor Taranov.
In conclusion, he noted that the event had explored specific pathways, funding mechanisms and the strategic objectives of the EIC’s initiatives: Accelerator, STEP Scale Up and STEP Scale Up Defence Call, which will enable Ukrainian companies to take the next steps. The Head of the Office therefore urged participants to learn all the materials, to ask questions and to take proactive steps to build competitive consortia and draft project proposals.
We should remind you that on September 16, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on our country’s participation in the European Defence Fund (EDF) Programme. Since then Ukraine has become an associated country to the EDF Programme and can now participate in its projects as a beneficiary / coordinator.
