The selected startups emerge from a process in which 347 companies were interviewed by juries composed of investors and entrepreneurs. In total, 969 startups applied for the EIC Accelerator. The 68 selected companies will receive a total of 411 million euros in the form of grants and equity investments. The total sum is divided into 165 million euros for grants and an estimated 245 million euros for equity investments. The latter are based on the average amount of investments made by the EIC Fund as part of Horizon Europe. The startups can therefore each expect around 2.5 million euros in funding. The equity investment ranges from 0.5 to 15 million euros.
The selected companies are geographically distributed across 17 countries. 21 percent of the selected companies are led by women. In this round, seven startups from Munich secured funding: Dcubed, Kiutra, Marvel Fusion, Phlair (formerly Carbon Atlantis), Proxima Fusion, Tozero, and Turn2x.
Dcubed
The Munich spacetech Dcubed develops and distributes, among other things, actuators – triggering mechanisms for deployable structures such as antennas or sails – for the commercial space industry and nanosatellites. The startup has also expanded into the field of 3D printing. In February 2025, Dcubed wants to demonstrate how the back structure of a solar module is 3D-printed directly in orbit during deployment.
Kiutra
Kiutra develops fully automated cooling solutions for generating extremely low temperatures near absolute zero at -273°C. The Munich-based company uses a magnetic cooling process that – compared to conventional helium-based cooling methods – is considered extremely user-friendly, low-maintenance, and scalable. This allows the startup to enable the operation of quantum technologies on an industrial scale.
Marvel Fusion
The Munich startup Marvel Fusion is working on laser-based fusion technology for energy generation. The startup’s technology is designed to enable fusion reactions and energy generation to be triggered much more efficiently compared to the current standard. The company uses special nanostructuring of its fuel targets to precisely control the conversion of laser energy into fusion-relevant particles. In this way, less energy would need to be expended than before to heat the fuel plasma to the temperatures required for the fusion process.
Phlair
Phlair (formerly Carbon Atlantis) develops an electrochemical direct air capture process for CO2. The separated gas is either permanently stored or used in carbon-neutral or carbon-negative products, such as in cement production or the chemical industry (Carbon Capture Use and Storage, CCUS). This makes the system cost-effective, modular, and scalable, according to the startup.
Proxima Fusion
With Proxima Fusion, a second Munich fusion startup makes the list. The spin-off from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) pursues the magnetic-based fusion approach and works on the principle of optimized quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators and high-temperature superconductors. The startup uses the results of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) experiment, the world’s largest stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics.
Tozero
Tozero has set itself the goal of building Europe’s leading recycling plant for lithium-ion batteries, with a focus on the sustainable recovery of critical materials such as lithium and graphite. By reintroducing these materials into the supply chain, the startup wants to support the production of new batteries and promote a circular economy. Last year, Tozero opened its pilot plant and has already celebrated its first commercial delivery of recycled lithium from battery waste.
Turn2x
Turn2x develops so-called RNG plants, in which renewable natural gas (RNG) is produced from water and carbon dioxide. Through electrolysis, hydrogen is first produced from water, and by the addition of biogenic CO2, which is produced for example when biomass is burned, methane, i.e., biogas, is then generated. Turn2x’s modular RNG plants are designed to replace fossil fuels. By 2030, the startup aims to avoid 23 million tons of CO2 in this way.
Application deadlines at the EIC Accelerator
Startups can continue to apply to the EIC Accelerator with their ideas. They can submit their documents at any time, and these should be evaluated within approximately four weeks. Those who meet the EIC criteria will be asked to submit a full proposal and submit it by one of the regular deadlines. The next deadline for this is October 3, 2024.
