EIC Accelerator Challenge: Biotech for Regenerating Agricultural Soils

The European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenge DeepRAP (Deep Reasoning, Abstraction, and Planning) funds breakthrough research in cognitive AI at the earliest technology readiness levels (TRL 1-3). Awards of up to EUR 4 million support projects exploring fundamental advances in AI reasoning, abstraction, and planning capabilities that go beyond current pattern-recognition approaches. The challenge seeks research into AI systems capable of genuine logical reasoning, abstract thought, hierarchical planning, and transfer learning across domains — capabilities that current large language models and deep learning systems struggle to achieve reliably. Projects should propose novel architectures, algorithms, or theoretical frameworks that could enable AI systems to reason about novel situations, form and manipulate abstract concepts, and plan complex multi-step strategies. Like other EIC Pathfinder challenges, this programme does not require large consortia, making it accessible to individual researchers, small teams, and startups. The deadline is October 28, 2026.

The European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenge on Physical AI funds visionary research in embedded intelligence for autonomous robotics at the earliest technology readiness levels (TRL 1-3). Awards of up to EUR 4 million support projects exploring how AI can be physically embedded into robotic systems to achieve truly autonomous behavior in unstructured real-world environments. The challenge focuses on embodied intelligence — AI systems that learn and adapt through physical interaction with their environment rather than purely through data-driven approaches. Unlike most EU programmes, the EIC Pathfinder does not require large consortia, making it accessible to individual researchers, small university teams, and startups pursuing breakthrough concepts. This ARPA-style programme emphasizes high-risk, high-reward research that could fundamentally reshape autonomous robotics. The deadline is October 28, 2026. This is distinct from the EIC Pathfinder DeepRAP Challenge (focused on reasoning, abstraction, and planning in cognitive AI) and from Horizon Europe robotics calls that target higher TRL levels.

The Climate Change AI Innovation Grants program supports projects that address research and deployment challenges in climate change mitigation, adaptation, and climate science by leveraging AI and machine learning, while also creating publicly available datasets and tools to catalyze further work. The program enables key partnerships that accelerate the research-to-deployment cycle, creating synergies between academic researchers, nonprofits, startups and other companies, and governmental or intergovernmental organizations. Funded by the Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and Google DeepMind, with Future Earth serving as fiscal sponsor, this is one of the few dedicated grant programs specifically targeting the intersection of AI/ML and climate change. Projects typically involve climate modeling, weather prediction, emissions monitoring, energy optimization, biodiversity monitoring, and other environmental applications of machine learning. The 2026 competition opens with a full proposal deadline of September 15, 2026. The program has grown steadily since its inception, funding 23 projects to date across diverse climate domains and geographies.

Fostering cooperation and integration between SSH and STEM research and innovation in the EU is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Greater integration of SSH and STEM [1] research and innovation in R&I initiatives funded at EU level, national and/or regional level, as well as in R&I policies by promoting dialogue, mutual learning and strategic cooperation among research funders and policy makers in the EU. Developing and maintaining a new, common, comprehensive ‘Monitoring and Impact Evaluation Framework’ for SSH integration in current and future EU R&I initiatives. Enhanced facilitation of knowledge exploitation and support to the cooperation between projects and stakeholders, as well as R&I policies involved in projects and other types of cross-border networks dealing with SSH and STEM research and innovation. Scope: As mentioned in the Report ‘Align, Act, Accelerate: Research, Technology and Innovation to boost European Competitiveness’ [2] , European RD&I can provide a new understanding of and solutions to tackle societal challenges. Social sciences and humanities (SSH) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) improve the research activities, outcomes and impacts of Horizon Europe, because they enable a greater understanding of societal and competitiveness benefits. The cooperation of SSH and STEM in through trans- and interdisciplinary science is part of a science that is excellent, as it not only delivers excellence in the technical aspects, but also in taking account different societal needs. Thus, there is need for a leading role at European level for this cooperation. Proposals are expected to create an SSH-STEM Action, that focusses on SSH-STEM monitoring, SSH-STEM facilitation and SSH-STEM promotion, at European level, which should also include all the following aspects: 1. Monitoring : Monitoring is a major aspect of the essential activities [3] . The action should create a new strategy in the first year of the project with the aim to develop and to monitor the SSH-STEM research cooperation (e.g. A.I. search tools). This monitoring strategy should meet the following requirements: Applicants should provide a clear justification of what significant steps forward they propose regarding methodology compared to previous reporting on SSH-STEM collaboration (see relevant reports), data management, analytical methods, data collection. Robust open data driven approaches are strongly encouraged. Applicants should describe what steps they will undertake to ensure the delivery of reporting on a yearly basis, which should include the data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of SSH-STEM related cooperation data (in EU-funded projects in Horizon Europe where there is SSH-STEM cooperation). 2. Facilitation and promotion : Applicants should develop guidelines for SSH-STEM cooperation and support stakeholders in their projects when SSH-STEM cooperation is possible within the project, with a focus on increasing the quality and depth of cooperation and applying cooperation where most relevant. Applicants are encouraged to propose approaches, such as training to researchers on how to best integrate either STEM or SSH into their research. In addition, applicants should take into account the collaboration within SSH sciences on their own, as well as attention for not only quantitative SSH disciplines, but also qualitative SSH. The action should organize an annual event showcasing SSH and STEM cooperation; with exchanges with / for policy makers, best practice examples and showcasing funded projects/ programs at EU, national and other levels. The action is also expected to provide a quantitative and qualitative R&D evidence base on how to ensure that policies (including funding) aimed at stimulating research & innovation are appropriate for the sectors which have the greatest potential to contribute to Europe’s competitiveness. Applicants should propose evaluation metrics for SSH-STEM cooperation within research projects. 3. SSH/ Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Culture, creativity and inclusive society, Social and Economic Transformations Keywords: Innovation methodologies, Knowledge management, Project management and coordination, Types of innovation, SSH-Integration, STEM, concept construction, monitoring, social sciences and humanities