EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs)

EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) is sponsored by European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) under Horizon Europe. EIT KICs are Europe-wide networks addressing specific societal challenges by bringing together higher education institutions, research centers, businesses, investors, and public and non-profit organizations. EIT Manufacturing KIC is directly relevant to additive manufacturing.

About our Knowledge and Innovation Communities | EIT About our Knowledge and Innovation Communities EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities: addressing global challenges through partnerships EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) are Europe-wide networks focused on addressing specific societal challenges, ranging from sustainable energy and climate change to healthy food and green transport.

higher education institutions public and non-profit organisations Each KIC focuses on a specific societal challenge. Discover our Knowledge and Innovation Communities Support at every stage of your innovation journey By joining a KIC, you are not only connecting to a network but also learning and growing within it.

KICs can help you to: innovate products and services that address global needs ; start and develop your company ; learn new skills and develop knowledge across different technology domains . Local access through Co-Location Centres and Innovation Hubs Hubs are places where KIC partners come together for activities, workshops, networking and collaboration. We have Hubs in every European country and beyond.

Some Hubs specialise in specific fields or bring together particular types of partners that may be relevant to your interests. You can find the EIT Hub you’re most interested in working with through the EIT Ecosystem Map . Each KIC has its own structure.

KICs can choose their legal status, internal organisation and working methods to best support their strategic objectives. This autonomy enables them to adapt to new challenges and changing environments across Europe. A funding model that ensures accountability and integrity We support each of our KICs through grant agreements.

Funding is allocated directly to activities that: develop innovative products and services with a view to market uptake; support startups and other businesses to scale; educate students and equip people with new skills; contribute to building partnerships between higher education, research and business that foster innovation in Europe; support the operation of KICs; strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and capacity to address global challenges KICs are encouraged to generate revenues and leverage funding from sources outside the EIT, with the long-term objective of becoming financially sustainable.

Any additional funding must clearly contribute to the KIC’s strategy and objectives. Learn more about our innovation model In accordance with Article 31 of the Framework Financial Regulation , the EIT is required to publish information annually on awarded grants and grant recipients.

The list of grants awarded by the EIT between 2011 and 2022 and their recipients can be found below: The list of grants awarded by the EIT since 2023 and their recipients can be found on the Funding and Tenders Portal under the title “ EU-funded projects ”. You can see detailed information about the grants awarded by setting the programming period to 2021-2027, the programme to Horizon Europe, and the topic to HORIZON-EIT.

A model geared towards real impact We regularly monitor and assess the performance of KICs to support our objectives of strengthening Europe’s global competitiveness in innovation and addressing societal challenges.

This ensures that their strategies and activities: are aligned with EIT objectives and EU policy priorities; integrate a diverse range of organisations and deliver tangible benefits for the European economy and society, such as new businesses, sustainable products and services, and job creation; continuously improve in quality and strengthen risk-management practices.