EU programmes · European Commission (European Innovation Council, Horizon Europe)
The EIC's flagship instrument for deep-tech scale-up, combining grants below €2.5 million with equity investments of €1-10 million. Following the Defence Mini-Omnibus, the EIC work programme 2026 was amended on 17 June 2026 to open the Accelerator and STEP Scale Up to dual-use and defence technologies, including AI, quantum, advanced materials and robotics. Short applications can be submitted at any time; full proposals go to fixed cut-offs.
The only EU instrument giving a single dual-use company both grant and equity with no consortium requirement; since June 2026 you no longer need to disguise defence relevance as purely civil.
European Commission (DG DEFIS), with EUSPA and the EIF
Space is treated as dual-use across EU funding; CASSINI gives space-defence start-ups an equity pipeline and visibility instruments that stack with EDF and EUDIS applications.
European Investment Fund with the European Commission, under InvestEU
Not a programme you apply to as a company, but it determines which European VCs have fresh defence-mandated capital; track its fund commitments to know who can actually write you a cheque.
European Investment Bank Group
Debt, not grants: the EIB now finances defence companies that banks still avoid, and venture debt from its one-stop shop can extend runway without dilution once you have revenue or strong contracts.