Hub Optics & Photonics

PhotonQBoost is committed to empowering European SMEs to achieve sustainability, resilience, and global competitiveness by harnessing the transformative potential of Photonics and Quantum solutions. Recognizing, firstly, the challenges SMEs face in accessing and integrating these advanced technologies due to limited awareness and resource constraints, and, secondly, the potential that technology deployment represents to boost the sustainability and competitiveness of European industry, PhotonQBoost aims to serve as a gateway for European SMEs to match their sustainability and resilience challenges with the solutions offered by Photonics and Quantum technologies.
This will be done through a comprehensive pipeline of services, comprising advisory-driven innovation support, technology support and sustainability transition activities, complemented by piloting-driven projects funded under three FSTP open calls. More than €3,6 million will be spent on direct support services to the 600 SMEs that will be onboarded into PhotonQBoost service pipeline. These SMEs will achieve improved KPIs in terms of resource consumption, enhanced productivity and derisked supply chain disruptions.
The initiative is also dedicated to fostering cross-fertilization across countries and ecosystems, through matchmaking activities and delegation visits, thereby facilitating market access for SMEs and bridging gaps in knowledge, networks and infrastructure.
PhotonQBoost is a strong alliance of seven experienced European Photonics and Quantum clusters, four specialised consultancies and two Research and Technology Organisations, spread across nine EU Member States, that gathers a broad array of competencies. Altogether, PhotonQBoost members will help to consolidate an EU-wide Photonics and Quantum technological innovation ecosystem, ultimately contributing to Europe’s global leadership in both fields and to securing its strategic autonomy in critical technologies.

DEADLINE : 26 août 2025

HUB : Advanced Engineering & Computing

Optics & Photonics

The EU Business Hub – Japan and the Republic of Korea aims to boost the presence and visibility of EU companies operating in the green, digital, and healthcare sectors where potential for increased cooperation between European and Japanese and European and Korean companies exists.

The programme aims to strengthen EU businesses’ internationalisation, export and investment activities, as well as foster more resilient, sustainable, and technologically advanced value chains with the two Asian markets. Thus, significantly supporting the implementation of EU-RoK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The EU Business Hub will organise 10 business missions in Japan and 10 in the Republic of Korea over the next four years, each business mission allowing a group of approximately 50 innovative EU companies to benefit from extensive business coaching and B2B matchmaking. Participating companies are carefully selected based on criteria including their products and technologies, resources and capacity, as well as business strategy.

Business missions to Korea will encompass all three priority sectors, while business missions to Japan will target the green and digital sectors.

DEADLINE : 12 septembre 2025

HUB : Advanced Engineering & Computing

Digital Infrastructure Industrie & Services Optics & Photonics

Open Horizons proposes a novel approach towards covering the women-led companies funding and corporate network gap, by creating a full programme, from scratch, that relies in the work done by other initiatives (Women TechEU or Empowomen).
The consortium aims to invest 1.2M in startups and is comprised by an experienced consortium of partners as PEDAL (Reputed consultancy in EU projects also specialised in public procurement), SPLORO (experts on cascade funding) and INNOVX (EIC Partner and leading Accelerator).
Corporates are also linked to the proposal as partners like Migros (retail) or associated partners like Siemens Industry Software, Repsol (energy) and Stahl (Manufacturing) and planning to expand up to 10.
The projects structured approach includes identifying and formulating corporate challenges, inclusive talent scouting across Europe, and facilitating the funding and implementation of pilot projects within real-world corporate settings. Post-pilot, the programme focuses on expanding growth opportunities for startups by connecting them with investment channels and helping negotiate commercial agreements for long-term collaborations.
This comprehensive strategy not only provides a platform for women-led startups to showcase their innovations within major corporations but also integrates them into a broader corporate and innovation ecosystem, ensuring sustained growth and significant market presence.

DEADLINE : 21 août 2025

HUB : Advanced Engineering & Computing

Data Science & AI Digital Infrastructure Industrie & Services One Health Open Source Optics & Photonics Territoires