EIT Call for Proposals 2025 for a new KIC on Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems (EIT Water)

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is a key driver of sustainable European economic growth and competitiveness. It reinforces the innovation capacity of the EU and its Member States to address the grand challenges facing European society. 

An EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) promotes connectivity at all levels. It is an integrated partnership bringing together leading companies, higher education institutions, research organisations and other stakeholders in the innovation process to tackle pressing societal challenges through the development of products, services, processes and business models, and also by nurturing innovative, entrepreneurial individuals. A KIC’s portfolio of activities typically includes, inter alia: entrepreneurial education and training programmes, research-driven innovation projects, and incubation of and support to start-ups and scale-ups.  

Objectives: 

With this Call for Proposals, the EIT launches the selection process for a new KIC in the thematic area of Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems.  

The new KIC shall add value and demonstrate excellence in each activity area (innovation, entrepreneurship and skills education and business creation / acceleration), widely cover the relevant fields of the water, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems and have a strategy in place to build on and upscale innovative solutions developed under existing programmes and initiatives such as Horizon Europe, EU Missions – notably the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters – and relevant Horizon Europe partnerships. 

Eligible applicants: 

Following an admissibility check, only proposals complying with the following conditions will be considered eligible for further evaluation:  

• the applying consortium must contain at least three independent partner organisations established in at least three different Member States;  
• at least two thirds of the partner organisations forming the consortium are established in different Member States;  
• the applying consortium includes at least one higher education institution, one research institution and one private company;  
• the applying consortium shall not include the following entities that are part of a KIC under Partnership Agreement or a KIC under Memorandum of Cooperation: 
• KIC legal entity;  
• co-location centre;  
• other entities part of a KIC’s legal/corporate structure;  
• the proposal must be submitted by a consortium containing a maximum of 50 partners.  

See the call for proposals document for details.  

Budget: 

The EIT may award a start-up grant of up to EUR 5 000 000, indicatively, to the designated partnership to cover activities for legal readiness, operational readiness and fostering EIT identity and other initial KIC activities to support the efficient setting up. Details of what the start-up grant could cover is provided in the call for proposals document.  

Duration: 

The indicative date for inviting the successful and designated consortium to submit their Start-up Plan is December 2025. The signing of the Start-up Grant Agreement is tentatively planned for February 2026, while the signing of the partnership agreement is expected by the end of 2026.

EIT Water  

EIT KIC 2025 Water call for proposal page 

EIT KIC 2025 Water call for proposals document 

EU Funding and Tenders Portal: HORIZON-EIT-2025 Water 

Applicants are invited to send in any questions they might have on the EIT Call for Proposals until 2 June 2025 via the following functional mailbox: EIT-KICs-Call-2025@eit.europa.eu. Replies will be given until 10 June 2025.