Today, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) opens its call to build a new sustainable innovation partnership to strengthen Europe’s water, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems. The Call for Proposals invites consortia of organisations and industry leaders bringing together water-related education, research and business to put forward their vision and strategy for EIT Water. The EIT is an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation framework programme.
While Europe is home to abundant water resources, challenges remain in significant fragmentation across ecosystem management, and overuse of natural resources. Latest statistics paint an alarming picture with approximately 38 percent of the European population affected by water scarcity, impacting 29 percent of the territory. The economic cost is substantial, ranging from EUR 2 billion to EUR 9 billion, burdening European citizens.
The EIT will develop an integrated approach across freshwater, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems. EIT Water will support entrepreneurial education and skills development, innovation projects as well as the business creation and commercialisation of new technologies, products and services. Core to the EIT Model, the new KIC will serve as a pan-European partnership and strengthen capacities addressing Europe’s regional innovation divide. EIT Water will become the EIT’s tenth Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), partnerships that have demonstrated remarkable impact driving the creation of new technologies, tackling global challenges and reinforcing Europe’s competitiveness and sustainable development.
Stefan Dobrev, Chairperson of the EIT Governing Board added: ‘EIT Water will be a pan-European project to strengthen water innovations. Our new Knowledge and Innovation Community will foster collaboration investing in one of the globe’s most precious natural resources. We invite leaders in the water-related sectors to come together with their partners from across Europe and propose bold and impact-driven proposals ready to experiment and challenge the status quo, boosting Europe’s competitiveness’.
By establishing EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), partnerships focused on thematic areas, the EIT has been able to support over 10 000 companies, launch over 2 450 new products to market and train over 800 000 learners in new skills. Thanks to early business creation support, EIT- supported companies and start-ups are currently valued at over EUR 71 billion. Most recently the EIT was recognised as being the top performing investor in the Financial Times backed Sifted ranking behind Europe’s fastest-growing startups.
EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities receive EIT funding for a maximum of fifteen years. EIT Water can expect a starting budget of up to EUR 5 million in 2026 to set up its innovation ecosystem. Any future funding is assessed against the impact of the new KIC’s activities and decided upon by the EIT Governing Board. Through successful innovations and contributions from third parties, the partnership is expected to become financially sustainable over time beyond the period supported by EIT funding, leveraging close cooperation between education, research and business.
EIT Water will help position Europe as a global leader strengthening the European Union’s competitiveness, employment, and economic growth. EIT Water will join the EIT’s nine existing KICs, which address equally important global challenges: climate, digital, energy, health, raw materials, food, manufacturing, urban mobility, and culture & creativity. The deadline for submitting applications for the call for proposal for EIT Water is 17 June 2025.
