Two of the six Swedish companies selected in the latest European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator call are LEAD alumni: ArgusEye and Westra Materials, which are now receiving heavy funding from the program.
The EIC Accelerator is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program and targets startups and SMEs with technology-based innovations. Funding consists of grants and equity opportunities and in this round goes to a total of 61 companies in Europe.
ArgusEye will receive €6.25 million in blended funding, of which €2.5 million will be in the form of grants and up to €3.75 million in equity.
The company develops sensor technology for real-time analysis in biomanufacturing. According to CEO and co-founder Erik Martinsson, the funding will be used to further develop the Auga™ platform and for international expansion.
– “We are delighted to have been awarded the EIC Accelerator grant. It is an important milestone for our company and a strong recognition of our technology, our team and our vision,” says Erik Martinsson in a press release.
Westra Materials is being granted €6.5 million to scale up the production of PFAS-free conductive polymers for batteries and electronics. The project is called ODIN and aims to take the material from the development phase to industrial scale.
Westra Materials
Among other things, the company is developing a binder for lithium-ion batteries that both binds and conducts current, which could reduce the need for separate conductive additives in electrodes.
– The support will enable us to accelerate our industrial scale-up and become an integral part of the growing European battery value chain,” said Daniel Westling, CEO of Westra Materials in a comment.
Westra Materials was founded in 2020 as a spin-off from Linköping University.
