Bringing together leading research infrastructures, innovation organisations, and business support partners, ELIgnite aims to bridge the gap between Europe's world-leading laser and photonics infrastructures and the commercial ecosystem of startups, scaleups, SMEs, and industrial innovator. The project supports Europe's ambition to strengthen technological sovereignty, industrial competitiveness, and the commercialisation of deep-tech innovation. ELIgnite is the only project selected under this Horizon Europe initiative.

Backed by €5 million in European funding under the Horizon Europe programme, ELIgnite will streamline access to some of the world's most advanced laser facilities, making it easier for researchers to discover, apply for, and use ELI's capabilities. The project will channel over 60% of its total budget directly to companies via cascade funding, offering grants up to €500,000 to develop disruptive solutions capable of transforming global industry and society.

Access to big science facilities like ELI capabilities has traditionally been the domain of academic research communities. ELIgnite fundamentally changes this paradigm, positioning ELI as the core operational anchor for a pan-European deep-tech acceleration model. Private innovators will leverage cutting-edge laser technologies, advanced diagnostics, specialised engineering expertise, and testing environments that are otherwise entirely out of reach.

"ELIgnite is about opening Europe's most advanced photonics and laser infrastructure to entrepreneurs, innovators, and industrial pioneers,” says Roman Hvězda, Project Coordinator. “Our goal is simple: dramatically shorten the distance between breakthrough science and market-ready businesses via an absolute fast track."

ELIgnite targets high-growth domains where ELI's advanced laser technologies can deliver immediate, transformative value:

·       Clean Energy & Sustainable Industry: Accelerating solutions for fusion energy, advanced materials, clean manufacturing, industrial decarbonisation, and next-generation energy storage.

·       Health & Life Sciences: Enabling innovations in medical devices, advanced bio-imaging, diagnostics, radiobiology, precision therapies (such as FLASH and Microbeam radiotherapy), and pharmaceutical development.

·       Advanced Manufacturing & Materials (including Semiconductors): Supporting the development of novel materials, additive manufacturing, micro-/nano-fabrication, semiconductor metrology, and industrial process innovation.

·       Security, Space & Resilient Infrastructure: Driving innovation in space environments, radiation testing/hardening, advanced sensing, critical infrastructure resilience, and strategic autonomy (including dual-use technologies).

A core feature of ELIgnite is its substantial cascade funding programme (Financial Support to Third Parties - FSTP). Through this mechanism, startups, SMEs, and industrial innovators can apply for direct financial grants to develop, test, and validate their breakthrough technologies, targeting a dual advancement across both Technology Readiness Levels (TRL 3–5) and Commercial Readiness Levels (CRL 3–5).

Beyond capital, selected companies will also benefit from a comprehensive support ecosystem. Companies will have the opportunity to work with complementary research infrastructures of the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), including the ELI Beamlines and ELI ALPS Facilities, while receiving dedicated mentoring from scientific, engineering, and business experts through an Entrepreneurs-in-Residence framework. The programme is complemented by up to 120 hours of tailored business innovation support, connections to international investor networks, and pathways towards venture capitalisation.

The Project Consortium

The project unites a unique consortium of leading European research infrastructures, policy-aligned bodies, and innovation organisations committed to accelerating deep tech from discovery to market impact:

Critical Associated Partners: The consortium is further backed and empowered by a robust network of strategic partners across the continent, grouped by country:

Czech Republic: ELI Impact Lab; IP Lab Ventures

Italy: Politecnico di Milano and ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development)

Germany: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Centre for the Science of Materials Berlin)

Slovakia: Mecasys

Croatia: Nuqleus

Lithuania: FTMC (Center for Physical Sciences and Technology)

Spain: CIC nanoGUNE

The project will launch in September 2026 and first ELIgnite open calls for innovators and companies are expected to launch in beginning 2027.

About ELIgnite

ELIgnite is a Horizon Europe-funded initiative that connects Europe's world-leading laser and photonics infrastructures with startups, SMEs, industrial innovators, and deep-tech entrepreneurs. Anchored by ELI ERIC, the project accelerates the development and commercialisation of breakthrough technologies in energy, health, manufacturing, semiconductors, and security through a non-linear fast-track model combining elite facility access, bespoke business acceleration, and direct cascade funding.