Acceleration Programme
Agenda
E-PITCHING DAY | 13 November 10h CET
COHORT 1: Transport, Logistics & Construction
For: investors and industry/corporates
HELSINKI NETWORKING BREAKFAST | 17 November
COHORT 1: Transport, Logistics & Construction | COHORT 2: Materials & Resource Industries
For: investors, industry, startup support and innovation ecosystem
INFO DAY | 26 November 11h CET
COHORT 4: Agriculture & Land Use
For: startups & support organisations
2ND E-PITCHING DAY | 11 December 10h CET
COHORT 2: Materials & Resource Industries
For: investors and industry/corporates
open call: Cohort 3 – Molecular transformation industries
1. Introduction
The Hard2Scale Macro-Regional Accelerator is a specialised programme designed to support Startups that are developing first-of-a-kind solutions for hard-to-abate and energy-intensive industries.
These industries, such as Heavy-Duty Road Freight, Manufacturing, Chemicals, etc., face significant challenges in reducing their energy consumption, emissions and overall environmental footprint. Hard2Scale helps innovative companies overcome barriers to scale-up by providing:
- Tailored support for innovative companies developing solutions targeting the challenges faced by energy-intensive industries to achieve investment and market readiness.
- Open Innovation Workshops focused on creating business collaborations and opportunities for industrial deployment (through prototypes, demonstrators, pilots).
- Matchmaking opportunities with investors, corporates, and industry stakeholders interested in adopting emerging, disruptive technologies.
- Access to regional, national and EU public funding opportunities to support the development of (individual or collaborative) innovation projects at the regional/inter-regional level.
The accelerator aims to bridge the gap between breakthrough cleantech and digital solutions and their adoption in industry, simultaneously accelerating decarbonization and industrial competitiveness.
2. Objectives of the accelerator
The program’s main objectives are:
- Support commercialization of innovative solutions addressing hard-to-abate sectors;
- Facilitate partnerships between innovators, industry players, and investors;
- Enhance investment readiness and support fundraising strategies.
3. Eligible Domains
The accelerator focuses on technologies and business models with direct potential to reduce emissions, improve efficiency, and/or enable industrial transformation. The eligible domains for this call include:
- Molecular transformation industries (Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Biochemistry, Pharmaceuticals, Refining)
We expect you to cover the following topics (but are not limited to):
- Identifying risks in a complex molecule early on (computational biology, antibody design platforms, predictive screening).
- Access to pilot and contract manufacturing facilities; staged scale-up roadmaps with validated milestones; industrial partnership agreements to co-develop and de-risk demonstration units; modular and flexible reactor architectures.
- Reliable and cost-competitive alternative feedstock sourcing; supply chain risk assessment and diversification tools; feedstock conversion technologies (biomass, CO₂, methanol); regulatory support for waste-to-resource valorisation pathways.
- Regulatory roadmapping and compliance support services; early engagement with ECHA and national authorities; standardised testing and characterisation frameworks for novel molecules; digital regulatory filing and data management tools.
- Structured corporate engagement and co-development frameworks; performance benchmarking against fossil-based alternatives; off-take or joint development agreements as credibility signals; techno-economic selling tools for procurement teams.
- Standardised LCA and bio-based content measurement tools; digital product passports for molecular and chemical products; real-time process monitoring and yield optimisation; compliance-ready sustainability reporting platforms.
- Shared access to pilot infrastructure and contract manufacturing capacity;
- Decarbonize molecular transformation: biocatalysis as a more sustainable synthesis method. Producing and purifying enzymes at scale, optimizing reaction conditions, and combining biocatalysis with organometallic chemistry remain technological hurdles that require interdisciplinary collaboration among chemists, biologists, and engineers (opportunities for startups in synthetic biology, enzyme engineering, solvent or CO₂ recovery, and carbon capture and utilization applied to fine chemicals).
- Accelerate the transition from the lab to the factory, particularly through continuous-flow chemistry (accelerates the synthesis, scale-up, and industrialization cycle, whether through flow chemistry, lab automation, high-throughput screening, or AI-assisted synthetic pathway design tools).
- Making the production of cell and gene therapies truly scalable and commercially viable (today, these conditions require highly personalized, patient-specific treatments).
4. Targeted challenges
As a direct outcome of the national and macro-regional focus group workshops organised during the preliminary part of HARD2SCALE that presented the results of the SWOT analysis in each country represented in the project and its broader EU macro-regional level, the discussions converged on a shared set of priority challenges perceived by stakeholders as critical for accelerating innovation and scale-up in energy-intensive and hard-to-abate sectors. These challenges, summarised hereafter, emerged as common macro-regional priorities, providing a robust basis for defining thematic focus areas and guiding subsequent HARD2SCALE activities and cross-border collaboration efforts.
| Challenge Area | What Industry Needs | Relevant Startup Profiles to Attract |
| Scale-up from lab to industrial deployment | Long and capital-intensive scale-up pathways from laboratory validation (TRL 4–5) to near-industrial demonstration (TRL 7–8); complex regulatory processes for novel bio-based or chemical processes; risk of technology failure between pilot and first commercial unit. | Biotech and chemical process innovators with mid-TRL solutions; providers of modular bioreactors and continuous flow chemistry systems; startups leveraging existing industrial infrastructure (fermentation tanks, distillation units) for new processes. |
Feedstock availability & supply chain reliability | Dependency on volatile fossil-based feedstocks (naphtha, natural gas); competition for biomass, CO₂, and green hydrogen feedstocks; geographic concentration of critical bio-inputs; regulatory uncertainty around waste and residue classifications as feedstocks. | Waste-to-feedstock and bio-refinery startups; CO₂ utilisation and Power-to-X solution providers; supply chain traceability and risk management platforms; enzymatic and biocatalytic process innovators using low-cost substrates. |
| Capital intensity & misaligned investor expectations | High upfront capex for fermentation, bioreactor, and chemical plant infrastructure; long development and commercialisation timelines exceeding standard VC horizons; difficulty attracting growth capital between pilot completion and first commercial revenues. | Molecular technology ventures with niche, high-margin applications (enzymes, specialty chemicals, biosurfactants); startups with asset-light or contract manufacturing models; companies with early industrial partnerships reducing perceived financing risk. |
| Regulatory barriers to novel molecules & processes | Lengthy EU regulatory approval pathways for novel bio-based chemicals, biomaterials, and synthetic biology products; fragmented substance registration requirements under REACH; lack of harmonised certification for bio-based content claims and product standards. | Regulatory strategy and compliance startups for bio-based and chemical industries; AI-assisted REACH and substance registration platforms; certification and testing service providers; digital regulatory intelligence tools. |
| Market access & customer development in industrial B2B | Long B2B sales cycles in chemical, food, pharma, and materials industries; conservative procurement practices favouring established suppliers; difficulty demonstrating drop-in compatibility and cost parity with fossil-based incumbents; limited access to decision-makers in large corporates. | B2B commercial-stage ventures with early reference customers in specialty chemicals, food ingredients, or advanced materials; startups positioned as drop-in substitutes with validated performance data; ventures participating in corporate innovation programmes. |
| Measurement, traceability & bio-based claims | Inconsistent methods for quantifying bio-based content, biodegradability, and carbon footprint of molecular products; limited interoperability of life-cycle analysis tools; emerging but unharmonised requirements for digital product passports and sustainability disclosures. | LCA and sustainability analytics platforms for bio-based industries; IoT and sensor solutions for bioprocess monitoring; digital product passport providers for specialty chemicals and biomaterials; AI-based fermentation and yield optimisation tools. |
5. Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the following conditions:
- Legal status: The applicant is a legally established small company registered in the EU.
- Stage of development: Deep-tech solutions positioned between TRL 5 and 8.
- The solution clearly addresses hard-to-abate or energy-intensive industries.
- The technology or business model demonstrates potential for industrial scale-up and market deployment.
- Geographic scope: We target (but not limited to) startups from moderate and emerging EU countries.
- Commitment: Willingness to actively participate in all programme activities (workshops, mentoring sessions, pitch events, etc.). The applicant agrees to sign the participation agreement and comply with program obligations.
The main definitions of the terms above are provided in the Guidelines document to be downloaded.
6. Application Process
Application form:
Complete the official application form on the F6S platform: https://www.f6s.com/hard2scale/apply.
Supporting documentation:
Applicants must provide a pitch deck (max 10 slides – please see the EIC Accelerator model) including:
- The presentation of the challenges addressed and solution proposed
- The presentation of the technology and its competitive advantages
- Any supporting evidence of technology validation, pilots, or partnerships
- Business plan and strategy
- The public and private funding attracted up to now, the new funding needs and planned use of money
- Profiles of the founding team and key experts
Submission:
Applications must be submitted electronically via the F6S platform: https://www.f6s.com/hard2scale/apply.
Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered.
7. Important dates
- Applications open: 25 September 2026
- Deadline for applications: 8 November 2026
- Evaluation period: 9-20 November 2026
- Notification of results: 23 -30 November 2026
- Cohort start date: 1 December 2026
8. Evaluation Criteria
Each eligible application will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Innovation and uniqueness (FOAK, novelty of the solution – incremental vs disruptive innovation, differentiation from existing approaches).
- Potential impact (contribution to decarbonization, energy efficiency, or circularity).
- Team capacity (expertise, execution capability, previous achievements).
- Market relevance (fit with industry needs, demand potential, scalability).
- Business viability (clarity of business model, revenue streams, financial sustainability).
- Readiness for scale-up (TRL level, risks map, pilot/demo results, potential industrial partnerships).
9. Evaluation Process
The evaluation will consist of:
- Eligibility screening: verification of compliance with eligibility requirements.
- Expert review: a group of internal and external evaluators will assess each application according to the evaluation criteria.
- Final selection: a jury panel will have a consensus meeting to confirm the final selection for each cohort of startups and SMEs.Selected startups will be announced on the project website at: www.hard2scale.eu. All applicants will receive e-mails with the results of the evaluation process.
10. Financial and Administrative Aspects
The participation in the HARD2SCALE accelerator is free of charge for selected startups and SMEs.
The programme will not take equity in participating companies.
Selected participants must sign a participation agreement covering:
- Confidentiality obligations
- Intellectual property rights (applicants will fully keep the ownership of their IPR developed before or during the program)
- Commitments to attend programme activities
Participation in the travel and accommodation fees for the immersive discovery of the advanced ecosystems represented in the project – Finland and France – is foreseen (up to Eur 600 / startup).
11. Contact Information
For any inquiries and clarifications, please contact us:
Read the full Accelerator Guidelines – Third Cohort and explore the Programme Timeline.
