As part of the EU’s efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology announced the EIT Crisis Response Initiative results: 60 million euros awarded to 207 innovation projects and ventures from 32 countries. As part of the “Pandemic Response Projects”, 62 new innovation projects, bringing together 212 partners from 25 countries, are developing solutions directly tackling Covid-19 related challenges. The “Venture Support Instrument” is supporting 145 start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs from 23 countries that have been enormously impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. “The €60 million provided by the EIT Crisis Response Initiative is part of the EU’s comprehensive response to the Covid-19 crisis, including substantial support to innovation – said Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, responsible for the EIT -. Thanks to the EIT, 62 innovation projects and 145 entrepreneurs have been given the support they need to contribute tangible products and services in the face of the pandemic. Their projects are deploying rapid solutions, equipping us with new technologies to help combat the virus and save lives. The EIT Community’s efficient mobilisation is a valuable contribution to Europe’s efforts to overcome this pandemic”. The selected innovations provide immediate solutions within the EIT’s key focus areas, from health and digitisation to food and urban mobility, to meet the wide array of challenges posed by the crisis. The 207 projects and ventures supported include effective solutions such as biotechnology and diagnostics, using 3D prototypes to re-configure congested parts of the city and co-working areas, supporting food supply chain disruptions, and solutions to reduce airborne contaminants. “The €200,000 support from the EIT Crisis Response Initiative is crucial to ensure we stay on track with our initiatives – said Tom Sam, head of Affix Labs and a recipient of the EIT RawMaterials -. Our product Si-Quat, an anti-microbial surface coating developed to kill viruses and proven to be effective against coronavirus, is now launching in new markets around the world thanks to this critical funding. Our goal is to roll out Si-Quat globally to help communities re-open in a safe and sanitary way, and thanks to the EIT Crisis Response Initiative, we are speeding up our production and the development of a variety of flexible solutions”. By deploying a rapid response mechanism, all EIT Crisis Response activities will be completed by the end of 2020 to help Europe recover. The EIT is an EU body which is an integral part of Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The EIT’s eight Knowledge and Innovation Communities work to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon economy (EIT Climate-KIC), drive Europe’s digital transformation (EIT Digital), lead the global revolution in food innovation and production (EIT Food), give EU citizens greater opportunities to lead a healthy life (EIT Health), achieve a sustainable energy future for Europe (EIT InnoEnergy), strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s manufacturing industry (EIT Manufacturing), develop raw materials into a major strength for Europe (EIT RawMaterials), and solve the mobility challenges of our cities (EIT Urban Mobility).
