AOR GREENEligibility Review

EIC Accelerator Step 1 (Horizon Europe)

EU / Tunisia (HE associated) · Grant <€2.5M + €1–10M investment · Rolling Step 1

4.5 / 10

FIT SCORE

Grant component

<€2.5M

TRL 6–8, innovation phase

Investment component

€1M–€10M

Blended finance — check HE associated rules

Next Step 2 batch

8 Jul 2026

Step 1 must be submitted ~6 weeks prior

Innovation gate

Open

Deep-tech framing not yet confirmed

Overall readiness

15%

Eligibility - 60%

Innovation framing - 10%

Application pack - 0%

Scale-up case - 0%

Hard rules - do not miss

Step 1 short proposal must be submitted before the Tuesday batch cutoff to be considered for the 8 July Step 2 date
TRL 6–8 required for grant component — earlier-stage projects are not eligible for the standard grant route
Deep-tech and breakthrough innovation framing is mandatory — platform restoration model alone will not meet EIC expectations

Bottom line

Eligible in principle but programme fit is medium-low. Only pursue if a credible deep-tech or proprietary innovation claim can be identified. Defer otherwise.

Eligibility gates

Eligible now — Tunisia is a Horizon Europe associated country. Real gate is programme fit: deep-tech, TRL 6–8, high-growth scale-up profile required.

OKTunisia confirmed as Horizon Europe associated country — eligible to apply

?Proprietary deep-tech innovation claim identified and defensibleNot yet confirmed in current AOR Green materials

?TRL 6–8 pathway documented for grant componentTRL assessment not yet conducted

?Investment-component rules verified for HE associated-country applicantsNeeds explicit check

Compulsory documents

0 of 4 documents ready

Deep-tech innovation claim and IP assessment

Technical / Legal

Not started

TRL 6–8 pathway documentation

Technical team

Not started

EIC Step 1 short proposal (company profile, innovation, team, market)

AOR Green team

Not started

Scale-up and commercialisation plan for EIC format

Firas

Not started

Missing information - gating items

2 critical assessments missing

InnovationIdentification of a defensible proprietary deep-tech claim suitable for EIC framingTechnical + Firas

EligibilityVerification of EIC investment-component rules for Horizon Europe associated-country applicantsFiras

Application drafts

0 of 3 sections drafted

Innovation and technology claim

0/2

Market and scale-up case

0/2

Team and execution capacity

0/1

Next 7 days

4 actions

1Assess whether AOR Green has a defensible proprietary deep-tech claimTechnical + Firas - next 2 weeks

2Check EIC investment-component rules for HE associated-country applicantsFiras

3Only proceed to Step 1 if deep-tech framing is confirmed credibleGovernance gate

4If deferred, set review for 2027 when commercial-scale evidence may be availableFiras

Agent advice

Geography is not the blocker here — Tunisia's Horizon Europe association status is a genuine advantage that makes AOR Green eligible without needing an EU entity. The blocker is the innovation case.

The July 8 full-proposal batch is achievable from a Step 1 now, but only if the deep-tech claim is clear and the team can assemble an investor-quality application in 6 weeks. Assess innovation framing first.