ECOLYTE SECURES €2,5M EIC TRANSITION FUNDING

In one of the most competitive cut-offs to date (≈6,5% success rate), Ecolyte GmbH — an Austrian deep tech spin-off of Graz University of Technology — has been selected for funding under the EIC Transition programme, one of Europe's most competitive innovation grants — one of only two projects selected in Austria under this cut-off.

Building on their prior EIC Pathfinder project, Ecolyte is advancing two interlinked innovations in sustainable energy storage: organic redox flow batteries that replace vanadium with vanillin — a bio-based, renewable compound — and their flagship IonLeaf membrane, a paper-based ion-conducting membrane that replaces PFAS materials with a fully biodegradable, European-made alternative produced at up to 90% lower cost.

The EIC Transition grant will fund the critical step from lab validation to application-relevant demonstration, paving the way for commercial partnerships and a future EIC Accelerator application.