EIT Climate-KIC | The EU's main climate innovation initiative

Climate-KIC - We are Europe’s leading climate innovation initiative

EIT Climate-KIC is a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon, climate-resilient society.

Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, we identify and support innovation that helps society mitigate and adapt to climate change. We believe that a decarbonised, sustainable economy is not only necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change, but presents a wealth of opportunities for business and society.

Convening networks of expertise
We bring together partners in the worlds of business, academia, and the public and non-profit sectors to create networks of expertise, through which innovative products, services and systems can be developed, brought to market and scaled-up for impact.

Through our convening power, EIT Climate-KIC brings together the most effective groups to create the innovation that can lead to systemic change.


Leveraging grants smartly and effectively
We identify, source and place public and private funds that stimulate innovation. We track progress and outcomes and draw out learning and insight so that our funding partners can effectively invest their resources for maximum impact.

By bringing together those with vision, with ideas, with low-carbon products and services, and with finance, we generate the critical mass needed to tackle climate change.

Developing people and capacity
EIT Climate-KIC runs a range of inspirational education programmes across Europe and online, for students, postgraduates and professionals. These programmes develop their participants’ skills and capacities, empowering them with up-to-date knowledge and best practice.

In this way, we are fostering a new generation of entrepreneurs and climate leaders to realise a zero-carbon, climate-resilient society.

Catalysing innovation
We catalyse and nurture innovation, whatever its source: from large corporations, research institutes and public bodies, through to start-ups and individual entrepreneurs. We encourage fresh new thinking from beyond the mainstream through initiatives like our 24-hour hackathon Climathon, or our cleantech ideas platform Climate Launchpad.

Our incubator programme, Accelerator, gives seed funding, structure and assistance to start-ups and SMEs. We drive innovation in established organisations through our range of innovation programmes, specifically for our partners.