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EIT Climate KIC

EIT Climate-KIC has the principal objective to speed up the transition to a zero-carbon economy. It is focused at developing innovative products and services, starting new companies and training a new generation of entrepreneurs in the field.

Community and Programmes overview:

The Climate-KIC community currently involves organizations from diverse sectors including businesses, universities, cities, public agencies, and NGOs. With a focus on climate action, the Climate-KIC community aims to drive breakthrough innovation and help Europe achieve its goal of a zero-carbon economy by 2050.

As the financing cycle by the European Commission ended in 2025, the Climate KIC relaunched as a not-for-profit foundation and signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the European Inistitute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). However the main mission "to catalyse systemic change for climate action through innovation, radical collaboration and place-based approaches" remains the same.

The community is structured around several integrated programs:

Place based transformation programme: These are large-scale projects that serve as real-life testbeds for sustainable regenerative living. More info can be found on the website.
Learning by doing:This program offers learning opportunities through hands-on experiences, online classes, professional development, and graduate school courses. the 4 focus topics are: working in complexity, systems thinking, sensemaking, participatory approaches and collaboration
Climate Entrepreneurship: The aim is to support promising start-ups or companies with growth potential. There are three initiatives:

How to get involved?

To explore opportunities and stay updated on the latest news, visit the Climate-KIC webpage and check their open calls for proposals. You can easily contact them directly by filling in the form on their website.

Also, you can contact the National Contact Point for Flanders, fernanda.werneck@vlaio.be (on maternity leave, replaced by pascal.verheye@vlaio.be)

What are partnerships?

Partnerships group the EC and private and/or public partners, to coordinate and streamline the research & innovation initiatives and funding in some selected key domains.

How to use partnerships?

orientation
Partnerships publish strategic documents, e.g. outlining the main research and innovation challenges or key focus points.

networking
Partnerships often organise events, such as info days, brokerage events, etc. Meet potential partners and learn about the nuances that are not visible in the official documents.

ecosystem analysis
Partnerships typically have an advisory board, and publish impact studies of previous actions. These are good sources of information to uncover the main R&D&I players in the domain.

steering the agenda
Partnerships collaborate with the EC on outlining the strategy and the future funding opportunities in their domain, based on input from industry, academia, and other stakeholders.

UrbanAIR - Digital Twin for Urban Climate Action

Funded under Horizon Europe (HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01-03) and running from 2025 to 2028, UrbanAIR develops advanced digital twins that simulate the interactions between urban climate, human behaviour, and policy choices. These models enable cities to explore what-if scenarios, such as new green infrastructure, mobility measures or building designs, and assess their impacts on health, safety and social equity. The project consortium consists of 18 partners from 11 countries. Read more about the project and the contribution of Flemish partner Vito in this testimonial.

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