The pilot project aims to develop and test coordination mechanisms between the EIC and EIT Climate-KIC and their innovation communities, looking specifically at synergies and complementarity between the two organisations. The project will test three areas with specific objectives aiming particularly at creating synergies to align and improve our innovation portfolios towards the European Green Deal goals. The first area of the proposal supporting EIC and 60 to 80 of its beneficiaries is focused on testing EIT Climate-KIC’s climate impact framework to forecast the climate impact of early-stage innovations and integrate a methodology for measuring systems transformation potential at a portfolio level, supporting a 1.5°C scenario. The second area suggests support up to 25 EIC beneficiaries stemming out of the EIC Pathfinder programming and especially under Transition to Innovation, Innovation Launchpad and/or the EIC Accelerator Early Stage Programme. It will identify and support those with ground-breaking climate innovations as well as those who are committed to bringing new products and/or businesses to the market and improve their market uptake. The third area of the project is looking to provide access to 10-15 EIT Climate-KIC’s later-stage portfolio companies to the EIC Accelerator, especially the newly created blended finance instrument. The goal of this work is to design an effective process to channel and fast-track EIT Climate-KIC qualified portfolio companies to EIC’s Accelerator instruments. The results of the project will lead to recommendations to frame a future long-term collaboration framework between EIC and EIT Climate-KIC under Horizon Europe.

In an era of increasing urban vulnerabilities to disasters, this project stands as a beacon of innovation and action. Cities across the globe, including those within the European Union, face increasing number of crises, from climate-driven catastrophes to seismic shocks. These events disrupt economies, societies, and scar the environment, calling for more than just a return to the pre-disaster state; they call for metamorphosis. In "Metamorphosis" project, I will build on the "build back better" principles and develop a framework and tool that would help cities to leap forward by integrating climate adaptation and mitigation, and become not only resilient but also climate neutral. This approach aligns seamlessly with two pivotal EU missions: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, and Climate Adaptive Regions by 2030. This inquiry focuses on the Climate City Contract (CCC), a transformative and inclusive governance tool developed by the net-zero research and practice community in the EU. This project aims to evolve it into a Climate Recovery Contract (CRC), one tailored for post-disaster scenarios. The backdrop for this exploration is Ukraine's post-war recovery, offering a unique field to integrate climate transformation into recovery planning. All together, the EU-Ukraine context forms fertile ground for the expansion of knowledge on post-disaster recovery and the crafting of practical instruments like CRC. These endeavors will empower cities not merely to return to their prior states after disasters but to stride forward, embracing climate resilience and net-zero recovery in a collaborative manner, a metamorphosis urgently needed in the face of the global climate emergency.