Validation at the highest level: how RiseTech secured the prestigious EIC accelerator grant

By RiseTech Editorial Team | 3 min read 

True disruptive innovation is rarely born overnight: it is forged through years of rigorous validation, strategic vision, and relentless execution. 

RiseTech is establishing its foundation on world-class technical excellence. A defining moment in this journey occurs when our core technology achieves the ultimate European benchmark: winning the highly competitive EIC Accelerator scale-up grant. 

During the intense 2022 first cut-off selection, RiseTech’s proprietary technology stands out as the only Italian project selected in its category, securing a €2.5 million grant and and a commitment for €1.5 million in equity from the European Innovation Council (EIC). 

The EIC Accelerator is widely recognized as one of the most rigorous funding programs globally, designed explicitly to identify and back breakthrough technologies with the potential to scale internationally and create entirely new markets. Passing this multi-stage evaluation is not just a financial milestone: it serves as an undeniable global stamp of approval for our foundational engineering. 

The grant has been awarded to accelerate the commercial development of our patented iSPLASH technology (industrial Selective PLAting for Solar Heterojunction). iSPLASH was engineered as a disruptive, high-efficiency electrochemical system designed to selectively deposit copper grid lines directly onto solar cells, completely eliminating the need for expensive silver pastes while slashing production costs by 30% and the carbon footprint by 90%. 

What began as a breakthrough laboratory concept is now poised to redefine the green economy. The core physical principle of iSPLASH (the ability to control localized chemical deposition with sub-micron precision) proves that complex hardware can solve massive industrial efficiency challenges. By mastering high-yield fluid dynamics in solar energy, RiseTech is unlocking the engineering blueprint needed to eliminate silver paste compromises from modern photovoltaic manufacturing lines.

“The EIC Accelerator recognition is a pivotal validation of our technical thesis. It proves that our proprietary approach to electrochemical deposition isn’t just an alternative process, but a global unicum. The resources provided by the European Union will allow us to transition the core architecture of the iSPLASH technology from laboratory breakthrough to industrial-scale viability, paving the way for us to deliver the ultra-precise copper plating solutions demanded by next-generation solar manufacturers”, reflects Marco Balucani, CEO and Co-Founder at RiseTech

By successfully bridging the gap between rigorous academic research and high-volume industrial equipment, RiseTech is transforming this European validation into a commercial launchpad. The deep tech expertise catalyzed by the EIC Accelerator grant is the very engine driving our upcoming automated platforms, enabling us to act as the agile, brilliant challenger the renewable energy sector needs to accelerate the green transition.