EU funding, ecosystems and circular economy consulting.
Ikigaia Innovations is the front of the group's funnel — turning ideas into funded, connected, de-risked opportunities. We build EU consortia for Horizon Europe and national instruments, design regional innovation ecosystems for cities, and provide circular economy consulting grounded in real capacity — not abstract advisory. Every strategy we write connects to pilot proving at Loonshot Factory and engineering at Regeneering, so a plan becomes a proven process and a buildable plant.
The best idea doesn't win. The best-connected one does.
An idea without a consortium, funding, and ecosystem support stalls before it reaches a pilot. Ikigaia Innovations closes that gap — and hands off to Loonshot Factory for proving and Regeneering for building.
Funding unlocks proving
EU and national grants are often the only way a startup can afford a pilot trial. We build the consortium and the proposal that gets the grant.
Ecosystems create pipeline
A well-designed innovation platform generates deal flow — for the city, for investors, and for the group. It's the front of the funnel that feeds everything downstream.
Strategy without capacity is a report
Most circular economy consulting ends at a PDF. Ours connects to a pilot line and an engineering team — so the strategy gets tested and built, not filed.
From idea to funded, connected opportunity.
Four services, each connected to the rest of the group's capacity.
EU consortium building
Horizon Europe and national instruments, concept to submission. We structure the consortium, build the work packages, and bring real multi-partner credibility — including our own engineering and pilot capacity as the industrial anchor.
Concept → submissionEcosystem & platform design
Regional innovation platforms and TKI strategy — turning public ambition into a concrete, self-financing plan that industry and startups actually use. We've done it for Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, and Tampere.
City & regionalFunding pipeline design
Mapping the funding landscape for a startup or project — EU, national, and private — and building a sequenced approach that matches capital to the right stage of the journey. Not a list of programmes; a plan.
Sequenced, not scatteredCircular economy strategy
Circular economy consulting grounded in real capacity — strategy that connects to pilot proving and engineering, not a report that sits on a shelf. For cities, regions, and companies building circularity into their operations.
Connected to capacityReal ecosystems, real consortia, real funding.
Not theoretical — mandates, databases, and proposals we've built and delivered.
Maailmanpuu innovation platform
A national inventory of Finland's bio-fibre piloting infrastructure, benchmarked internationally, with a development and investment plan.
Nordic biobased innovators mapped
A curated company database and deal-flow layer that feeds proof at Loonshot and build at Regeneering.
City innovation mandates
Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, and Tampere — ecosystem and innovation mandates, including a Sitra-backed project.
Horizon Europe & national calls
Consortium building and proposal development across multiple EU and national funding instruments.
The vocabulary of ecosystem work.
Terms used in EU funding and innovation ecosystem building.
EU funding and innovation ecosystems — how it works.
The programmes, the consortia, and the ecosystems we build.
What is circular economy consulting?
Circular economy consulting helps organisations — cities, regions, companies, and ecosystems — design and implement strategies that keep materials in use, reduce waste, and create value from side streams. For Ikigaia, it's not advisory in the abstract: we connect circular strategy to real pilot capacity and engineering, so a circular economy plan becomes a proven process and a buildable plant, not a report.
What EU grants are available for startups?
EU funding for biobased and circular startups includes Horizon Europe (collaborative research and innovation grants), EIC Accelerator (equity and grants for deep-tech scale-ups), Eurostars (for innovative SMEs), and national instruments like Business Finland. The challenge isn't finding a programme — it's building a competitive consortium and a proposal that scores. Ikigaia has done it across multiple Horizon Europe and national calls.
What is Horizon Europe funding?
Horizon Europe is the EU's research and innovation framework programme (2021–2027, €95.5B). It funds collaborative projects through calls in clusters (Climate, Energy, Food, etc.), the EIC, and partnerships. Biobased and circular projects typically target Cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources) and the Circular Bio-based Europe partnership. Funding is grant-based, with consortium requirements.
How does Ikigaia help cities build innovation ecosystems?
We work with cities and regions to design innovation platforms that connect startups, industry, research, and capital — turning public ambition into a concrete, self-financing plan. Our work with the City of Jyväskylä (the Maailmanpuu platform) is an example: a national inventory of bio-fibre piloting infrastructure, benchmarked internationally, with a development and investment plan. We also work with Lappeenranta and Tampere on ecosystem and innovation mandates.
Do you build EU consortia for Horizon Europe applications?
Yes. Consortium building is the hardest part of a competitive Horizon Europe proposal — finding the right partners, structuring the work packages, and demonstrating real multi-partner credibility. We build consortia from concept to submission, drawing on a curated network of 140+ Nordic biobased innovators and our own engineering and pilot capacity as the industrial anchor.
What is the Maailmanpuu project?
Maailmanpuu is a city-level innovation platform in Jyväskylä, Finland — a national, region-by-region inventory of Finland's bio-fibre piloting infrastructure, benchmarked internationally, with a development and investment plan for a self-sustaining platform. Ikigaia Innovations led the work, which included a company database of 140+ biobased innovators and an ecosystem analysis from the startup perspective.
Building a consortium or an ecosystem? Let's talk.
We bring the partners, the credibility, and the industrial anchor — and connect it to proving and building.