CIRCULÉIRE opens applications for Circular Venture Accelerator 2026 as focus shifts to scaling start-ups.
Successful applicants for CIRCULÉIRE’s Circular Venture Accelerator can expect to enjoy €5,000 in equity-free funding.
Manalged via Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), CIRCULÉIRE has issued a call for applications for the accelerator.
“With accelerating climate targets, expanding EU regulation, and rising demand for circular solutions, 2026 presents a decisive moment for circular ventures to scale up”
“In 2026, CIRCULÉIRE’s Accelerator has evolved to focus even more on Irish late-stage start-ups and ventures ready to scale their circular solutions,” the organisers said.
Accelerated development
This six-month programme is built for ventures to work closely with leading circularity experts, IMR’s specialists, and experienced industry members.
Participants will strengthen their business model, accelerate product and technology development, adopt circular metrics, anticipate and align with policy shifts, and become investment and partnership-ready.
As well as €5,000 in equity-free funding, successful applicants can expect direct industry engagement, access to IMR’s prototyping and testing facilities, hands-on funding support as well as one-to-one mentoring sessions and peer-to-peer events.
“With accelerating climate targets, expanding EU regulation, and rising demand for circular solutions, 2026 presents a decisive moment for circular ventures to scale up,” the organisers said.
“The recently published Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment also sets a clear ambition: move Ireland towards a future where resources stay in use for longer, waste is dramatically reduced, and circular innovation becomes the norm across every sector.
Shaping Ireland’s circular future
Some of CIRCULÉIRE’s Accelerator alumni already shaping Ireland’s circular future include:
- Arcology System, which designs circular commercial interiors and contributed to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)’s 2025 Sector Guide Circular Transition Indicators in collaboration with the High Performance Building Alliance.
- End-of-life turbine blades repurposing company BladeBridge, which designed the Midleton to Youghal Greenway Bridge in 2022, and recently received the Circular Economy Innovation Grant (CEIG) Scheme.
- Finalist of the 2025 All-Island Circular Venture Awards, Ecoroots, which grows biomaterials from mushrooms’ mycelium to replace plastic.
- And winner of the All-Island Circular Venture Awards, HaPPE Earth, making compostable PPE for the health sector and beyond.
How to apply
The deadline for applications is 7 May at 23:59 (GMT). You can find more information about CIRCULÉIRE’s Accelerator and read the Eligibility Criteria on the programme’s website.
Irish Circular Ventures can send their submission through Awards Force. For guidance on the application process and additional insights about the programme, ventures can register for a Zoom information session on 20 April at 11.30AM here.
Top image: The 2024 cohort including Angie Nagle (BladeBridge), Dr Mary O’Riordan (HaPPE Earth), Agnese Metitieri (Circular Venture Lead, IMR/CIRCULÉIRE), Johnnie Bell (Rezero), Sarah Fliessbach (ShareClub), Vanessa O’Rourke (Finline Furniture).
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