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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The 'Challenge-Driven GenAI4EU Booster' grant aims to significantly boost Europe's generative AI (GenAI) developer community and accelerate the adoption of powerful, trustworthy GenAI solutions. It focuses on critical strategic sectors: aerospace, pharma/drug development, and telecommunication networks. This initiative employs a unique challenge-driven approach, fostering innovation and increasing the global competitiveness and visibility of European GenAI capabilities.

Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: To drive technological progress, increase competitiveness, and boost the adoption of trustworthy Generative AI in the aerospace, pharma/drug development, and telecommunication sectors through a multi-stage, challenge-driven competition.
Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: Consortia involving user industry companies as core partners, supporting startups and SMEs as third-party participants.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing exclusively on aerospace, pharma/drug development, or telecommunication networks.
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Open to legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Must involve Generative AI, target one of the three specified strategic sectors, and be proposed by a consortium that includes user industry companies. Applicants must be able to organize and manage a multi-stage competition with financial support to third parties.
Grant frequency and program context: Part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, specifically under Cluster 4 'Digital, Industry and Space', Destination 4, implying similar calls may recur within the program's framework.

Financial Structure

Total budget for the 'HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-DIGITAL-EMERGING-09' topic: EUR 45,000,000.
Maximum grant amount per project: EUR 15,000,000.
Minimum grant amount per project: EUR 15,000,000.
Currency: EUR.
Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP): The grant involves mandatory financial support to third parties, provided in the form of grants.
FSTP for Stage 2: EUR 5,000,000 is foreseen from the initial grant to be distributed among the 20 winning solutions from Stage 1. Each of these solutions will receive up to EUR 250,000.
FSTP for Stage 3: An additional budget of EUR 8,000,000 is reserved in the initial grant for Stage 3. This amount will be distributed equally among the 4 winning teams from Stage 2, who will join the consortium as full beneficiaries, receiving EUR 2,000,000 each.
Derogation: In derogation to Article 208 EU Financial Regulation, the maximum FSTP amount to each third party can exceed EUR 60,000, reaching up to EUR 250,000 per competing solution, justified by the substantial resources required for the challenges.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Structure

Eligible entities: Legal entities established in EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden), Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Consortium required: Yes. User industry companies from the targeted strategic sector must be core partners within the consortium.
Third-party recipients: Startups and SMEs (or small teams of organizations built around such startups/SMEs) are eligible to compete in challenges and receive Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP).

Geographic & Security Restrictions

Strategic autonomy clause: Participation is limited. Legal entities established in eligible countries but directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity may not participate unless they provide guarantees, positively assessed by their eligible country of establishment, demonstrating their participation would not negatively impact the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.
High-risk suppliers: Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment (or those fully or partially owned/controlled by such suppliers) cannot submit guarantees and are explicitly excluded from participation.
Intellectual Property (IP) control: Guarantees must substantiate that IP arising from the action remains within the recipient during and after completion, is not subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries/entities, and is not exported or accessed from outside eligible countries without proper approval.

Technical & Operational Capacity

Sector focus: Each proposal must exclusively focus on one of the three key sectors: aerospace, pharma/drug development, or telecommunication networks, and clearly specify which sector it addresses.
Competition organization: The consortium is responsible for defining and organizing a multi-stage competition within the chosen sector, including providing necessary support resources (technical assistance, business support) to challenge participants.
Data provision: Consortium members are responsible for providing the data necessary to fine-tune models and build powerful solutions that meet industry needs.
Exploitation plan: A draft exploitation plan outlining commitments on future exploitation is required.

Application Process

Submission Process

Application type: 'Research and Innovation Actions' (RIA).
Submission format: Proposals must be submitted electronically via the European Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service.
Submission method: This is a single-stage proposal submission process.
Required forms: Applicants must use the standard application form specific to 'HE RIA, IA', available in the Submission System (Part B of the Application Form).
Supporting documents: Comprehensive guidance is available, including the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (MGA), call-specific instructions, information on financial support to third parties, and the Ownership Control Declaration, along with relevant Work Programme parts.

Key Dates

Call opening date: 2025-06-10.
Application deadline: 2025-10-02 00:00:00+00.

Post-Award & Implementation

Project implementation: Successful proposals will be responsible for defining and organizing a multi-stage competition within their chosen sector, including providing necessary support to participating teams.
Linked actions: Grants awarded under this topic require a formal collaboration agreement with other actions granted under the same topic, to share best practices and ensure efficient monitoring and dissemination.
Reporting obligations: Proposals must incorporate clear mechanisms for assessing and demonstrating progress, including qualitative and quantitative KPIs, benchmarking, and robust progress monitoring throughout the project duration.
Dissemination and communication: High visibility of the competitions is crucial, requiring strong dissemination and communication campaigns. Proposers are also encouraged to seek sponsorships to enhance visibility and attract top developers.
Knowledge sharing: Communicable results, where possible, should be shared with the European R&D community via the AI-on-demand platform and other relevant digital resource platforms to bolster the European AI, Data, and Robotics ecosystem.

Application Assistance & Resources

Comprehensive guidance: Applicants can find support through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, and the Research Enquiry Service.
National and regional support: Guidance and assistance are available from National Contact Points (NCPs) in EU and associated countries, and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) specifically for SMEs.
Technical and legal assistance: The IT Helpdesk provides support for technical issues related to the Portal, while the European IPR Helpdesk assists with intellectual property matters. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk offer advice on standardisation.
Partner search: A partner search tool is available to help organizations find suitable collaborators for their proposals.

Evaluation Criteria

Strategic Alignment & Expected Impact

Contribution to expected outcomes: Proposals must clearly demonstrate how they will lead to significant technology progress and innovation, increased competitiveness and visibility for Europe's Generative AI community, and broader adoption of GenAI in their chosen sector (aerospace, pharma/drug development, or telecommunication networks).
Impactful use-cases: Proposals should be driven by impactful use-cases where generative AI can make a significant difference, based on challenges defined in collaboration with major industry players.
Exploitation potential: A draft exploitation plan must outline clear commitments on future uptake and maximization of the solutions developed, particularly after the grand finale for winning teams.
Alignment with EU initiatives: Proposals should align with the GenAI4EU initiative and the broader Apply AI strategy, ensuring a cohesive approach to AI development and adoption.

Quality & Methodology of Implementation

Competition design: A clear and robust methodology must be defined for implementing the various steps of the multi-stage competition, including specifications, timelines, targets, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and a solid evaluation methodology.
Evaluation and assessment: The proposal must detail the methodology for evaluating competing solutions at each stage, including selection criteria and assessment processes, and the approach for accompanying challenge participants.
Progress monitoring: Mechanisms for assessing and demonstrating progress, including qualitative and quantitative KPIs, benchmarking, and ongoing progress monitoring, must be incorporated.
Infrastructure and support: Proposers must demonstrate capacity to provide necessary infrastructure and technical support for challenge participants.

Consortium Composition & Collaboration

Industry involvement: User industry companies from the targeted sector must be core partners, demonstrating a genuine interest in the project results and a commitment to supporting challenge participants.
Collaboration with linked actions: Proposals are expected to allocate tasks for cohesion activities with the European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics (ADRA) and the GenAI4EU central Hub, as well as collaborate with other successful proposals under this topic through a formal agreement.
Synergies: Building on and reusing public results from relevant previous funded actions and developing synergies with other relevant international, European, national, or regional initiatives is expected.

Portfolio Balance & Selection

Sectoral balance: To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded not only by ranking but also to at least one highest-ranked proposal within each of the three strategic sectors (aerospace, pharma/drug development, and telecommunication), provided all individual thresholds are attained.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory & Legal Compliance

Financial Regulation: Compliance with EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is mandatory.
Grant Agreement: The legal and financial setup of the grants will adhere to the principles outlined in Annex G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement (MGA).
Specific Topic Conditions: Adherence to specific conditions detailed within the topic description of the Work Programme is required.

Security & Strategic Autonomy

Protection of Strategic Interests: Strict provisions are in place to safeguard the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, specifically concerning technological dependencies on non-EU sources. This includes rigorous checks on entities controlled by non-eligible countries.
Intellectual Property (IP) Safeguards: Proposals must guarantee that all IP generated from the action remains under the recipient's control, is not subject to influence or restrictions from non-eligible countries or entities, and cannot be exported or accessed from outside eligible countries without explicit approval.

Ethical & Technical Standards

Trustworthy AI: The development of 'trustworthy generative AI solutions' is a core expectation, implying adherence to ethical guidelines for AI development and deployment.
Data Integrity and Use: Consortium members are explicitly responsible for providing the necessary data to fine-tune models, ensuring data quality and relevance for industry needs.

Unique Aspects & Expectations

Challenge-Driven Approach: This grant is distinguished by its challenge-driven methodology, requiring the consortium to define and organize multi-stage competitions for GenAI solutions in their chosen sector.
Enhanced Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP): A notable feature is the derogation allowing FSTP of up to 'EUR 250,000' per competing solution, significantly exceeding the standard 'EUR 60,000' limit, to account for the substantial resources required for the challenges.
Mandatory Collaboration Agreement: Successful proposals under this topic, each addressing a different sector, are required to enter into a collaboration agreement. This aims to foster economies of scale, share best practices, and coordinate dissemination efforts.
Synergies and Collaboration: Proposers are expected to actively seek synergies with relevant existing projects and initiatives (e.g., Clean Aviation JU, IHI, other Horizon CL4 projects) and build upon public results from previous funded actions.
External Sponsorship: While not mandatory, proposers are encouraged to seek external sponsorship to enhance the visibility and prestige of their challenge, attracting top developers, particularly SMEs and startups, from eligible countries.

Grant Details