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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to develop and mature critical space equipment, specifically Chip Scale Atomic Clocks and Solar Cells, to reduce the European Union's non-dependence on external sources and ensure unrestricted access for EU space missions. - Target recipient type and size: Legal entities (companies, research organizations, universities) established in EU Member States, Norway, and Iceland, expected to form consortia. - SECTOR-SPECIFIC (Space industry) - Geographic scope: EU Member States, Norway, and Iceland. - Key filtering criteria: Projects must focus on either Chip Scale Atomic Clocks or Solar Cells, and participants must be free from non-EU export control restrictions. - Grant frequency and program context: This is a specific topic within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, aimed at strengthening EU strategic autonomy in the space sector.

Financial Structure

Minimum grant amount per project: 3,500,000.0 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 4,000,000.0 EUR.
Total estimated budget for this specific topic: 8,000,000.0 EUR.
Expected number of grants for this topic: 2.
Funding type: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).
Currency: EUR.
Funding rate: Not specified in the provided topic description. Standard Horizon Europe RIA funding rates (e.g., up to 100% for non-profit, up to 70% for for-profit) typically apply.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type and Location

Legal entities established in EU Member States, Norway, and Iceland are eligible.
Entities directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or non-eligible country entity are ineligible, unless they can provide guarantees, positively assessed by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation will not negatively impact the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.
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 thus ineligible.
Consortiums are a requirement for participation.

Technical and Project Requirements

Proposals must address only one specific technology area: either Chip Scale Atomic Clocks or Solar Cells.
Projects targeting Chip Scale Atomic Clocks must aim for a final Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6.
Projects targeting Solar Cells must aim for a final TRL of 5-6.
Applicants must demonstrate that the supply chain and final product are free of any legal export restrictions or limitations, such as those established in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or equivalent non-EU instruments.

Compliance Requirements

A compulsory 'Declaration of ownership and control' questionnaire must be completed by all project participants and uploaded as a single file by the coordinator as part of the application.

Application Process

Application Submission

Application opening date: 2025-05-22.
Application deadline: 2025-09-25 00:00:00+0000.
Submission process: Single-stage procedure.
Submission platform: Applications must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Required documentation: The standard application form (Part B) must be used. A compulsory 'Declaration of ownership and control' questionnaire, completed by all project participants, must be assembled by the coordinator and uploaded as a single file.
Page limit: The application has a page limit of 80 pages (as described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes).

Project Implementation and Reporting

Within 6 months from the project start, specific confidential deliverables must be provided to the relevant Commission DGs (DG-DEFIS and HaDEA). These deliverables include:
- A detailed analysis of the full supply chain, identifying each entity, its role, level of criticality, and any dependencies from outside the EU.
- An industrial technical roadmap and a business plan for commercialization, with an accurate understanding of application needs, space mission insertion, and time to market.
- A report on relevant non-EU export controls with extraterritorial applicability for the specific technology/product under development.
- A comprehensive literature review of the relevant technology/product, reporting the state-of-the-art and highlighting potential gaps between current EU solutions and non-EU competition.

Post-Award Obligations

For a period of up to 4 years after the project's end, beneficiaries must ensure the supply and availability of the products and/or processes developed or qualified within the project to any entity in the EU.
This supply must be at fair and reasonable market prices and conditions, and without legal restrictions or limitations, such as those stemming from International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or equivalent non-EU instruments.
Any intention to transfer ownership or grant an exclusive license for the results of the action must be formally notified to the granting authority before the intended transfer or licensing takes place.
The granting authority may object to such a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing for up to 4 years after the end of the action.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the standard Horizon Europe award criteria: Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of Implementation. These are described in Annex D of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all specified development areas, grants will be awarded not only based on ranking but also to at least one highest-ranked proposal within each technology area (Chip Scale Atomic Clocks and Solar Cells), provided all evaluation thresholds are met.

Innovation and Technology Advancement

The relevance and effectiveness of the proposed development in maturing critical space equipment to the targeted TRLs (TRL 6 for Chip Scale Atomic Clocks, TRL 5-6 for Solar Cells) will be assessed.

Impact and Strategic Alignment

Contribution to reinforcing EU strategic autonomy in space.
Effectiveness in reducing non-EU dependencies on critical space equipment and related technologies.
Potential to provide unrestricted access to critical space equipment for EU space missions.
Development or regaining of capacity for independent space operations within the EU.
Potential to enhance competitiveness by developing products that meet or exceed the performance of non-EU solutions.
Creation of new opportunities for EU manufacturers by reducing reliance on non-EU export-restricted technologies.

Supply Chain and Commercialization

Thoroughness and detail of the full supply chain analysis, including identification of each entity, its role, criticality, and any dependencies from outside the EU.
Quality and feasibility of the industrial technical roadmap and business plan for commercialization, including accurate understanding of application needs, space mission insertion, and time-to-market indication.
Assessment of supply chain vulnerabilities and the identified process for avoiding export restrictions from non-EU states.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must adhere to regulations that safeguard the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, explicitly preventing technological dependency on non-EU sources.
If the project utilizes satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data/services, beneficiaries are mandated to use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Other data and services may be used in addition.

Intellectual Property (IP) Policies

Ownership of intellectual property (IP) generated from the action must remain with the recipient during and after project completion.
The IP must not be subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries or non-eligible country entities.
The IP must not be exported outside eligible countries, nor access to it granted from outside eligible countries, without the approval of the eligible country where the legal entity is established.

Risk Management and Security

The consortium must identify and establish a suitable technology development process designed to avoid export restrictions from non-EU states.
Vulnerabilities within the supply chain must be assessed and addressed.
Employees or other individuals involved in the action may be required to possess national security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate.

Special Conditions for Non-Dependence

Unless otherwise agreed with the granting authority before signing the grant agreement, beneficiaries must ensure that no affiliated entities, associated partners, or subcontractors are established in non-eligible countries.
The project's supply chain should preferably be fully based in the EU. If partial reliance on non-EU sources is unavoidable, it must be demonstrated that the overall supply chain remains trustworthy and unaffected by non-EU export controls, subject to the granting authority's approval.

Cross-Cutting Themes

The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is explicitly stated as not relevant for this specific topic.

Grant Details