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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to reinforce EU strategic autonomy in the space sector. It aims to achieve this by developing critical space EEE (Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical) components, specifically Advanced Packages and MRAM Memories, to reduce non-EU dependencies and ensure unrestricted access for EU space missions. - Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: To achieve EU strategic autonomy in space by developing critical space EEE components to reduce non-EU dependencies and ensure unrestricted access. - Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: Legal entities, typically forming consortia, with the capacity to undertake Research and Innovation Actions. - MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC (Space, Electronics, Semiconductor). - Geographic scope and any location requirements: EU Member States, Norway, and Iceland. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Must be an eligible legal entity from specified countries, focusing on one of the two specified critical component types, and demonstrating a clear path to reducing non-EU dependency. - Grant frequency and program context: This is a specific topic within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, falling under Destination 5, which focuses on open strategic autonomy in space-based infrastructures and data. Horizon Europe has recurring calls.

Financial Structure

Total budget allocated for the 'HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-74' topic is 6,000,000.0 EUR.
The call expects to fund 2 grants under this specific topic.
Minimum grant amount per project: 2,500,000.0 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 3,000,000.0 EUR.
Currency: EUR.
Financial and operational capacity requirements are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants, including eligible/ineligible costs, payment schedules, and reporting requirements, are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Model Grant Agreements.
Funding rate: None (not explicitly stated, but for Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions it typically covers up to 100% of eligible costs).

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Structure

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 may not participate unless they can provide guarantees, positively assessed by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation would not negatively impact the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.
Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment (or entities fully or partially owned/controlled by such suppliers) cannot submit these guarantees.
Consortium required for application (implied by the nature of Research and Innovation Actions and the complexity of the scope).

Geographic & Regulatory

The supply chain for the developed components shall preferably be fully based in the EU. If partially achieved (e.g., due to lack of current EU capabilities for advanced semiconductor processes or materials), services procured from outside the EU must ensure the overall supply chain remains trustable and not affected by non-EU export control, subject to the granting authority's approval.
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 instruments applicable in other non-EU jurisdictions.
Applicants must report, in a dedicated subsection, if and which part of the supply chain is affected by non-EU export controls, such as the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), specifically EAR99.

Technical & Project Scope

A proposal must address only one technology area and clearly identify the area being addressed. The eligible technology areas are:
- 'Advanced packages – Organic substrate for very high, fine pitch' (targeting a final Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6-7).
- 'MRAM Memories' (targeting a final TRL of 7).
Projects targeting a final TRL equal to or higher than 5 must include a list of proposed applicable standards (e.g., EN, ECSS, ESCC, MIL, JEDEC,…) considered relevant for implementing formal space evaluation and/or qualification.

Exclusion Criteria

Proposals including entities established in countries outside the specified eligible scope (EU Member States, Norway, Iceland) will be ineligible.
Entities controlled by non-eligible countries without successfully approved guarantees are excluded.
High-risk mobile network communication equipment suppliers (or entities owned/controlled by them) are explicitly excluded from participating.
Unless otherwise agreed with the granting authority, beneficiaries must ensure that no affiliated entities, associated partners, or subcontractors are established in countries that are not eligible countries or target countries set out in the call conditions.

Application Process

Application Timeline

Call opening date: 2025-05-22.
Application submission deadline: 2025-09-25 00:00:00+0000.
Submission model: Single-stage.

Required Documentation & Materials

Application form: Specific to this call, available in the Submission System (Part B has a page limit of 80 pages).
Declaration of ownership and control: A compulsory questionnaire that must be filled by all project participants. All declarations must be assembled by the coordinator and uploaded as a single file in the portal submission system.
Technical Guidance Document: A supplementary document clarifying technological expectations for 'Advanced Packages' and 'MRAM Memories' development lines.

Submission Process

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal's Submission System.
The evaluation and award process involves awarding grants based on ranking, but with a specific aim to ensure a balanced portfolio, selecting at least one highest-ranked proposal from each development area (Advanced Packages and MRAM Memories) if all thresholds are met.

Post-Award Obligations

Within 6 months from the project start, specific confidential deliverables must be provided to the relevant Commission DG and Executive Agency (DG-DEFIS and HaDEA), including:
- Detailed analysis and description of the full supply chain, its entities, roles, level of criticality, and identified non-EU dependencies.
- Industrial technical roadmap and a business plan for commercialization, with an accurate understanding of application needs and space mission insertion, including time to market indication.
- A report on relevant non-EU export controls with extra-territorial applicability for the specific technology/product under development.
- A comprehensive literature review of the relevant technology/product, highlighting the state-of-the-art and potential gaps between current EU solutions and non-EU competition.
If the project aims at formal space qualification (TRL 5+), a full data pack planned for submission to the qualification authority must be delivered (marked sensitive).
Beneficiaries must ensure the supply and availability of the products and/or processes developed and/or qualified within the project to any entity in the EU, at fair and reasonable market prices and conditions, and with no legal restrictions (e.g., ITAR), for a period of up to 4 years after the end of the action.
Beneficiaries intending to transfer ownership or grant an exclusive license must formally notify the granting authority, who may object to such transfer or licensing for up to 4 years after the end of the action.

Application Support

Guidance and support are available through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk, and Partner Search tools.

Evaluation Criteria

Project Quality and Strategic Fit

Contribution to Expected Outcomes: Proposals will be evaluated on how well they contribute to reinforcing EU strategic autonomy, reducing non-EU dependencies, providing unrestricted access to critical space EEE components, developing resilient supply chains, enhancing competitiveness, and opening new opportunities for manufacturers.
Alignment with Non-Dependence Objective: The proposal must clearly describe the technology and/or technology processes and the high-level breakdown of the space EEE component supply chain to be used, demonstrating that it is free of legal export restrictions.
Suitability of Development Process: Assessment of the identified and set up technology development process within the consortium for avoiding export restrictions and assessing supply chain vulnerabilities.
Technical Excellence: The extent to which the proposed work is beyond the state-of-the-art and achieves the targeted TRLs (TRL 6-7 for advanced packages, TRL 7 for MRAM Memories).
Standards Integration: For projects targeting TRL 5 or higher, the relevance and appropriateness of proposed applicable standards (e.g., EN, ECSS, ESCC, MIL, JEDEC) for formal space evaluation/qualification.

Implementation and Capacity

Quality and Efficiency of the Work Plan: Including dedicated tasks for detailed supply chain analysis, industrial technical roadmap, business plan for commercialization, and a comprehensive literature review.
Consortium Composition: The quality and complementarity of the participants and the extent to which the consortium as a whole brings together the necessary expertise.
Complementarity of Activities: Proposed activities should clearly identify and describe how they complement relevant national and/or other activities at the European level.
Cross-sectoral Collaboration: Enhanced technological spin-in and/or bilateral collaborations between European non-space and space industries are expected.

Impact and Sustainability

Market Understanding and Commercialization Plan: Accuracy of understanding of application needs, space mission insertion, and time to market indication in the business plan.
Long-term Supply Commitment: The consortium's commitment to ensuring the supply and availability of the products and/or processes developed/qualified within the project to any EU entity, at fair and reasonable market prices, conditions, and with no legal restrictions (e.g., ITAR), for a period of up to 4 years after the end of the action.
Intellectual Property Management: Ensuring ownership of IP arising from the action remains within the recipient, is not subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries, and is not exported/accessed from outside eligible countries without approval.

Balanced Portfolio Consideration

To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all the development areas described in the scope section, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but also to at least one proposal that is the highest ranked within each development area (i.e., 'Advanced packages' and 'MRAM Memories'), provided that all thresholds are attained.

Note: The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not relevant for this topic.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory & Legal Compliance

General Conditions: Proposals must adhere to general admissibility conditions regarding page limits and layout, as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal Entity Validation: Compliance with Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment, and Financial Capacity Assessment is required.
EU Financial Regulation: Adherence to EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is mandatory.
Export Control Regulations: Applicants must ensure their supply chain and final product are free of non-EU legal export restrictions (e.g., ITAR or equivalent). Any part of the supply chain affected by non-EU export controls (e.g., EAR99) must be explicitly reported.

Strategic Autonomy & Security

Protection of EU Strategic Interests: The grant specifically limits participation to legal entities established in Member States, Norway, and Iceland to safeguard the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.
Non-Eligible Country Control: Strict conditions apply to entities controlled by non-eligible countries; they must provide guarantees ensuring no negative impact on EU strategic interests, no restriction on their ability to carry out the action or deliver results, prevention of access to sensitive information by non-eligible countries, and ensuring IP ownership remains within the recipient without external control.
National Security Clearance: Employees or other persons involved in the action may require a national security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate.

Intellectual Property (IP) Policies

Ownership: Ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action must remain within the recipient during and after completion of the action.
Control & Export: IP must not be subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries or entities, and must not be exported outside eligible countries, nor access granted from outside eligible countries, without the approval of the eligible country in which the legal entity is established.
Post-Grant Control: For a period of up to 4 years after the end of the action, any intent to transfer ownership or grant an exclusive license of results must be formally notified to the granting authority (DG-DEFIS and HaDEA), who may object to such transfers.

Technology & Quality Standards

Satellite Data Use: If projects utilize satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must primarily use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data (other data and services may be used additionally).
Qualification Marking: Products that successfully complete space evaluation/qualification (either within the EU-COM activity or as a consecutive follow-up) shall inform DG-DEFIS and engrave the EU flag on the package (if present).

Special Project Requirements

Single Technology Focus: Each proposal must address only one of the specified technology areas ('Advanced packages – Organic substrate for very high, fine pitch' OR 'MRAM Memories').
Sensitive Deliverables: Certain deliverables, such as the full data pack for qualification and detailed supply chain analyses, are marked sensitive and are to be shared specifically with DG-DEFIS and HaDEA.
Post-Grant Product Availability: For up to 4 years after the end of the action, the consortium must ensure the supply and availability of the developed products and/or processes to any entity in the EU, at fair and reasonable market prices and conditions, and without legal restrictions.

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

Grant Details