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Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to significantly advance the development of next-generation Air Traffic Services (ATS) platforms for airport operations. It aims to leverage innovative solutions and new aircraft capabilities to achieve higher automation levels, reduce environmental impact, and improve airport throughput and cybersecurity. - Target recipients: Consortia consisting of at least three airports and an established ATS airport system manufacturer or equivalent technical capability. - SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Aviation, Air Traffic Management (ATM), Airport Operations, Technology Development. - Geographic scope: Countries eligible under Horizon Europe General Annexes B, primarily EU Member States and Associated Countries. - Key filtering criteria: Focus on advanced ground technologies for airports, high automation (level 4), environmental sustainability in aviation, and robust cybersecurity. - Grant frequency: Part of the ongoing SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking's Bi-Annual Work Programme (BAWP) 2024-2025, suggesting a recurring program context.

Financial Structure

  • Budget range per project: Minimum €5,000,000, Maximum €12,000,000.
  • Total budget for this specific call (WA4-1): €24,000,000, expected to fund 2 projects.
  • Currency: EUR.
  • Funding rate: 70% of eligible costs for all beneficiaries, regardless of their legal status.
  • Eligible costs: Costs will take the form of a lump sum, as defined by the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising lump sum contributions under Horizon Europe.
  • Indirect cost policies: Included within the lump sum funding model.
  • Financial reporting: General Horizon Europe financial reporting requirements apply.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type and Structure
  • Consortium required: Yes. Must include:
    • At least three airports.
    • Either an established ATS airport system manufacturer or provide evidence of operational and technical capability to build ATS airport system prototypes at the required maturity level.
  • Eligible organization types: Not explicitly restricted beyond general Horizon Europe rules, but implied to be primarily large enterprises, public entities (airports, ANSPs), and research institutions within the aviation sector.
Geographic Requirements
  • Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes, but is not limited to, EU Member States (AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE) and associated countries (e.g., AL, BA, GE, IS, IL, MD, ME, MK, NO, RS, TR, UA, UK).
Technical and Operational Capacity
  • Capability to build ATS airport system prototypes required for research at the required maturity level.
  • Proposed target architecture must be aligned with the service delivery model outlined in the European ATM Master Plan.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
  • General Horizon Europe financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria apply (described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes).

Application Process

Application Deadlines and Submission
  • Submission window: Available from 2025-04-01.
  • Application deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+00.
  • Submission model: Single-stage application process.
  • Submission platform: Electronic Submission Service via the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Required Documentation
  • Standard application form (Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions/Innovation Actions) - only Part A of this template is applicable.
  • Specific SESAR 3 application form (Research and Innovation Actions/Innovation Actions) - Part B, available in the Submission System.
  • Detailed budget table (Horizon Europe Lump Sum).
  • Outline efforts to meet additional dissemination and exploitation obligations in the proposal.
Evaluation Process
  • All applicants who have submitted proposals will be invited to participate in a hearing. These hearings aim to clarify specific elements of proposals or enhance the evaluation committee’s understanding. The information gathered may affect final scores.
  • Evaluation committee may include representatives of EU institutions and agencies (internal experts).
  • Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes (not specified in the provided text).
Post-Award Requirements
  • Project duration: Maximum 36 months.
  • Dissemination obligations: Beneficiaries must proactively share, royalty-free, all relevant results with other grants awarded under the same call.
  • Exploitation obligations: Beneficiaries must make results available for reuse under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory conditions through a trusted repository. If related to standardisation, a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to results must be granted. Mutual access to background and results of linked actions is required if necessary for implementation or exploitation.
  • Collaboration agreement: Required with grants awarded under HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01 and HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria Weighting
  • Excellence: 40%
  • Impact: 40%
  • Implementation: 20%
Specific Scoring Factors (based on Expected Outcome and R&I Needs) Excellence
  • Scientific and technological quality of the proposed research and innovation, including beyond the state-of-the-art.
  • Soundness of the research methodology.
  • Extent to which the proposal addresses expected outcomes like next-generation airport platforms, leveraging innovative solutions, and new aircraft capabilities.
  • Quality of the proposed human-machine teaming concepts.
  • Robustness of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities enabling airport platforms.
  • Consideration of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms for cyber-resilience.
  • Clarity and relevance of detailed Research & Innovation (R&I) needs to enable TBO Phase 3.
Impact
  • Contribution to the European ATM Master Plan's objectives, particularly achieving level 4 automation.
  • Expected positive impact on reducing aviation's environmental footprint (CO2 and non-CO2 emissions).
  • Potential for improving runway throughput in high-demand scenarios.
  • Contribution to ensuring cyber-resilience and cyber-security of airport platforms.
  • Scalability and dynamic capacity adjustments for service providers.
  • Maximizing aircraft capabilities for climate impact reduction.
  • Optimisation of flight trajectories considering individual performance, user preferences, real-time traffic, and meteorological conditions.
  • Improvement of intelligent surface management and airport safety nets.
  • Effectiveness of proposed solutions for standardisation and industry adoption.
  • Efforts to share results with other grants and ensure future reuse under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory conditions.
Implementation
  • Quality and effectiveness of the work plan, including appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources.
  • Appropriateness of the management structure and procedures, including risk management.
  • Complementarity of the participants within the consortium and appropriateness of the expertise and capabilities.
  • Feasibility of building ATS airport system prototypes required for the research at the required maturity level.
  • Adherence to the maximum project duration of 36 months.
  • Clarity of the collaboration agreement required for linked actions (HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01, HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance
  • General conditions: Admissibility and eligible country conditions described in Annex A, B, and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
  • Protection of European communication networks: This call is subject to specific restrictions for their protection.
  • Legal and financial set-up: Described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific exceptions regarding funding rate and lump sum.
  • Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085: Compliance required for achieving objectives.
  • EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509: General compliance.
Data Protection and Security
  • Cyber-resilience and cyber-security capabilities: Required for next-generation airport platforms, including strong identification, authentication, and integrity.
  • Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms: Should be considered where appropriate to manage cyber-resilience risks.
  • ICAO International Aviation Trust Framework (IATF): Research should consider ongoing work in this area.
Intellectual Property (IP) Policies
  • Exploitation obligations: Results must be made available for reuse under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory conditions via a trusted repository.
  • Standardisation: If results are related to standardisation, beneficiaries must grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence.
  • Linked actions: Mutual access to background and results of ongoing and closed linked actions is required if necessary for implementation or exploitation.
Special Considerations
  • Alignment requirements: Proposed target architecture must align with the service delivery model outlined in the European ATM Master Plan.
  • Innovation focus: Research aims at developing the next generation of airport platforms by leveraging innovative solutions and new aircraft capabilities.
  • Automation level 4: Projects should contribute to achieving automation level 4 as outlined in the Master Plan.
  • Gender dimension: Integration of a gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) into R&I content is not a mandatory requirement for this call.
  • Ethical standards: General ethical standards and requirements applicable to Horizon Europe projects apply.

Grant Details

aviation air traffic management atm airport operations airports air navigation service providers anps ground handlers cns/met technology innovation research and development ai artificial intelligence cybersecurity cyber-resilience environmental impact sustainability emissions reduction carbon footprint runway optimisation throughput improvement human-machine teaming automation data sharing lump sum funding consortium horizon europe sesar ats platform tbo ads-c cpdlc swim rnp lidar machine learning a-cdm a-smgcs industrial research transportation
Next generation ATS platform for airport operations
HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-IR-02-WA4-1
Horizon Europe
ENTERPRISE PUBLIC OTHER
AT BE BG HR CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE GR HU IE IT LV LT LU MT NL PL PT RO SK SI ES SE AL BA GE IS IL MD ME MK NO RS TR UA UK
TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENT OTHER
DEVELOPMENT EARLY_MARKET
OTHER
SDG9 SDG13
FUNDING RESEARCH_DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION_COMMERCIALIZATION TECHNOLOGY_TRANSFER
24000000.00
5000000.00
12000000.00
EUR
70.00
Sept. 16, 2025, midnight
Information not explicitly provided, typically takes a few months post-deadline.