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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

GRANT PURPOSE AND TARGET

Core objective: To significantly advance key development actions related to trajectory-based operations within Air Traffic Management (ATM).
Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: SECTOR-SPECIFIC; organizations active in aviation and ATM technology, specifically manufacturers of Flight Operations Centre (FOC), Air Traffic Services (ATS), and Flight Management System (FMS) systems, or entities demonstrating equivalent operational and technical capability. This typically targets larger enterprises or specialized research organizations due to the scale and expertise required.
Geographic scope and any location requirements: European. Eligible countries are those covered by Horizon Europe (EU Member States and Associated Countries).
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening:
Focus on Air Traffic Management (ATM) and specific Research & Innovation (R&I) needs in Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO).
Mandatory consortium requirement, including specific industry players.
Eligibility under Horizon Europe framework.
Grant frequency and program context: Part of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Bi-Annual Work Programme (BAWP) 2024-2025, indicating recurring calls within this strategic program.

Financial Structure

FINANCIAL STRUCTURE

Funding amounts: Projects can receive between 4,000,000 EUR and 10,000,000 EUR per grant.
Total budget for this specific topic (WA1-1): 20,000,000 EUR (expected to fund 2 grants).
Currency: EUR.
Co-financing requirements: The grant covers 70% of eligible costs, implying a 30% co-financing contribution from beneficiaries.
Eligible costs: Costs will take the form of a lump sum, as defined in the European Commission Decision of 7 July 2021 regarding lump sum contributions under Horizon Europe.
Payment schedule and mechanisms: Not explicitly detailed, but implied by the lump sum model, payment milestones are typically linked to project progress and reporting.
Financial reporting requirements: Beneficiaries are subject to financial reporting as per the lump sum grant agreement guidelines, generally simplified compared to actual cost reporting.

Eligibility Requirements

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Organization Type & Legal Status

Eligible organization types: Any legal entity that can participate in Horizon Europe actions. There are specific requirements for the consortium composition.
Specific qualifications and certifications needed: Consortia must include:
An established Flight Operations Centre (FOC) system manufacturer OR provide evidence of operational and technical capability to build the FOC prototypes required for the research at the required maturity level.
An established Air Traffic Services (ATS) system manufacturer OR provide evidence of operational and technical capability to build the ATS system prototypes required for the research at the required maturity level.
An established Flight Management System (FMS) manufacturer OR provide evidence of operational and technical capability to build the FMS system prototypes required for the research at the required maturity level.
Partnership or consortium requirements: A collaboration agreement is required. Projects will be linked to actions from previous calls (HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01 and HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01).

Geographic, Temporal, and Regulatory Requirements

Geographic location requirements: Eligible countries are those described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This primarily includes EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Regulatory requirements: Compliance with general conditions described in Annex A, E, B, C, F, and G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Technical Expertise & Infrastructure

Technical expertise requirements: Demonstrated capability in FOC, ATS, and FMS system development, or equivalent expertise as required by the consortium composition.

Exclusion Criteria

This call is subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

Application Process

APPLICATION PRACTICAL INFORMATION Application Deadlines & Timeline

Application submission window: Opens on 2025-04-01.
Application deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+0000.
Evaluation timeline: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes (not specified in provided text).

Required Documentation & Materials

Standard application form (Part A for HE RIA, IA): Please note that only Part A of this template is applicable for this call.
SESAR 3 application form (RIA, IA) - Part B: This specific application form is available in the Submission System.
Detailed budget table (HE LS).

Application Procedure

Application procedure: Single-stage submission via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Pre-application requirements: It is recommended to submit any enquiries at least 2 weeks before the call deadline.

Project Implementation & Reporting

Grant duration parameters: The maximum project duration is 36 months.
Reporting obligations: Beneficiaries are subject to additional dissemination obligations, requiring proactive efforts to share results royalty-free with other grants under the same call.
Exploitation obligations: Beneficiaries must make relevant results available for reuse under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory conditions through a trusted repository.
Inter-project collaboration: Beneficiaries working on linked actions (specifically with HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01 and HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01) must ensure mutual access to background and results.

Evaluation Criteria

EVALUATION CRITERIA Award Criteria

Excellence: 40% weighting.
Impact: 40% weighting.
Implementation: 20% weighting.

Quality Thresholds & Benchmarks

Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Part B of the Application Form and general admissibility conditions.
Proposals should demonstrate how they will contribute to significantly advancing the specified development actions (IR-1-02 to IR-1-05).
Proposals must show how they will advance the capabilities of airborne systems (improved FMSs and EFBs) and ground systems (improved FOC/WOC, ATS, and NM systems).
Project content should align with the development priorities defined in the European ATM Master Plan.

Innovation Requirements

Expected outcomes involve developing new capabilities for trajectory-based operations, including FF-ICE/R2 precursor services, dynamic Route Availability Documents (RAD), and integrated FOC-EFB-FMS-ATM platforms.
Innovation is expected in areas such as unconstrained desired trajectory (UDT) concepts, evolution of military flight planning, and increased dynamicity in RAD/Letter of Agreement (LoA) constraints.

Social Impact Expectations

Expected to lead to increased flight efficiency and predictability within the Air Traffic Management system.
Potential for improved civil-military collaboration in aviation.

Competitive Advantage Factors

Ability to demonstrate comprehensive understanding and capability in integrating complex aviation systems (FOC, EFB, FMS, ATC platforms).
Strong international coordination capabilities, particularly regarding support to ICAO ATMRPP panel activities.
Proactive efforts outlined for sharing and exploiting project results, indicating commitment to wider impact and standardisation.

Cross-Cutting Themes Impact on Scoring

The integration of a gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) into R&I content is not a mandatory requirement for evaluation in this topic.

Compliance & Special Requirements

COMPLIANCE AND SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance requirements: Adherence to general conditions outlined in various annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme (A, B, C, F, G), Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085, and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.
Data protection and privacy regulations: Standard EU regulations apply, although not explicitly detailed in the provided text.
Ethical standards and requirements: General ethical standards for research projects are expected.
Industry-specific regulatory compliance: Projects must align with the objectives set in the European ATM Master Plan and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA).

Intellectual Property Policies

Intellectual property policies: Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to share, on a royalty-free basis, all relevant results with other grants awarded under the same call.
Exploitation obligations: Results must be made available for reuse under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory conditions through a trusted repository.
Standardisation: If the purpose of exploitation relates to standardisation, beneficiaries must grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to the results.
Mutual access: Beneficiaries must ensure mutual access to background and results of ongoing and closed linked actions if necessary for implementation or exploitation.

Risk Management

Risk management expectations: Not explicitly detailed, but implied by the R&I nature of the grant and the technical complexities involved in ATM system development.

Unique Aspects & Strategic Opportunities

Unique aspects: The grant focuses on highly specialized R&I in Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) within the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) system.
Strategic alignment opportunities: Strong alignment with the 'Digital European Sky' initiative and long-term ATM modernization goals.
International collaboration: Projects are expected to contribute to international coordination activities, such as those related to the ICAO ATMRPP panel.
Innovation requirements: High expectation for innovation, including the development of FF-ICE/R2 precursor services and advanced integration of FOC, EFB, FMS, and ATC platforms.
Cross-cutting considerations: While integration of a gender dimension is not mandatory, the focus on efficiency and optimization may contribute indirectly to broader sustainability goals.

Grant Details