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Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to advance the development of open-source Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. It aims to establish comprehensive and stable digital design flows, develop full analogue/mixed-signal design flows, and enhance productivity and interoperability in modern chip design. - Target recipients are consortia of legal entities, implicitly including businesses of various sizes (e.g., SMEs, enterprises), research organizations, and public bodies. - This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, focused on the microelectronics and semiconductor industry, specifically on EDA tools and chip design. - Geographic scope covers EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries, along with a specified list of low- and middle-income countries. Exclusions apply to certain countries. - Key filtering criteria include a focus on open-source solutions, specific technical streams within chip design (digital SoC, analogue/mixed-signal, productivity/interoperability/verification), and a mandatory consortium structure. - The grant is part of the Horizon Europe program, specifically under the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU). It is structured as a two-stage Innovation Action.

Financial Structure

  • The total budget available for this call is EUR 20,000,000.
  • Individual grants are expected to range from a minimum of EUR 1,000,000 to a maximum of EUR 20,000,000 per project.
  • The currency for all financial figures is EUR.
  • The maximum funding rate for this Innovation Action is 70% of eligible costs for for-profit legal entities.
  • For non-profit legal entities, the funding rate can be up to 100% of eligible costs.
  • Eligible costs include actual costs for personnel, subcontracting, and purchases.
  • Indirect costs are covered by a 25% flat-rate of total eligible direct costs (excluding specific items like subcontracting and financial support to third parties).
  • The payment schedule typically includes a pre-financing payment (normally 160% of the average EU funding per reporting period, though this can vary), followed by interim payments linked to periodic reports, and a final payment after the project's completion and final report.
  • Financial capacity will be assessed for the coordinator, especially for requested grants equal to or greater than EUR 500,000.
  • Beneficiaries may be required to submit a certificate on financial statements depending on the grant amount and beneficiary type.
  • Grants are subject to a 'no-profit' rule, meaning any surplus of revenues over costs will be deducted from the final grant amount.
  • Double funding from the EU budget for the same costs is strictly prohibited.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Legal Status
  • Any legal entity is eligible to participate, including entities from non-associated third countries or international organizations.
  • This broad eligibility covers types such as private for-profit organizations (including SMEs), non-profit organizations, public bodies, research organizations, higher education establishments, and entities without legal personality (provided they meet specific conditions for legal obligations and financial guarantees).
  • Legal entities created under EU law (e.g., Joint Research Centre) and associations/interest groupings (e.g., ERICs) are also eligible.
  • Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register and obtain a Participant Identification Code (PIC).
Geographic Location for Funding
  • To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following:
  • EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
  • Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to Member States: Aruba, Bonaire, Curação, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Greenland, New Caledonia, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna Islands.
  • Horizon Europe Associated Countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
  • Specific low- and middle-income countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt (Arab Republic), El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People's Republic), Kyrgyz Republic, Lao (People’s Democratic Republic), Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States), Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic), Vietnam, Yemen Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
  • Legal entities from countries not listed above may be eligible for funding if explicitly provided in the specific call conditions or if deemed essential by the granting authority.
Consortium Requirements
  • Applications must be submitted by a consortium.
  • A consortium must include, as beneficiaries, at least three independent legal entities.
  • Each of these three entities must be established in a different country.
  • At least one independent legal entity must be established in an EU Member State.
  • At least two other independent legal entities must each be established in different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
  • Affiliated entities do not count towards the minimum consortium size requirements.
Exclusions & Restrictions
  • Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in Innovation Actions (like this one) in any capacity, due to specific policy considerations. Exceptions are rare and require justification.
  • Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
  • Entities subject to EU restrictive measures are not eligible.
  • Hungarian public interest trusts established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain are not eligible for funded roles as of December 16, 2022.
Operational & Financial Capacity
  • Applicants must demonstrate stable and sufficient financial resources for project implementation. A financial capacity check is typically performed for the coordinator if the requested grant is equal to or greater than EUR 500,000 (with exceptions for public bodies or low-value grants).
  • Applicants must possess the necessary know-how, qualifications, and resources (operational capacity) to execute their project tasks effectively. This is assessed during evaluation based on expertise and resources.
Ethical & Security Compliance
  • Projects must adhere to ethical principles and all applicable EU, international, and national laws. A self-assessment on ethics is required during application.
  • Projects involving classified or sensitive information are subject to a security appraisal process. Projects dealing with information classified as 'TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET' cannot be funded.
Gender Equality Plan (GEP)
  • Public bodies, research organizations, and higher education establishments (including private ones) from EU Member States and Associated Countries must have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) that meets specific process-related requirements.
  • This GEP requirement does not apply to private for-profit organizations (including SMEs), non-governmental organizations, or civil society organizations.
Activity Scope
  • Proposed activities must align with the topic description.
  • Projects must be exclusively for civil applications and must not involve human cloning for reproductive purposes, heritable genetic modification of humans (except for certain cancer treatments), or creation of human embryos solely for research or stem cell procurement.
  • All projects must comply with broader EU policy interests and priorities.

Application Process

Application Process & Submission
  • This grant follows a two-stage submission procedure.
  • All applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal's electronic submission system; paper submissions are not accepted.
  • Applications must be complete, including all mandatory parts and annexes.
  • Part A (administrative information, summarized budget, call-specific questions) is filled directly online.
  • Part B (technical description of the project) is downloaded, completed, and uploaded as a PDF.
  • For the first stage, proposals are outline applications evaluated solely on 'Excellence' and 'Impact'.
  • Successful first-stage applicants will be invited to submit a full application for the second stage, which undergoes a comprehensive evaluation.
Application Deadlines
  • Stage 1 application deadline: 2025-04-29 at 00:00:00 Central European Time (CET).
  • Stage 2 application deadline: 2025-09-17 at 00:00:00 Central European Time (CET).
  • The submission session became available on 2025-03-04.
Required Documentation & Materials
  • A plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results, including communication activities, is mandatory for the full application (not for the first stage). This plan must include a strategy for exploitation if results lead to products, processes, or services.
  • During the grant preparation stage, successful applicants will be asked to provide documents for legal entity validation, financial capacity checks, and bank account validation.
  • For lump sum grants (if applicable to this topic), a detailed budget table is required to justify the lump sum amount.
Evaluation & Grant Agreement Timeline
  • Information on the outcome of the first-stage evaluation is expected around 3 months from the first-stage deadline.
  • Information on the outcome of the second-stage evaluation is expected around 5 months from the second-stage deadline.
  • The indicative date for signing grant agreements is around 8 months from the second-stage deadline.
Project Implementation & Reporting
  • The project's starting date is typically after the grant agreement is signed, though retroactive starts are exceptionally possible for justified reasons.
  • The project duration will be fixed in the grant agreement, with extensions only possible in exceptional, justified circumstances.
  • Key milestones and deliverables for each project will be managed through the grant management system.
  • Beneficiaries are required to submit periodic reports tied to interim payments, and a final report at the end of the project.
Support & Resources
  • Applicants can contact 'Calls@chips-ju.europa.eu' for specific questions related to the call.
  • Extensive support resources are available, including the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), IT Helpdesk, and the European IPR Helpdesk.
  • A Partner Search tool is available to help organizations find suitable collaborators for their consortium.
Post-Award Requirements & Compliance
  • A consortium agreement is strongly recommended for multi-beneficiary grants to ensure smooth implementation and dispute resolution.
  • All participants must confirm compliance with EU funding conditions (eligibility, financial/operational capacity, exclusion criteria) before grant signature.
  • The 'no-profit' rule applies, meaning grants cannot generate a surplus of revenue over costs. Double funding from the EU budget for the same costs is strictly prohibited.

Evaluation Criteria

This is a two-stage application process, meaning different criteria apply at each stage: First Stage Evaluation Criteria
  • Only 'Excellence' and 'Impact' criteria are evaluated at this stage.
  • Each criterion will be scored out of 5, with an individual threshold of 4.
  • The overall threshold, applying to the sum of the two individual scores, is typically set at 8 or 8.5 (to ensure the budget of proposals invited to stage 2 is approximately three times the available budget).
  • Excellence:
  • Clarity and pertinence of the project's objectives.
  • The extent to which the proposed work is ambitious and goes beyond the current state-of-the-art.
  • Soundness of the overall methodology, including consideration of the gender dimension in research and innovation content, and the quality of open science practices.
  • Impact:
  • Credibility of the pathways to achieve the expected outcomes and impacts outlined in the work program.
  • The likely scale and significance of the project's contributions.
  • Suitability and quality of measures proposed to maximize expected outcomes and impacts, as detailed in the dissemination and exploitation plan (including communication activities).
Full Application (Second Stage) Evaluation Criteria
  • All three criteria: 'Excellence', 'Impact', and 'Quality and efficiency of the implementation' are evaluated.
  • Each criterion will be scored out of 5, with an individual threshold of 3.
  • The overall threshold, applying to the sum of the three individual scores, is 10.
  • For Innovation Actions (such as this grant), the 'Impact' score will be weighted 1.5.
  • Excellence:
  • All aspects from the first stage, plus underlying concepts, models, assumptions, inter-disciplinary approaches, and engagement of citizens, civil society, and end-users where appropriate.
  • Impact:
  • Same as the first stage.
  • Quality and efficiency of the implementation:
  • Quality and effectiveness of the work plan, including risk assessment.
  • Appropriateness of the effort assigned to work packages and overall resources.
  • Capacity and role of each participant, and the overall expertise brought by the consortium.
Prioritization for Equally Scored Proposals
  • If multiple proposals achieve the same score within a budget envelope, the following method will apply to determine priority:
    1. Proposals addressing aspects of the call not covered by higher-ranked proposals.
    1. Prioritization by 'Excellence' score (for Innovation Actions, 'Impact' score first, then 'Excellence').
    1. Gender balance among the researchers (if needed).
    1. Geographical diversity (number of Member States or Associated Countries represented, then by budget) (if needed).
    1. Other factors related to call objectives, such as enhancing project portfolio synergies or involving SMEs (if needed).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance
  • All projects must strictly comply with applicable EU, international, and national laws and regulations.
  • Projects must be exclusively for civil applications.
  • Prohibited activities include human cloning for reproductive purposes, heritable genetic modification of human beings (with a limited exception for cancer treatment), and the creation of human embryos solely for research or stem cell procurement.
  • Projects must align with broader EU policy interests and priorities, encompassing environmental, social, security, and industrial policies.
Ethical & Security Standards
  • Adherence to the highest ethical principles and research integrity standards is mandatory.
  • An ethics self-assessment is a required part of the application process.
  • Projects involving ethics issues will be subject to a formal ethics review, which may lead to specific ethics requirements being integrated into the grant agreement.
  • Projects dealing with classified or sensitive information will undergo a security appraisal. Information classified as 'TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET' cannot be funded.
  • Handling of classified information may require Facility Security Clearance (FSC) for premises and Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) for individuals.
  • Beneficiaries must ensure their projects are not impeded by national or third-country security requirements.
Data Protection & Privacy
  • The collection, use, and processing of personal data during the application and grant management phases must fully comply with EU Regulation 2018/1725.
Intellectual Property (IP) & Open Science
  • Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) generated within the project, including background and results, as well as access rights, are governed by the grant agreement.
  • The granting authority reserves the right to object to the transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results for up to 4 years after the project's end.
  • Beneficiaries must make clear documentation, user manuals, and video tutorials widely available for the developed open-source EDA tools.
  • All project results must clearly specify an applicable OSI-approved open-source license.
  • Consortia are expected to develop teaching materials and courses with open resources and examples based on the developed/improved open-source EDA tools, accessible to academic institutions across the EU.
  • In the event of a public emergency, beneficiaries may be required to immediately deposit research output in a repository and provide open access (under CC BY or CC 0 licenses) or grant non-exclusive licenses under fair and reasonable conditions.
  • Beneficiaries must inform the granting authority if project results could contribute to European or international standards for up to 4 years post-action.
Risk Management
  • Project proposals require a clear assessment of risks within the work plan.
Sustainability & Dissemination
  • A sustainability plan for the project's results following its completion is a mandatory component of the proposal.
  • Joint communication and dissemination efforts among the selected consortia are encouraged to maximize impact.
Strategic Alignment & Collaboration
  • Consortia must actively engage and collaborate with the Platform Coordination Team of the Chips Act’s Design Platform to integrate their developed tools.
  • Proposals should include a clear strategy for engaging with relevant foundries to secure access to necessary Process Design Kits (PDKs).
  • The selected consortia are expected to collaborate on technical work where relevant.

Grant Details

open-source eda tools chips semiconductor microelectronics integrated circuits digital design analogue design mixed-signal design productivity interoperability verification chip design flows foundries pdk innovation action horizon europe chips ju research technology development prototyping testing demonstration piloting large-scale validation market replication training capacity building
Open-source EDA tools development
HORIZON-JU-CHIPS-2025-IA-EDA-two-stage
Chips JU
SME ENTERPRISE NGO PUBLIC UNIVERSITY 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 AW BQ CW PF TF GL NC BL SX PM WF AL AM BA FO GE IS IL XK MD ME NZ MK NO RS TN TR UA UK AF AO AR AZ BD BZ BJ BT BO BW BF BI CV KH CM CF TD CO KM CD CG CR CI CU DJ DM DO EC EG SV GQ ER SZ ET FJ GA GM GH GD GT GN GW HT HN ID IR IQ JM JO KZ KE KI KP KG LA LB LS LR LY MG MW MY MV ML MH MR MU FM MN MA MZ MM NA NP NI NG NU PK PW PS PG PY PE PH RW WS ST SN SL SB SO ZA SS LK LC VC SD SR SY TJ TZ TH TL TG TO TM TV UG UZ VU VE VN YE ZM ZW
TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT EARLY_MARKET GROWTH
OTHER
SDG9 SDG17
FUNDING RESEARCH_DEVELOPMENT TRAINING_EDUCATION NETWORKING CAPACITY_BUILDING
20000000.00
1000000.00
20000000.00
EUR
70.00
Sept. 16, 2025, 10 p.m.
September 2025 - February 2026