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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, the CETPartnership Joint Call 2025, aims to accelerate the clean energy transition by funding research, development, and innovation (RDI) projects. Its core objective is to support the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and contribute to achieving a climate-neutral society by 2050. This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant focused on various aspects of clean energy technology and system integration. Target Recipients This call targets a broad range of legal entities, including businesses (startups, SMEs, enterprises), public institutions, academic organizations, and other innovators. It is designed for transnational collaborations, specifically requiring consortia with participants from multiple countries. Geographic Scope Project consortia must include participants from a minimum of three different countries, with at least two being EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. This emphasizes a European and broader international collaboration for clean energy innovation. Key Filtering Criteria To be considered, applicants must:

Propose a project focused on one of the 10 specific Call Modules related to clean energy transition (e.g., integrated energy systems, renewable energy, hydrogen, CCUS, heating/cooling, built environment integration).
Form a consortium of at least three legal entities from at least three different countries, with two from EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Address RDI challenges aiming to advance the state-of-the-art in clean energy.

Grant Frequency and Program Context This is the fourth joint call within the CETPartnership, an ongoing program planned to run with joint calls from 2022 to 2027. It is co-funded under the broader Horizon Europe Partnership scheme, indicating a recurring opportunity within a structured European RDI framework.

Financial Structure

While specific per-project financial details are not exhaustively outlined, the grant provides a clear overall financial context: Total Call Budget

The total budget available for the CETPartnership Joint Call 2025 is 80,000,000 EUR.

Grant Amounts and Limitations

Minimum/Maximum Grant Amount per Project: Not explicitly specified. However, the call description mentions supporting 'small to medium size' transnational projects, indicating that individual project funding will likely fall within a typical range for such initiatives.

Co-financing and Cost-Sharing

Co-funding Requirement: The call is explicitly 'co-funded by the European Commission via the CETPartnership under the Horizon Europe Partnership scheme'. This indicates that national and regional funding bodies contribute to the overall budget, and applicants will likely need to align with national/regional funding rules, which often involve co-financing or matching fund requirements (though specific percentages are not detailed in this document).
Pooling National Budgets: The CETPartnership operates by 'pooling national budgets in transnational joint calls', reinforcing the co-funding model.

Eligible and Ineligible Costs

Eligible Costs: Not explicitly detailed in the provided document. It is implied that costs related to research, development, and innovation activities within the scope of the chosen Call Module will be eligible.
Ineligible Costs: Not explicitly detailed.

Budget Flexibility Parameters

Changes to Budget: During the two-stage application process, any changes initiated by a project consortium related to the budget at the full proposal stage must be approved by the relevant Funding agencies. This indicates some flexibility but requires explicit approval.

Financial Reporting and Guarantees

Financial Reporting: Applicants are required to 'insert information about participants, budget etc. directly in the system' during the application process. More detailed financial reporting requirements would typically be part of the grant agreement upon award.
Financial Guarantees: Not specified in the provided text.

Eligibility Requirements

This grant has strict eligibility requirements, primarily focusing on consortium formation and geographic representation. These are hard, non-negotiable criteria. Organizational Types and Size

Eligible Organizations: A broad range of 'legal entities' are eligible, including:
- 'STARTUP' (implied by 'innovators')
- 'SME' (implied by 'companies', 'solution providers')
- 'ENTERPRISE' (implied by 'industry', 'companies')
- 'UNIVERSITY' (explicitly stated as 'academia')
- 'PUBLIC' (explicitly stated as 'public institutions')
- 'OTHER' (e.g., citizen groups, researchers)
Organizational Size: Not explicitly defined by employee count or revenue. The grant mentions enabling 'small to medium size' transnational projects, suggesting openness to various organizational scales, from small innovators to larger enterprises involved in RDI.

Consortium Requirements (Mandatory)

Minimum Members: Projects must involve a minimum of three legal entities.
Country Diversity: These entities must come from a minimum of three different countries participating in the CETPartnership Joint Call 2025.
European Nexus: Of these countries, at least two must be EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Effort Distribution: To ensure balanced collaboration:
- The total effort (measured in person-months) of any single partner cannot exceed 60% of the total project efforts.
- The total effort of all partners from any one country/region cannot exceed 75% of the total project efforts.

Geographic Eligibility Funding is available to legal entities established in:

EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden)
EEA Non-EU Countries (Iceland, Norway)
Horizon Europe Associated Countries (United Kingdom, and potentially others as listed in specific national/regional requirements). Eligibility is conditional on the rules of the specific national/regional funding partner involved in the consortium.

Specific Call Module and National/Regional Requirements

Call Module Specificity: Applicants must choose and apply to a specific 'Call Module' (one of the 10 thematic areas) that best fits their project. Some Call Modules may have additional specific requirements regarding project consortia.
National/Regional Requirements: Applicants must also comply with their respective national/regional eligibility rules, which may include additional specific requirements for project consortia. It is crucial to consult these national/regional requirements (referenced as 'Annex B' in the grant document, though not provided).

Exclusion Criteria

Proposals not submitted through the official CETPartnership Submission Platform.
Proposals submitted after the specified deadlines.
Projects that do not form a transnational consortium meeting the minimum partner and country requirements.
Projects where partner effort or country effort exceeds specified percentages.

Application Process

The application process for the CETPartnership Joint Call 2025 follows a structured two-stage procedure: Application Timeline and Deadlines

Call Launch: May 2025
Stage 1: Pre-Proposal Submission Deadline: 2025-10-09 14:00 CEST (corresponding to 2025-10-09 12:00:00+0000 in UTC based on provided metadata)
Stage 2: Full Proposal Submission Deadline: 2026-03-12 (corresponding to 2026-03-12 14:00:00+0000 in UTC based on provided metadata, assuming 14:00 CEST if time is not specified in text for full proposal)
Project Duration: Projects are expected to have a duration of 36 months.

Required Documentation and Materials

Pre-Proposal: Specific details not listed, but it involves basic project and consortium information.
Full Proposal: While the full proposal should not differ substantially from the pre-proposal, changes to consortium, duration, or budget require approval. You will need to:
- Upload a comprehensive project description in English as a PDF document.
- Insert information about participants and budget directly into the online submission system.
- Be prepared for additional documents or national/regional proposal submissions as requested by specific Funding Partners.

Application Procedure and Steps

Choose a Call Module: Select one of the 10 thematic Call Modules that best aligns with your project idea.
Form a Consortium: Build a consortium that meets the eligibility criteria (minimum 3 legal entities from 3 countries, with 2 from EU MS/Horizon Europe Associated Countries).
Pre-Proposal Submission: The Project Coordinator initiates the application in the CETPartnership Submission Platform, invites Project Partners through the system, and submits the pre-proposal by the deadline.
Pre-Proposal Evaluation: Submitted pre-proposals undergo an eligibility check and evaluation by experts, resulting in a ranking list per Call Module. Proposals meeting the cut-off scores (individual score >= 3, total score >= 10) are invited to the full proposal stage.
Full Proposal Submission: If invited, the consortium prepares and submits the full proposal through the online system by the second deadline. The full proposal should largely align with the pre-proposal.
Full Proposal Evaluation: Full proposals undergo further eligibility checks and evaluation by experts, including expert panel meetings, leading to a final ranking list.
Funding Decision: Funding decisions are made based on the ranking list, eligibility checks, and available budget.

Submission Format and Platform

All project proposals must be submitted through the CETPartnership Submission Platform (online only).
No proposals will be accepted after the submission deadline.

Types of Support Offered

Funding: Direct financial support for selected RDI projects.
Networking: Opportunity to become part of a 'large and supportive network and knowledge community', facilitating collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Research & Development: Direct support for RDI activities in clean energy technologies.
Capacity Building / Innovation Commercialization: Aims to accelerate upscaling, replication, and market diffusion of innovative solutions, fostering the uptake of cost-effective clean energy technologies.

Post-Award Requirements and Compliance Obligations

Reporting: Detailed reporting obligations will be specified upon successful funding (not detailed in this document).
Compliance: Ongoing compliance with national/regional requirements and the Horizon Europe Partnership scheme is expected.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications for the CETPartnership Joint Call 2025 are evaluated through a rigorous two-stage process (pre-proposal and full proposal) based on three equally weighted main criteria: 1. Excellence This criterion assesses the quality and ambition of your proposed research and innovation. Key factors include:

Clarity of Objectives: How clear and relevant are your project's goals in relation to the chosen Call Module and the broader grant objectives?
Beyond State-of-the-Art: Does your proposed work demonstrate ambition and push the boundaries of current research or innovation in clean energy transition?
Sound Methodology: Is your approach well-structured, logical, and based on solid concepts, models, and assumptions? Are interdisciplinary methods appropriately considered?
Diversity & Gender Dimension (Stage 2 Only): How well does your project consider diversity and gender aspects within its research and innovation content?
Open Science Practices (Stage 2 Only): The quality of your plan for sharing and managing research outputs and engaging citizens, civil society, and end-users.

2. Impact This criterion focuses on the potential effect and reach of your project's outcomes. Key factors include:

Achieving Outcomes: How credible are the pathways you propose to achieve the expected outcomes and impacts for the clean energy transition, as specified in the Call Module?
Scale and Significance: What is the likely scale and importance of your project's contributions? This includes effective involvement of end-users and other relevant target groups.
Transnational Added Value: The specific benefits and strengths derived from your project's international collaboration.
Maximizing Impact: The suitability and quality of your strategies for maximizing expected outcomes, including your dissemination and exploitation plan and communication activities.

3. Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation This criterion evaluates the practicality and effectiveness of your project's execution plan. Key factors include:

Work Plan Quality: The overall quality and effectiveness of your project's work plan.
Risk Assessment (Stage 2 Only): Your ability to identify, assess, and plan for potential risks during project implementation.
Resource Appropriateness (Stage 2 Only): Whether the effort assigned to work packages and the overall resources are appropriate for the project's scope.
Consortium Capacity: The capacity and specific role of each participant, and how well the overall consortium's combined expertise aligns with the project's needs.

Scoring System

Each of the three main criteria (Excellence, Impact, Quality & Efficiency) will be scored on a scale of 0 to 5 (half scores are not allowed).
All criteria are equally weighted.
Cut-off for Progression/Funding: To be invited to the second stage (full proposal) or considered for funding, a proposal must achieve:
- An average or consensus score of at or above 3 for each of the three evaluation criteria.
- A total average or consensus score of at or above 10 across all three criteria.
Proposals must meet both the individual criterion thresholds and the overall threshold to proceed.

Compliance & Special Requirements

This grant emphasizes several compliance areas and unique aspects critical for successful application and project implementation. Regulatory Compliance Requirements

National/Regional Compliance: Projects must comply with specific national and regional requirements of all participating funding partners. These are detailed in Annex B (not provided in this document), making it crucial for applicants to consult these local rules.
Horizon Europe Framework: As part of the Horizon Europe Partnership scheme, projects are implicitly subject to the broader regulatory and ethical standards of Horizon Europe, including those pertaining to research integrity, data management, and responsible innovation.

Ethical Standards and Data Protection

Ethical Considerations: While not explicitly detailed, research and innovation projects funded under Horizon Europe typically adhere to high ethical standards. Project proposals should ensure ethical conduct, especially if involving human participants, animal welfare, or sensitive data.
Data Protection & Privacy: Specific data protection regulations are not mentioned, but compliance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is implicitly required for projects involving EU citizens' data.

Environmental Compliance

Core Mission Alignment: Environmental considerations are central to this grant, which focuses on the 'clean energy transition', 'climate neutrality', and contributes to the 'European Green Deal'. Projects must inherently demonstrate positive environmental impact and adhere to relevant environmental regulations.

Intellectual Property Policies

Intellectual Property (IP): Not specified in the provided text. IP arrangements would typically be governed by the grant agreement and consortium agreement, following Horizon Europe general principles which often promote open access while protecting commercial exploitation.

Risk Management

Assessment of Risks: Risk management is an explicit sub-criterion in the Stage 2 evaluation process. Applicants should comprehensively identify, assess, and propose mitigation strategies for potential project risks.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Thematic Call Modules: The grant's structure into 10 distinct thematic Call Modules (e.g., hydrogen, CCUS, integrated energy systems) allows for focused applications addressing specific challenges in clean energy. Applicants must apply to one specific module.
Two-Stage Application: The pre-proposal/full-proposal structure allows for initial screening before full investment in a detailed proposal, though the full proposal cannot 'differ substantially' from the pre-proposal.
Strategic Alignment: Beyond funding, participation offers the opportunity to become a 'member of a large and supportive network and knowledge community', enhancing collaboration and potential for future partnerships ('Impact Network').
Innovation Preference: Strong emphasis is placed on projects that 'go beyond the state-of-the-art' in research and innovation.

Cross-Cutting Considerations

Diversity and Gender Dimension: Applicants are expected to appropriately consider the diversity and gender dimension within their research and innovation content, especially in Stage 2 evaluation.
Open Science Practices: Quality of open science practices, including sharing and managing research/innovation outputs and engaging citizens, civil society, and end-users, is evaluated in Stage 2. This promotes broader societal benefit and transparency.
Transnational Collaboration: The requirement for a multi-country consortium highlights the importance of international cooperation and the added value it brings to the project.

Potential Challenges or Limitations

Consortium Formation: Forming a consortium that meets all specific nationality and partner effort requirements can be challenging.
National/Regional Variations: Navigating diverse national/regional funding rules and requirements can add complexity.
High Competition: The requirement for high scores (minimum 3 out of 5 for each criterion, 10 total) suggests a competitive process.

Grant Details