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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to create a Europe-wide consortium of public procurers to define unmet needs for innovative advanced materials and prepare future public procurement processes (PCP/PPI) that foster the twin green and digital transition.
The primary target recipients are public procurers forming a consortium, supported by industry (including SMEs) and research organizations.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC
Geographic scope: Europe-wide. Eligible countries are those defined in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Key filtering criteria: Focus on public procurers, advanced materials, innovation procurement, and strong alignment with EU green and digital policies.
Grant frequency: Part of the annual Horizon Europe Work Programme for Industry, 2025 call. Similar topics may recur in future work programmes.

Financial Structure

Funding mechanism: Lump sum contribution, determined by the granting authority based on proposed estimated costs.
Total budget for this topic: 2000000.0 EUR.
Expected grant amount per project: 2000000.0 EUR.
Minimum grant amount per project: 2000000.0 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 2000000.0 EUR.
Currency: EUR.
Funding rate: 100.0% for Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs).
Eligible costs: Covered categories typically include personnel costs, subcontracting costs, purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods/works/services), and other specific cost categories (e.g., financial support to third parties if applicable, internally invoiced goods and services, research infrastructure access, PCP/PPI procurement costs if applicable).
Indirect costs: A flat rate of 25% is applied to eligible direct costs.
Co-financing: The total estimated costs of the action are expected to be greater than or equal to the Union contribution, ensuring compliance with co-financing principles.
Payment schedule: Lump sum contributions are paid per work package upon proper implementation of the work package activities, as defined in Annex 1 of the grant agreement.
Financial retention: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Financial reporting: No reporting of actual costs incurred is required for lump sum grants.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Types

Mandatorily, a Europe-wide consortium of public procurers must be formed.
Other participants may include industry (including SMEs) and research organisations.

Geographic Location

Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes all EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.

Consortium Requirements

A consortium is mandatory for this grant.

Capacity Requirements

Proposers should demonstrate the ability to coordinate a Europe-wide consortium and conduct thorough market analysis and stakeholder consultations.
Strong support to SMEs is required, indicating that SMEs are encouraged to participate and are considered capable contributors.

Exclusion Criteria

No specific exclusion criteria are mentioned beyond general Horizon Europe rules (e.g., related to financial capacity or ethical breaches).

Application Process

Application Timeline

Submission opened: 2025-05-22.
Application deadline: 2025-09-23T00:00:00+0000.

Submission Process

Proposals must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
The submission process is single-stage.

Required Documentation

Standard application form (HE CSA).
A detailed budget table (HE LS) breaking down the lump sum contribution by work package and, within each work package, the share assigned to each beneficiary and affiliated entity.
Proposals must include a declaration by beneficiaries stating that they have followed their own accounting practices for budget preparation.

Project Implementation

Projects must be structured into clearly defined work packages with detailed activities and resources.
Lump sum payments are directly linked to the successful completion of these work packages.
Monitoring and evaluation will focus on the technical implementation of the action and the fulfillment of work package conditions.

Support Available

Applicants can find guidance through the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and frequently asked questions (FAQ).
Additional support is available from the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.
A Partner Search tool is available on the portal to help find consortium partners.

Evaluation Criteria

General Criteria

Proposals are evaluated based on standard Horizon Europe procedures, focusing on Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation.

Financial Evaluation

Experts will check the proposed lump sum budget for realism by benchmarking it against market prices, statistical data, or historical data from comparable actions.
The assessment ensures that proposed resources are sufficient to achieve the defined activities and expected outputs.
Proposals must include a declaration that beneficiaries have used their own accounting practices for preparing the estimated budget.

Expected Impact

Proposals should clearly demonstrate the expected impact in terms of enhanced market opportunities for participants and accelerated deployment of solutions in the EU, both in the short and medium term.
This includes describing targeted markets, estimating market size (EU and globally), identifying user and customer needs, and showing how solutions will match these needs cost-effectively while establishing a strong market position and competitive advantage.

Exploitation Strategy (if applicable)

Identification of obstacles, requirements, and necessary actions to reach higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs).
Plans for securing required investments, accessing necessary skills, matching value chains, enhancing product robustness, securing industrial integrators, and ensuring user acceptance.
For TRLs 6 and 7, a credible strategy for future full-scale deployment in the EU is expected.

Cross-Cutting Themes

Projects should strongly contribute to the twin green and digital transitions.
Consortia are encouraged to consider voluntary contributions of data, indicators, and knowledge to relevant Joint Research Centre (JRC) platforms (INnovation Centre for Industrial Transformation and Emissions - INCITE, and The Energy and Industry Geography Lab - EIGL).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Adherence to general Horizon Europe rules and applicable EU financial regulations.
Compliance with relevant EU legislation and policies, including the EU Public Procurement Directives, Energy Efficiency Directive, Net-Zero Industry Act, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, and Critical Raw Materials Act.

Financial Management

This grant utilizes a lump sum funding model. This means payments are contingent upon the achievement of predefined work packages rather than on the reporting of actual incurred costs.
While financial ex-post audits on costs are not conducted, technical implementation and work package completion are subject to checks, reviews, and audits by the granting authority.

Intellectual Property

The market analysis activities within the CSA should address potential Intellectual Property (IP) barriers related to the uptake of advanced materials and innovative solutions.

Consortium Specifics

The formation of a Europe-wide consortium of public procurers is a central and mandatory requirement for this grant.

Strategic Significance

This Coordination and Support Action (CSA) holds strategic importance as it aims to enable future public procurement of innovative advanced materials, directly contributing to the EU's strategic autonomy and ambitious green and digital transition goals.
Expected outcomes include developing proposals for amending Commission guidelines and facilitating the sharing of best practices in innovation procurement.

Data and Knowledge Sharing

Consortia are encouraged to voluntarily contribute data, indicators, and knowledge to relevant Joint Research Centre (JRC) platforms (INCITE and EIGL) to maximize policy relevance and capitalization of knowledge.

Grant Details