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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: To develop and pilot large-scale, end-to-end telco edge cloud infrastructures, forming Connected Collaborative Computing Networks (3C networks), to strengthen European digital autonomy and competitiveness.
Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: This grant targets a broad range of organizations across the connectivity and compute value chain, including operators, system integrators, network/cloud/edge suppliers, experts in AI and communication, IoT platform providers, as well as SMEs, scale-ups, start-ups, and research organizations.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC.
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Open to legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Strict security-related location restrictions apply to entities controlled by non-eligible countries.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on large-scale pilot projects for telco edge cloud deployments, 3C networks, advanced digital infrastructures, AI-enabled orchestration, and strong consortia committed to European strategic autonomy in digital technologies.
Grant frequency and program context: This is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, suggesting recurring opportunities under the broader Horizon Europe framework.

Financial Structure

Total budget allocated for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-DATA-08) is 75,000,000.0 EUR.
The expected individual grant contribution per action is 75,000,000.0 EUR.
This is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) under Horizon Europe, which typically covers up to 100% of eligible costs for research and innovation activities.
Financial and operational capacity requirements are described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
The legal and financial set-up of the grants is detailed in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Guidance on eligible and ineligible costs, payment schedules, and financial reporting requirements is available in the EU Grants AGA (Annotated Model Grant Agreement).

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type & Legal Status

Legal entities must be established in eligible countries.
The grant is open to a wide array of organizations, including operators, system integrators, network/cloud/edge suppliers, experts in AI and (wireless) communication, experts on testing and validation of network technologies and services, IoT platform providers, SMEs, scale-ups, start-ups, and research organizations.

Geographic Location

Organizations must be established in one of the following countries:
- EU Member States: Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (HR), Cyprus (CY), Czechia (CZ), Denmark (DK), Estonia (EE), Finland (FI), France (FR), Germany (DE), Greece (GR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Malta (MT), Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovakia (SK), Slovenia (SI), Spain (ES), Sweden (SE).
- Associated Countries: Iceland (IS), Norway (NO), Canada (CA), Israel (IL), Republic of Korea (KR), New Zealand (NZ), Switzerland (CH), United Kingdom (UK).

Control & Security Restrictions

Participation is limited for legal entities established in eligible countries but directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity. Such entities may not participate unless they can demonstrate, through guarantees positively assessed by their eligible country of establishment, that their involvement would not negatively impact the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.
Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment (or entities fully or partially owned or controlled by such suppliers) are not eligible to submit guarantees or participate in the action.
Guarantees (if applicable) must specifically substantiate that:
- Control over the applicant legal entity does not restrict its ability to carry out the action or deliver results, or impose limitations on its infrastructure, facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property, or know-how needed for the action.
- Access by a non-eligible country or entity to sensitive information related to the action is prevented. Employees involved must have national security clearance where appropriate.
- Ownership of the intellectual property and results remains within the recipient during and after the action, is not subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries/entities, and is not exported outside eligible countries nor accessed from outside without approval.

Consortium Requirements

Formation of a consortium is required, bringing together players from diverse segments of the connectivity and compute value chain.
Proposals should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all participating stakeholders within the consortium.

Technical & Operational Capacity

Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity, as described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Application Deadline

The submission deadline for proposals is 2025-10-02 00:00:00+00:00.

Submission Process

Applications follow a single-stage submission model.
Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service.
Applicants will access the specific application form for this call through the Submission System.

Required Documentation

Proposal page limits and layout requirements are outlined in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and specifically in Part B of the Application Form.
Applicants must use the standard application form for HE RIA (Research and Innovation Actions).
An 'Ownership Control Declaration' may be required, particularly for entities with non-eligible country control, as detailed in the compliance section.

Evaluation & Selection Process

Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
The submission and evaluation processes are fully detailed in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
An indicative timeline for the evaluation and grant agreement signing process is also provided in Annex F.

Project Implementation & Reporting

As a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), projects are expected to focus on research, prototyping, and early deployment of converged telco cloud edge platforms.
Reporting requirements and financial reporting details are part of the legal and financial framework described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Annotated Model Grant Agreement.

Evaluation Criteria

General Award Criteria

The specific award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are detailed in Annex D of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Applicants must consult this document for a comprehensive understanding of how proposals will be scored.

Alignment with Expected Outcomes & Scope

Proposals will be evaluated on their contribution to the project's expected outcomes, including:
- Strengthening European industrial ecosystems for the 3C Network and enhancing sustainability/competitiveness of key vertical sectors.
- Enabling strategic industrial cooperation and new revenue streams by building open platforms for an industrial open telco edge cloud ecosystem.
- Establishing effective cooperation mechanisms with 'Open Internet Stack' actions to define requirements and integrate building blocks.
- Advancing a European vision of digital infrastructures by converging connectivity with interoperable edge and cloud computing services.
- Demonstrating strong commitment from major European telecom, cloud, and edge providers to industrialize project results.
- The setup and engagement of an advisory group of end-users for collecting requirements and testing solutions.
Proposals must clearly align with the defined scope, which includes research and prototyping of end-to-end telco edge cloud integrated infrastructures, development of open orchestration platforms, integration of AI for resource optimization, and investigation of solutions for security, privacy, energy efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

Technical Soundness & Innovation

Quality of the proposed research and prototyping of integrated telco edge cloud infrastructures and platforms.
Novelty and effectiveness of approaches for cybersecurity by design and sustainability in advanced communication infrastructure.
Integration and performance of AI-enabled orchestration tools, multi-level federation management, standardized network function exposure, and Edge-as-a-Service approaches.
Effectiveness of solutions for guaranteed end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE), utilization of specialized hardware, lightweight virtualization, and seamless user mobility.

Impact & Sustainability

The potential for the project to generate significant impact on European digital autonomy, economic security, and competitiveness.
The extent to which the project establishes an open, multi-supplier, multi-vendor, and interoperable Telco Edge Cloud reference architecture and ecosystem.
The clarity and effectiveness of proposed open access policies and mechanisms to maximize the infrastructure's impact and ensure its long-term sustainability.
The degree of participation from relevant technological sectors, including SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups, and broad representation from eligible Member States/Associated Countries.
The clarity and feasibility of the consortium's policy on ownership and access to 3C network resources and facilities, both during and after the project.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must adhere to all relevant EU regulations.
Solutions and prototypes must be investigated, tested, validated, and demonstrated with high levels of security and privacy, energy efficiency, transparency, and control of the ecological footprint.
Compliance with applicable EU regulations, especially for decentralized digital infrastructure networks, is a core requirement.

Strategic Autonomy & Security Restrictions

Participation is highly restricted for legal entities established in eligible countries that are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity. Such entities may only participate under exceptional, duly justified reasons and with specific guarantees positively assessed by their eligible country of establishment.
Entities identified as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment (or entities owned/controlled by them) are explicitly excluded from participation and cannot provide guarantees.
Required guarantees must ensure:
- The applicant entity's control is not exercised in a way that restrains its ability to carry out the action or deliver results, or imposes restrictions on its resources or know-how.
- Access to sensitive information related to the action by non-eligible countries/entities is prevented, and employees involved have national security clearance where appropriate.
- Ownership of project intellectual property (IP) and results remains with the recipient, free from non-eligible country control, and is not exported or accessed from outside eligible countries without approval.

Intellectual Property (IP) Policy

Ownership of intellectual property arising from the action and its results must remain within the recipient during and after project completion.
IP must not be subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries or entities.
IP cannot be exported outside eligible countries, nor can access to it from outside eligible countries be granted, without the approval of the eligible country where the legal entity is established.

Technical & Open Standards

Projects are expected to analyze existing standards landscapes (e.g., Sylva, ANUJET, Nephio, CAMARA) and relevant open-source projects as key inputs.
Development paths of critical technologies should be merged and aligned to support standardization and uptake of 6G and Web 4.0.
The pilot must provide an open, multi-supplier, multi-vendor, and interoperable Telco Edge Cloud reference architecture and ecosystem.

Collaboration & Synergies

Proposals should build synergies and ensure complementarities with relevant topics under the SNS JU Work Programme 2022-2024, Digital Europe Programme WP2023-2024, IPCEI-CIS, and Connecting Europe Facility.
Strong relationships and collaboration with other EU-funded research activities and relevant constituencies (e.g., Open Internet Stack) are expected.
Coordination with other Horizon Europe research activities for integrating new processor architectures into cloud edge infrastructures is also sought.

Gender Dimension

The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement for this topic.

Advisory Group

The project should establish an advisory group of end-users to gather user requirements and test them through small demonstrations.

Grant Details