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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core Objective: To advance Europe's capabilities in In-Space Operations and Services (ISOS) by finalizing the detailed design of a robotic servicing component for the ISOS pilot mission, aiming to enhance the EU's strategic autonomy and foster a new in-space economy.
Target Recipient Type and Size: Open to a wide range of legal entities including companies (SMEs, mid-caps, larger enterprises), universities, research and technology organizations, non-profit organizations, and public entities.
Designation: SECTOR-SPECIFIC
Geographic Scope: Limited to legal entities established in EU Member States, Norway, and Iceland.
Key Filtering Criteria: Focus on space technologies, particularly those related to in-space servicing, robotics, and contributing to the ISOS pilot mission. Applicants must be from eligible countries.
Grant Frequency and Context: Part of the Horizon Europe Cluster 4 Work Programme 2025, specifically addressing ISOS topics. This is a recurring program, but specific topics may be one-time.

Financial Structure

Budget Range: Individual grants are expected to be between EUR 6,000,000.0 and EUR 12,000,000.0.
Total Topic Budget: The total budget for this topic (HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-21) is EUR 18,000,000.0, intending to fund 2 grants.
Currency: EUR.
Funding Type: This is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) grant.
Co-financing: Not explicitly detailed in the provided text, but Horizon Europe RIAs typically cover a significant percentage of eligible costs.
Eligible Costs: Costs related to R&I activities, detailed mission and system design, technology maturation, development of service capabilities and operational concepts.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Legal Structure

Legal entities established in eligible countries.
Broadly open to: companies (including SMEs, mid-caps, and larger companies), universities, research and technology organizations, non-profit organizations, and public entities.

Geographic Requirements

Must be established in an EU Member State (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).
Must be established in Norway or Iceland (associated countries).
Exclusion: Entities established in eligible countries but directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity are ineligible, unless they can provide guarantees proving their participation will not negatively impact the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.

Technical & Experience Requirements

Projects should build on previous and ongoing R&I developments.
Expected to ensure required technologies reach necessary Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) by project end.
Projects must ensure full compliance with the ISOS detailed pilot mission concept, including interoperability with other mission components.
If using satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data/services, beneficiaries must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data/services may also be used).

Collaboration Requirements

Proposals are expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs, research institutions).
Selected projects are expected to collaborate with projects funded under topics HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-22, 23, 24 and the ISOS Pilot Mission Coordination and Support Action to ensure interoperability, documentation, information sharing, and economies of scale.

Exclusion Criteria

Projects from entities directly or indirectly controlled by non-eligible countries/entities without sufficient security guarantees.

Application Process

Application Procedure

Submission Session Availability: Opened on 2025-05-22.
Submission Model: Single-stage application process.
Submission Platform: Application forms are available in the Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System.
Authentication: Requires EU Login or third-party sign-in services for access.

Application Deadlines

Application Submission Deadline: 2025-09-25.

Required Documentation and Materials

Application Form: Standard Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action (RIA) application form (Part B).
Page Limit: The application has a page limit of 60 pages.
Declaration of Ownership and Control: A compulsory questionnaire must be filled by all project participants. All declarations must be assembled by the coordinator and uploaded in a single file in the portal submission system.
Guidance Document: Applicants should refer to the 'Guidance Document for the EU ISOS Pilot Mission' for detailed objectives, boundary conditions, and high-level requirements.

Support and Guidance

Online Manual: Guide for procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Provides detailed guidance on the structure, budget, and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Answers frequently asked questions.
Research Enquiry Service: For general questions about European research.
National Contact Points (NCPs): Offer guidance and assistance on participation.
Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): Provides advice to businesses, especially SMEs, including guidance on EU research funding and partner search.
IT Helpdesk: For technical issues with the Funding & Tenders Portal.
European IPR Helpdesk: Assists with intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk: Advise on standardization in project proposals.
Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Seal: Successful projects meeting quality criteria may be awarded a 'Sovereignty Seal' (also known as STEP Seal) which acts as a quality label to attract further public and private investment and facilitate cumulative funding.
Business Acceleration Services (BAS): Projects awarded the STEP Seal under an EIC STEP-relevant call can access BAS.
European Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS): SMEs in consortia selected for EDF grants are eligible for business coaching. Other EUDIS initiatives (hackathons, challenges) are also available.
EIT Digital: Offers services (e.g., Speed Master, Access to Talent) with a 50% discount for STEP Seal holders.

Post-Award Requirements

Collaboration: Projects selected under this topic are expected to actively collaborate with other projects funded under related ISOS topics (HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-22, 23, 24) and the ISOS Pilot Mission Coordination and Support Action.
Reporting: Subject to standard Horizon Europe financial and operational reporting requirements (described in Annex F of Work Programme General Annexes).

Evaluation Criteria

Project Quality and Scope

Clarity and completeness of the detailed mission and system design for the servicing component.
Demonstration of achieving the required Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) for all relevant technologies.
Contribution to the overall ISOS pilot mission detailed design in close cooperation with other mission components (HOST, logistics, satAPPs) and the ISOS Pilot Mission Coordination and Support Action (CSA).
Development of related service capabilities and applications, including operational concepts (CONOPS) for servicing individual or fleets of satellites.
Compliance with the ISOS detailed pilot mission concept and interoperability.
Concrete plan to ensure TRL achievement.
Complementarity with previous/ongoing R&I (Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, ESA, national programs).
Consideration and use of existing European technologies and building blocks to contribute to European non-dependence and competitiveness.

Strategic Relevance and Impact

Contribution to the EU's strategic objective of developing capabilities to ‘Act in Space’ and demonstrating a pilot mission by 2030.
Potential to provide seed components for a future service infrastructure, driving a new in-space economy.
Contribution to ensuring EU's freedom of action in space, increasing resilience and protection of EU assets.
Novelty and uniqueness of the mission concept compared to other international initiatives.
Elaboration of clear use cases and relevant business models for governmental and/or commercial needs.
Contribution to developing, deploying global space-based services, and fostering the European space sector's competitiveness.
Alignment with the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) objectives, addressing digital technologies and deep tech innovation in space.
Contribution to advancing digital capabilities in space and enhancing sustainability and agility of EU space assets.
Balanced provision of Member States' and eligible Associated Countries' expertise and capabilities to the overall ISOS pilot mission.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must adhere to general conditions outlined in Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, including admissibility conditions, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, and evaluation/award criteria.
Compliance with EU legal and financial regulations for grants is required.

Data Protection and Privacy

Not explicitly detailed in the provided grant text, but general EU data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) would apply to any project handling personal data.

Ethical Standards

Integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed if relevant to the objectives of the research effort.

Intellectual Property Policies

Ownership of intellectual property arising from and results of the action must remain within the recipient during and after completion of the action.
IP must not be subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries/entities, nor exported or accessed from outside eligible countries without approval from the country of establishment (for entities controlled by non-eligible countries/entities).

Risk Management Expectations

The general conditions refer to Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes for financial and operational capacity, which typically includes risk assessment elements.

Unique Aspects & Strategic Considerations

Strategic Autonomy Focus: This grant explicitly aims to safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, particularly avoiding technological dependency on non-EU sources.
Strict Eligibility for Non-EU/Non-Associated Country Controlled Entities: There are stringent conditions for participation if an entity is controlled, directly or indirectly, by a non-eligible country or entity.
STEP Contribution: This topic contributes to the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), focusing on digital technologies and deep tech innovation, aligning with the development of critical technologies and strengthening EU value chains.
Synergies: Projects are expected to leverage and build upon relevant and promising solutions developed in other EU-funded activities (Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020) and ESA/national programs.
Coordination with Advisory Group: The project concept will be derived in close coordination with EU Member States and EEA countries through a dedicated ISOS Pilot Mission Advisory Group (PMAG).
Long-term Vision: Expected to contribute to a sustainable, highly automated, digitalized, flexible, and economically viable space infrastructure, including concepts for a circular economy in space (e.g., plug-and-play spacecraft functionality, recycling/re-use of modules).
Strategic Projects: Projects recognized as strategic under the Net-Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act are deemed to contribute to STEP objectives, potentially offering easier access to funding.
Sovereignty Seal: Eligible and high-quality projects will be awarded a 'Sovereignty Seal' (STEP Seal), which is a quality label to facilitate further funding and investment.

Industry-Specific Regulatory Compliance

For projects using satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data/services, mandatory use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS is required.

Grant Details