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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to develop next-generation environment perception technologies for Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) operations. The goal is to enhance safety, improve energy-efficiency, increase cost-effectiveness, and promote circularity in real-world scenarios. This opportunity is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, targeting the transportation industry with a strong focus on technology related to automated driving systems, AI, and sensor development. It is open to a broad range of organizations typically involved in Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions, including businesses (startups, SMEs, enterprises), research institutions, public bodies, and non-governmental organizations. While no specific size limits are stated, the projects will likely involve multi-beneficiary consortia. Geographically, the grant targets entities established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. International cooperation is highly encouraged, especially with partners in Japan, the United States, and other strategic third countries, to foster global links. Key filtering criteria include a focus on prototypes of advanced perception systems, solutions that integrate hardware and software in a co-design approach, and contributions to the energy efficiency and circularity of CCAM systems. This is a single-stage call within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, part of Cluster 5 (Climate, Energy and Mobility), and implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).

Financial Structure

Funding Mechanism

This grant will be provided as a lump sum contribution. This means payments are tied to the successful completion of predefined work packages rather than detailed reports of actual incurred costs. This approach aims to simplify financial management and shift the focus to technical progress and outcomes.

Funding Amounts

Minimum Grant Amount per Project: €4,000,000
Maximum Grant Amount per Project: €4,000,000
Total Topic Budget: The overall budget allocated for this specific topic is €8,000,000, with an expectation to fund two grants of €4,000,000 each.
Currency: All financial figures are in Euro (EUR).

Cost Eligibility

The lump sum proposal must approximate the beneficiaries' underlying actual costs. Proposals should detail costs and categories that would normally be eligible under standard Horizon Europe rules. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Personnel costs: For employees, contractors, seconded staff, SME owners, and natural person beneficiaries.
- Subcontracting costs.
- Purchase costs: For travel, subsistence, equipment, and other goods/works/services.
- Other cost categories: Such as financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, and access to research infrastructure (if applicable).
Indirect Costs: A flat rate of 25% on direct eligible costs is applied for indirect costs and is integrated into the lump sum calculation.
Ineligible Costs: Any costs typically deemed ineligible under Horizon Europe rules must be excluded from the lump sum proposal.

Co-financing and Reimbursement Rate

The grant aims to comply with the co-financing principle. For Research and Innovation Actions in Horizon Europe, the standard funding rate is 100% of eligible costs, meaning the grant can cover all approved costs up to the agreed lump sum amount.

Payment and Reporting

Payments are made upon the proper implementation and completion of specific work packages as defined in the grant agreement. Payments are not contingent on reporting actual incurred costs.
If conditions for a work package are not met, its lump sum contribution is withheld and may be recovered. The focus of monitoring and audits is on technical implementation and adherence to work package conditions.

Financial Guarantees

A percentage (between 5% and 8%) of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Eligibility

Eligible Organization Types: Broadly open to all legal entities, including STARTUP, SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), ENTERPRISE (larger companies), UNIVERSITY, PUBLIC bodies, and NGOs, as is typical for Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions. No specific employee count is specified, implying flexibility across organizational sizes.
Consortium Requirement: A consortium is strongly implied as necessary for application. Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) typically require a minimum of three independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries. The grant also encourages exchanges and collaborations with other EU/national projects and international partners.

Geographic Eligibility

Eligible Countries for Funding: Organizations established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries are eligible to receive funding. While international cooperation with non-EU/non-Associated Countries (e.g., Japan, US) is highly relevant and encouraged, it does not automatically confer funding eligibility for participants from those countries unless specific provisions are made.

Specific Qualifications and Capacity

Technical Expertise: Required expertise includes advanced sensor systems, AI at-the-edge, machine learning, data spaces, robust software architectures, electronic hardware architectures, and co-design methodologies relevant to Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM).
Financial and Operational Capacity: Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity to carry out the proposed project activities, as detailed in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Exclusion Criteria

Applicants are subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Standard Horizon Europe exclusion criteria (e.g., bankruptcy, grave professional misconduct) also apply.

Application Process

Key Dates and Deadlines

Submission Deadline: January 20, 2026, 00:00:00 UTC+0000.
Submission System Opening: The online submission system is planned to open on September 16, 2025.

Application Procedure

This is a single-stage submission process.
Applications must be prepared and submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal's online submission system.

Required Documentation and Materials

Proposal Application Form: You will need to complete the standard application form specific to Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (HE RIA). This includes Part B of the Application Form, which outlines page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Detailed Budget Table (HE LS): Since this is a lump sum grant, a specific detailed budget table is required to propose the lump sum amount. This table should break down estimated costs by work package and beneficiary.
Accounting Practice Declaration: Applicants must declare that they have prepared their estimated budget following their own internal accounting practices.

Application Review and Selection

Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated by external independent experts based on excellence, impact, and the quality and efficiency of implementation (as detailed in the 'Evaluation Criteria' section).
Review Process: The evaluation process follows standard Horizon Europe procedures.

Project Implementation and Reporting

Project Timeline: While the exact duration is not specified, Research and Innovation Actions are typically multi-year projects. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility and full potential of solutions for real-world applications.
Reporting Obligations: Projects are required to report on their results to the European Partnership ‘Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM) to support the monitoring of its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Reporting focuses on the technical implementation and completion of work packages, rather than detailed financial reports.
Post-Award Requirements: Successful applicants must comply with the conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package. Monitoring includes technical checks, reviews, or audits focusing on the technical progress, ethical conduct, research integrity, dissemination, exploitation of results, intellectual property management, and gender equality.

Application Assistance and Support

Online Resources: The Funding & Tenders Portal offers an Online Manual, a comprehensive Horizon Europe Programme Guide, and an FAQ section to assist applicants.
Contact Points: You can reach out to the Research Enquiry Service for general inquiries, National Contact Points (NCPs) for specific guidance on participation, and the IT Helpdesk for technical issues with the submission system.
Business Support: The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) provides advice to businesses, especially SMEs, on EU research funding.
Intellectual Property: The European IPR Helpdesk offers assistance on intellectual property issues.
Partner Search: A partner search tool is available on the Funding & Tenders Portal to help you find suitable consortium partners.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals for this grant will be evaluated by external independent experts based on the standard Horizon Europe award criteria: Excellence

Quality of the proposed research and innovation activities, including the soundness of the methodology.
Scientific and technological quality, novelty, and relevance to the grant's objectives.
Clarity and ambition of the objectives, and the extent to which they are beyond the state of the art.

Impact

Potential to contribute significantly to the expected outcomes outlined in the grant, which include:
- Availability of validated prototypes for next-generation environment perception in CCAM.
- Improved understanding of how automated CCAM perception systems anticipate and respond to 'early-warnings'.
- Enhanced energy-efficiency of CCAM sense-think-act systems, while increasing performance and ensuring security and reliability.
- Standardisation and adoption of modular, reusable, and upgradable software/hardware platforms, leading to cost reduction and affordability.
Contribution to societal benefits (e.g., safety, trustworthiness), economic benefits (e.g., cost-effectiveness), and environmental benefits (e.g., reduced climate and environmental footprints).
Alignment with the European Common Evaluation Methodology (EU-CEM) for CCAM.
Consideration of societal, ethical, socio-economical, and/or legal aspects in the technical solutions, potentially involving institutional users and citizen-science approaches.

Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

Soundness of the overall work plan, including the appropriateness of the proposed resources.
Clarity of the management structure and roles of the participants within the consortium.
Capacity and expertise of the participants, including the quality of the consortium as a whole.
Appropriateness of the efforts assigned to work packages and the resources used.

Specific Evaluation Aspects

Budget Assessment: Experts with financial knowledge will scrutinize the proposed lump sum budget against benchmarks (e.g., market prices, statistical data, historical data) to ensure that the estimated resources are sufficient and appropriate for the planned activities and expected outputs.
Innovation Requirements: Proposals should demonstrate advancements in perception technologies, utilization of digital enablers like AI at-the-edge and machine learning, and the adoption of open, modular platforms.
Cross-cutting Themes: The impact on accessibility, inclusiveness, gender, age, disability, and socio-economic status should be considered in the solutions. Contributions to circularity, eco-design, and sustainability are explicitly expected outcomes.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Applicants must comply with all relevant Horizon Europe rules, general annexes, and national laws. There are specific restrictions related to the protection of European communication networks.

Ethical Standards

Proposals must explicitly address societal, ethical, socio-economical, and legal aspects within the technical solutions being developed. This may involve engaging institutional users and utilizing citizen-science approaches.

Technical Specifications and Approach

Solutions are expected to integrate electronic hardware architectures and software stacks using a co-design approach.
It is strongly encouraged that solutions leverage building blocks and tools from the Software-Defined Vehicle of the Future (SDVoF) initiative under the Chips Joint Undertaking (e.g., hardware abstraction layer, SDV middleware, API framework).
Complementarities with projects funded under Horizon Europe Cluster 4 “Digital Industry and Space” should be considered where appropriate.

Risk Management and Security

The grant emphasizes developing secure and error-free technologies to improve reliability, anticipate, and avoid foreseeable risks and unexpected safety-critical situations in complex real-world conditions.
Cyber-security is a key aspect to be enhanced.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Lump Sum Funding Model: A notable feature is the use of lump sum contributions, which streamlines financial management by linking payments to the completion of work packages rather than actual costs. This shifts the monitoring focus predominantly to technical implementation and performance.
Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) Partnership: This topic is an integral part of the co-programmed European Partnership on CCAM, highlighting its strategic importance in the European mobility landscape.
International Cooperation: While primarily focused on Europe, the grant strongly encourages international collaboration (e.g., with Japan and the US) to foster global links and leverage lessons learned from diverse contexts, while ensuring solutions are adapted to European specificities (traffic rules, user behavior, road network conditions).
European Common Evaluation Methodology (EU-CEM): Projects are expected to apply this specific evaluation methodology for CCAM, indicating a standardized approach to assessing results.
Sustainability and Circularity: A strong emphasis is placed on improving energy efficiency, reducing environmental footprints, and adopting a circular, eco-design approach (efficient materials use, reduced waste, repair/reuse of components).

Potential Challenges

Applicants will need to address significant challenges observed in initial Level 4 automated vehicle deployments, particularly in environmental perception and decision-making, which have impacted public trust. Balancing increasing computing power demands with limited energy and resource usage is also a key challenge.

Cross-cutting Considerations

Proposals should address accessibility, inclusiveness, and the needs of diverse user groups, considering factors such as gender, age, disability, and socio-economic status. Cultural and contextual considerations related to European road networks and cities are also relevant.

Grant Details