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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions and related air pollutants from the agricultural sector. It seeks to improve the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of these emissions, particularly at the farm level, and integrate this knowledge into agricultural policy development. The grant also aims to enhance understanding of emission responses to agricultural practices and climate change, and to make new mitigation approaches widely available.

Target Recipient: Organizations capable of conducting research and innovation in agriculture, climate change, and environmental science.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Agriculture, Environment
Geographic Scope: Not explicitly limited, but aligned with EU climate and agriculture policies. International cooperation, especially with China, is encouraged.
Key Filtering Criteria: Focus on non-CO2 GHG (methane, nitrous oxide) from agriculture, MRV improvement, and practical mitigation solutions.
Grant Frequency: This is a specific topic within the HORIZON-CL6-2025-02 call, part of the recurring Horizon Europe programme.

Financial Structure

Funding Mechanism: The grant uses a lump sum contribution model. The amount is determined based on estimated direct and indirect costs, proposed by the applicant and evaluated by experts.
Budget Range: Each selected project for this topic is expected to receive a 6,000,000 EUR contribution.
Total Topic Budget: The total budget allocated for this topic is 12,000,000 EUR, expecting 2 grants.
Eligible Costs: Lump sum amounts are an approximation of beneficiaries' underlying actual costs. Eligible costs include:
- Personnel costs (employees, natural persons under direct contract, seconded persons, SME owners, natural person beneficiaries).
- Subcontracting costs.
- Purchase costs (travel/subsistence, equipment, other goods, works, services).
- Other cost categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, transnational/virtual access to research infrastructure, etc.).
Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are calculated by applying a 25% flat rate to the direct cost categories that qualify under Horizon Europe rules. This is included in the lump sum calculation.
Co-financing: The methodology ensures compliance with co-financing principles; total estimated costs must be greater than the Union contribution.
Payment Schedule: Payments do not depend on costs actually incurred. The lump sum contribution is paid when corresponding work packages are properly implemented. Lump sum contributions per work package, if conditions are not met, are not paid but can be paid in a subsequent reporting period if met. If not met at all, the grant may be reduced.
Financial Reporting: There is no obligation for beneficiaries to report actual costs to the granting authority. Reporting focuses on technical implementation and fulfillment of 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

General Eligibility

Applicants must adhere to the admissibility conditions and layout described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Eligible Countries: Organizations from EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe. (Specific list not provided, but typically includes: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, IS, NO, UK (if agreement in place), TR, IL, CH, BA, ME, MK, RS, AL, FO, MD, GE, UA, TN, AM, ME (Kosovo), NZ, KR, CD, MA, GB, IS, LI, NO, AL, BA, ME, MK, RS, TR, UA, MA, MD, TN, GE, AR, BO, BR, CL, CO, CR, CU, DO, EC, SV, GT, GY, HN, MX, NI, PA, PY, PE, SR, UY, VE, BD, BT, KH, CN, IN, ID, IR, IQ, JP, JO, KZ, KP, KW, KG, LA, LB, MY, MV, MN, MM, NP, OM, PK, PH, QA, SA, SG, LK, SY, TW, TJ, TH, TL, AE, UZ, VN, YE, AG, AU, BS, BB, BZ, CA, DM, FJ, KI, MH, FM, NA, NR, NZ, PW, PG, WS, SB, ZA, TO, TT, TV, VU).
Financial and Operational Capacity: Must meet requirements described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and Financial Setup: Grants will be managed as lump sum contributions.

Organizational Type and Structure

Consortium Requirement: Participation as part of a consortium is explicitly required, as indicated by the mention of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) potentially joining the consortium and the standard practice for Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) under Horizon Europe.
Joint Research Centre (JRC): The JRC may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding.

Technical Requirements

Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS: If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may also be used).

Application Process

Application Procedure

Submission System: Applications must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service available on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Application Forms: Specific application forms are available in the Submission System. Applicants should use the standard application form (HE RIA, IA).
Submission Format: Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Part B of the Application Form.
Single-Stage Submission: This call operates under a single-stage submission model.

Timeline and Deadlines

Planned Opening Date: 2025-05-06
Submission Deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+0000 (latest deadline available).
Evaluation and Grant Agreement Timeline: Indicative timeline is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes (not explicitly provided in this document).

Required Documentation and Materials

Proposal: Must include a detailed breakdown of the lump sum contribution per work package and per beneficiary, with detailed activities and resources.
Cost Estimation: Applicants must provide an estimated budget following their own accounting practices, broken down by budget categories (Personnel, Subcontracting, Purchase, Other, Indirect).

Support and Assistance

Online Manual: Provides comprehensive guidance on procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Detailed guidance on structure, budget, and political priorities.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Answers to frequently asked questions.
Research Enquiry Service: For general questions about European research.
National Contact Points (NCPs): Guidance and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe.
Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): Advice for businesses, especially SMEs, including guidance on EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk: For technical issues with the Funding & Tenders Portal.
European IPR Helpdesk: Assistance with intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk: Advice on standardisation in project proposals.
Partner Search: Tools available to help find partner organisations for proposals.

Evaluation Criteria

General Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on: Excellence, Expected Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of Implementation, as per Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Experts will assess the quality of the proposals and check the budget estimate based on benchmarks and historical data.

Specific Scoring Factors (derived from Expected Outcomes and Scope)

Relevance and Impact:
- Contribution to reduction of non-CO2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture.
- Improvement of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems for direct and indirect non-CO2 GHGs and related air pollutants, especially at farm level.
- Integration of improved MRV data and practical insights into agricultural policy development.
- Enhancement of knowledge on the responses of non-CO2 GHG and air pollutant emissions to different agricultural practices and climate change.
- Availability, widespread sharing, and application of new and improved non-CO2 emission mitigation knowledge and approaches (especially by farmers and advisors).
- Contribution to EU climate and agriculture policies, including the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming certification framework.
Quality of the Proposal:
- Focus on methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), including indirect N2O sources.
- Addressing agricultural practices in manure management, livestock feeding/grazing, soil tillage, fertilizer use, and liming across relevant farming systems.
- Development of harmonized metrics and effective mitigation measures.
- Assessment and improvement of MRV tool accuracy, effectiveness, efficiency, and user-friendliness through analysis, field experiments, and demonstration.
- Reduction of uncertainties in MRV via established and novel methods, enabling higher tiers for UNFCCC reporting.
- Inclusion of a life-cycle perspective for fertilisation-related emissions, comparing organic to mineral/chemical fertilizers.
- Improved understanding of linkages and reduction of trade-offs between non-CO2 GHG emissions and other agricultural pollutant emissions (e.g., ammonia).
- Consolidation and improvement of knowledge on mitigation measures, including effects of elevated CO2 and climate change impacts.
- Capacity building among farmers, advisors, and stakeholders through dedicated training and outreach.
- Addressing various farming systems/approaches, including organic farming, and covering diverse pedo-climatic zones.
- Strategic cooperation with other relevant Horizon Europe projects (e.g., HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-07 and EU Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe').
- Encouragement of international cooperation, particularly with China.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

EU Financial Regulation: Projects must comply with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union.
Horizon Europe Programme Regulations: Compliance with Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe, and Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/765 for Euratom Programme actions.
Specific Rules: Projects must adhere to specific conditions described in the topic of the Work Programme.

Environmental and Ethical Standards

Climate Action Alignment: Projects contribute to the ambition of Europe becoming climate-neutral and climate-resilient by 2050, in line with the European Green Deal.
Data Usage: If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Intellectual Property Policies

Management of Intellectual Property: Subject to general grant agreement terms (not detailed in the provided text, but implied by typical Horizon Europe rules).

Risk Management

Financial Risks: Lump sum funding simplifies financial management, reducing administrative burden and financial error rates. Controls focus on technical implementation and fulfillment of work package conditions.

Special Considerations

International Cooperation: Strongly encouraged, particularly with China under the EU-China Food, Agriculture and Biosolutions (FAB) flagship initiative.
Cross-Cutting Priorities: This topic supports Key Strategic Orientation (KSO) 1 (Green transition) and also KSO 2 (Digital Transition) and KSO 3 (A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe) of Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027.
Digital Technologies: Exploitation of digital technologies (AI, robotics, 5G, cloud computing, Earth Observation) is encouraged given their enabling role.
Indigenous and Local Knowledge: Integration of indigenous and local knowledge is encouraged for maximum impact.
Social Innovation: Encouraged to involve all stakeholders and foster ownership of new practices.
Technological Readiness Levels (TRLs): The Destination aims to balance lower and higher TRLs.
Synergies: Projects are expected to seek synergies with other EU Missions (e.g., 'Adaptation to climate change', 'Restore our ocean and waters by 2030', 'A Soil Deal for Europe') and European partnerships (e.g., Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, Agroecology, Agriculture of Data, PRIMA), as well as Destination Earth and Cluster 5.

Grant Details