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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core objective: To advance manufacturing technologies for EU manufacturers to achieve leadership in producing goods for the net-zero industry. This aims to enhance capabilities for strategic, high-value-added net-zero products and increase EU production capacity for clean technologies, thereby reducing strategic dependencies.
Target recipient type: EU manufacturers, including businesses of various sizes (SMEs and larger enterprises) and research organisations.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC focusing on advanced manufacturing and net-zero industrial products.
Geographic scope and any location requirements: EU Member States and Associated Countries. Entities established in China are specifically not eligible to participate in Innovation Actions.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on manufacturing technologies for net-zero products, contributions to Net Zero Industry Act targets, EU-based manufacturing emphasis, and a clear business case for industrialisation.
Grant frequency and program context: This is a specific topic within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, implemented under the co-programmed European Partnership 'Made in Europe'. While part of an annual work programme, this topic ID is for a single call in 2025.

Financial Structure

Funding type: Innovation Action (IA).
Total budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-05): 42,000,000 EUR.
Minimum funding amount per project: 5,000,000 EUR.
Maximum funding amount per project: 7,000,000 EUR.
Number of expected grants: 6.
Currency: EUR.
Financial and operational capacity requirements are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Annotated Model Grant Agreement (AGA).

Eligibility Requirements

General Organizational Eligibility

Legal entities established in EU Member States and Associated Countries are eligible.
China-based entities are not eligible to participate in Innovation Actions (IA) in any capacity.
Organizations must meet financial and operational capacity criteria as described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Project Type and Focus

Proposals must be for 'Innovation Actions' (IA).
Projects must focus on advanced discrete manufacturing processes for products, components, and equipment for at least one strategic net-zero technology listed in Annex I of the Net-Zero Industry Act.
Projects must address key manufacturing technologies that generate cross-sectoral impact among chosen net-zero technology sectors.
Specifically, innovative development and application of one or more of the following manufacturing technologies and associated systems are expected:
- Additive manufacturing or cladding for manufacturing and/or repair.
- Advanced joining technologies.
- Advanced forming and material shaping technologies.
- Surface processing technologies, functionalisation, nano- or micromanufacturing.
- High-precision machining and assembly.
Proposals should consider integrating:
- Innovative metrology and inspection methods.
- Advanced and flexible automation approaches.
- Digital twins and data mining for production optimization.
- Circular manufacturing approaches and reduced reliance on Critical Raw Materials.
- Relevant skills and standards.
Projects specifically covered by topic HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-34 ('Smart integration of net zero technologies into Energy Intensive industries') are not in the scope of this topic.

Business Case and Exploitation Strategy

Proposals must include a business case and exploitation strategy for industrialisation. This is a decisive factor under the impact criterion.
For projects at Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 6 and 7, a credible strategy to achieve future full-scale deployment in the EU is expected, indicating the intentions of the industrial partners after the project ends.

Application Process

Application Submission

Submission Opening Date: The submission session became available on 2025-05-22.
Application Deadline: The final deadline for submitting proposals is 2025-09-23 at 00:00:00.000+0000 (Brussels time).
Submission Model: Single-stage submission process.
Submission Platform: Applications must be submitted through the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission Service. You will need to select the correct 'submission-button' next to the corresponding action type (HORIZON Innovation Actions).
Application Forms: Standard application form templates specific to HE RIA/IA are available in the Submission System.

Required Documentation and Materials

Proposal Content: Proposal page limits and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and detailed in Part B of the Application Form.
Business Case & Exploitation Strategy: Proposals must include a comprehensive business case and exploitation strategy for industrialisation. Proposers are encouraged to use the extended page limit for this section.

Guidance and Support Resources

Work Programme: For a full description of the relevant destination (Destination 1: 'Achieving global leadership in climate-neutral, circular and digitised industrial and digital value chains'), consult the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 part for 'Industry'.
Official Guides: Refer to the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (MGA), and the EU Grants Annotated Model Grant Agreement (AGA).
Specific Instructions: Consult 'Call-specific instructions', 'Information on financial support to third parties (HE)', and 'Information on clinical studies (HE)' if relevant.
Legal Framework: Review HE Main Work Programme 2025 (General Introduction, Digital, Industry and Space, General Annexes), HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.
Administrative & IT Support: Access the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Portal Terms and Conditions, Privacy Statement, IT Helpdesk for technical issues, and Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment.
Expert Assistance: Leverage the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs) in EU and associated countries, the Enterprise Europe Network (especially for SMEs), European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesk for standardisation advice.
Partner Search: A partner search tool is available to help find partner organisations for your proposal.

Review Process

Evaluation: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative Timeline: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation Criteria

Impact Criterion

The business case and exploitation strategy are decisive factors for scoring under the impact criterion.
Expected Impact: Enhanced market opportunities for participants and deployment of solutions within the EU in the short to medium term.
Business Case Assessment: Should demonstrate:
- Targeted market(s) and estimated market size (EU and globally).
- Clear understanding of user and customer needs.
- Solutions that effectively match market and user needs in a cost-effective manner.
- Expected market position and competitive advantage.
Contribution to EU Strategic Goals: Proposals must contribute to reaching the targets set by the Net Zero Industry Act, specifically in ensuring the reduction of strategic dependencies.
Environmental Performance: The overall environmental impact of the proposed manufacturing processes must be minimal in terms of energy and resource consumption and CO2 emissions.
Geographic Focus: Manufacturing activities within the European Union are of particular importance and will be highly valued.

Quality and Implementation Criteria (General Horizon Europe Expectations)

Excellence: Quality of the project's objectives, methodology, and innovation potential.
Quality and efficiency of the implementation: Soundness of the work plan, appropriateness of resources, and management structures.

Cross-Cutting Themes

Human Dimension: The Industry 5.0 paradigm, including consideration of gender differences, will be stressed.
Skills Development: Where relevant, the development of training material to provide workers with the necessary skillset for uptake and deployment of new products/services/processes is recommended. This material should be tested, scalable, and potentially eligible for up-scaling through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

General Conditions: Compliance with general conditions described in Annex B (eligible countries, other conditions) and Annex C (financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria) of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal & Financial Set-up: Adherence to the legal and financial set-up of grants as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Annotated Model Grant Agreement (AGA).
Financial Regulations: Compliance with EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

Environmental and Sustainability Standards

Net-Zero Contribution: Projects must contribute to achieving the targets outlined in the Net-Zero Industry Act.
Minimal Environmental Impact: Manufacturing processes proposed should aim for minimal overall environmental impact in terms of energy and resource consumption, and CO2 emissions.
Circular Economy: Projects should emphasize circular manufacturing approaches and reduced reliance on Critical Raw Materials, increasing options for re-manufacturing, disassembly, and recycling.

Innovation and Deployment Expectations

Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs): Focus is on developing and deploying technologies closer to market, moving from small-scale industrial demonstrators to first-of-a-kind climate-neutral demonstrators (typically TRLs 6-8).

Data and Knowledge Sharing

Voluntary Contributions: Consortia, if selected for funding, are encouraged to consider voluntary contributions of data, indicators, and knowledge to relevant Joint Research Centre (JRC) platforms (e.g., INCITE, EIGL) to enhance policy relevance and knowledge capitalization.

Human-Centricity and Skills

Industry 5.0 Paradigm: The 'human dimension', including gender differences, will be emphasized, aligning with the Industry 5.0 paradigm.
Skill Development: Where relevant, projects are encouraged to develop training material to provide workers with the necessary skills for the uptake and deployment of new innovative products, services, and processes. This material should be tested, scalable, and has the potential to be up-scaled through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+).

Geographic and Strategic Considerations

Manufacturing in the Union: The aspect of manufacturing within the European Union is of particular importance for this topic.
Exclusion: Projects covered by the complementary topic HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-34 ('Smart integration of net zero technologies into Energy Intensive industries') are explicitly out of scope for this grant.

Grant Details