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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, a HORIZON Innovation Action, aims to foster the development and demonstration of innovative solutions for the construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure. The core objective is to make transport infrastructure more resilient to climate change, more sustainable by reducing emissions and environmental degradation, and more efficient through new materials and techniques. It is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing exclusively on the transport and construction sectors. The target recipient types are not explicitly defined, but Innovation Actions typically involve a broad range of organizations capable of large-scale demonstrations. The grant is focused on Europe's transport infrastructure, particularly Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) corridors, with demonstrations required in at least two different corridors and infrastructure types. Key filtering criteria for initial screening include a strong alignment with climate neutrality goals, emissions reduction, circularity principles, and the ability to conduct large-scale demonstrations of new construction and maintenance technologies for transport infrastructure. This is a specific call within the broader Horizon Europe program, with a defined opening and deadline date.

Financial Structure

Funding Type: This is a HORIZON Innovation Action (IA), implying direct funding for projects with high TRL (Technology Readiness Level), close to market.
Grant Amount per Project: The expected funding for this specific topic, 'HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-07', is a minimum of 11,000,000.0 and a maximum of 11,000,000.0 per grant. Two grants are expected to be awarded under this topic.
Total Topic Budget: The total indicative budget for this specific topic for 2025 is 22,000,000.0.
Currency: The currency is not explicitly stated in the provided budget figures.
Financial Framework: The legal and financial set-up of grants is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509. This covers aspects like eligible/ineligible costs, payment schedules, co-financing requirements, and reporting, but specific details are not provided in this document.
Indirect Costs: Policies regarding indirect costs are typically outlined in the Model Grant Agreement (MGA) and its annotations, referenced as the EU Grants AGA.

Eligibility Requirements

General Eligibility: Eligibility conditions are primarily described in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (Annexes A, B, C, E, F, G). Applicants must ensure their proposals meet the specified page limits and layout requirements outlined in Annex A and E, and the Application Form Part B.
Eligible Countries: Specific eligible countries are detailed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. This document does not provide the explicit list of countries. Applicants should consult Annex B for definitive information.
Financial and Operational Capacity: Organizations must demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal Entity Validation: Rules for legal entity validation, LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative) appointment, and financial capacity assessment are governed by the EU Grants AGA (Annotated Model Grant Agreement).
Exclusion Criteria: Exclusion conditions are detailed in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Submission System: The submission system is planned to open on September 16, 2025.
Application Deadline: The deadline for submitting proposals is January 20, 2026, at 00:00:00+00.
Application Procedure: The process is a single-stage submission.
Required Documentation:
- Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
- The application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System.
- Standard application form templates (HE RIA, IA) and evaluation form templates (HE RIA, IA) will be used.
Evaluation Timeline: The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes; specific dates are not provided in this document.
Support and Guidance: A variety of resources are available to applicants:
- Online Manual: Step-by-step guide for grant procedures.
- Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Detailed guidance on the program's structure, budget, and political priorities.
- Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Answers to common queries.
- Research Enquiry Service: For general questions about European research.
- National Contact Points (NCPs): Guidance, practical information, and assistance on participation.
- Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): Advice for businesses, especially SMEs, on EU research funding.
- IT Helpdesk: For technical issues with the Funding & Tenders Portal.
- European IPR Helpdesk: Assistance on intellectual property issues.
- CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk: Advice on standardization in project proposals.
- Partner Search: Tool available on the portal to find partner organizations.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Proposals are expected to demonstrate significant contributions across several areas:

Innovation and Technical Excellence:
- Development of new methods and techniques for constructing, managing, maintaining, and repairing transport infrastructures, including self-repair capabilities, to increase climate resilience and lower emissions.
- Application of innovative materials (e.g., green asphalt, green cement, carbon sinks) that lead to more resilient, sustainable infrastructure with fewer pollutants.
- Robustness demonstration for any Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and techniques used.
- Validation of proposed solutions and proofs of concept through at least two large-scale demonstrations covering two different transport infrastructure types (e.g., road, rail, waterborne, airport) located on at least two different Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) corridors, and covering different environments and phases of the infrastructure life cycle (design, construction, maintenance, decommissioning).
Impact and Sustainability:
- Demonstration of combined solutions achieving specific targets:
  - At least 50% of construction materials used are recycled or from recycled sources.
  - Reduced pollutant emissions by at least 30% considering the entire life cycle.
  - Reduced degradation of ecosystems and fragmentation of habitats, contributing to biodiversity.
  - Increased climate resilience, assuring at least 80% capacity at network level during disruptions from extreme weather or human-caused events.
- Contributions to the decarbonization and increased resilience of transport infrastructure.
- Analysis and recommendations on the need for EU standards in construction, inspection, maintenance, and deconstruction.
- Guidance on necessary adaptations to public procurement rules to include clear sustainability and resilience award criteria.
- Demonstration of sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure using nature-based solutions (NBS), minimizing negative environmental effects.
- Development of clear indicators with baselines and quantified targets for monitoring in each demonstration site.
Quality and Efficiency of Implementation:
- Strong methodology, including Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) of solutions over their entire life cycle and accompanying business plans.
- Consideration of circularity principles and entire Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach.
- Proposals should build on results from previous projects and relevant EU guidance.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance: Projects must ensure compliance with EU national and international standards in construction, inspection, maintenance, and deconstruction. The overall framework is the European Green Deal, aiming for climate neutrality by 2050, and the EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.
Environmental Standards: Strong emphasis on reducing pollutant emissions, circularity, minimizing ecosystem degradation, avoiding habitat fragmentation, and maintaining biodiversity. Proposals should integrate Nature-Based Solutions (NBS).
Risk Management: Projects should address increased climate resilience of infrastructure to extreme weather and human-caused events, taking into account the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) and the Commission Communication on Managing Climate Risks, particularly cascading impacts across sectors.
Intellectual Property (IP) Policies: These are typically defined in the Model Grant Agreement (MGA) and its annotations (EU Grants AGA).
Technical Specifications: Projects should develop new methods, techniques, and apply innovative materials for transport infrastructure. They must demonstrate the robustness of any AI systems and/or techniques used.
Unique Aspects:
- Focus on the entire life cycle of transport infrastructures: from material sourcing, through construction, maintenance, operation, and decommissioning.
- Addressing a 'triple challenge': limiting emissions, increasing climate resilience, and addressing environmental/biodiversity aspects.
- Need for structured analysis and recommendations on EU standards and necessary adaptations to public procurement rules to include sustainability and resilience criteria.
- Projects should consider and build on results from previous calls and relevant EU guidance on transport infrastructures and advanced materials, sensor technology, digitalization, asset management, decision support, and automation.
Cross-cutting Themes: Explicit mention of circularity, nature-based solutions, and the need to demonstrate robustness if AI systems are involved. The grant implicitly supports wider sustainability and environmental goals.

Grant Details