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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

GRANT PURPOSE AND TARGET: - Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: This Innovation Action (IA) aims to foster the development and implementation of new technologies, methods, products, processes, and services within the chips and semiconductor domain. It supports activities from prototyping and testing to large-scale validation and market replication. - Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: A wide range of legal entities are targeted, including research organizations, universities, public bodies, and private companies (SMEs and larger enterprises). There are no explicit size restrictions, but consortia are required. - MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC - Geographic scope and any location requirements: Eligible entities must be established in EU Member States, Horizon Europe Associated Countries, or specific low- and middle-income countries as defined in the Horizon Europe General Annexes. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Consortium required (minimum three independent legal entities from different eligible countries), focus on innovation in chips and semiconductor technologies, and civil application only. - Grant frequency and program context: This is a recurring call within the Horizon Europe framework, specifically under the Multi Annual Work Programme of Chips JU. It is a two-stage submission process.

Financial Structure

FINANCIAL STRUCTURE: - Total budget for the call (including all sub-actions under this topic identifier): 170,000,000 EUR. - Minimum grant amount per application: 1,000,000 EUR. - Maximum grant amount per application: 25,000,000 EUR. - Currency: EUR. - Funding Rate: 70.0% of eligible costs for Innovation Actions. Non-profit legal entities may receive a funding rate of up to 100.0%. - Eligible Costs: Based on actual costs (personnel, subcontracting, purchase) and units (e.g., personnel costs for SME owners, internally invoiced goods/services, specific unit costs). Costs must be actually incurred, not just budgeted. - Indirect Costs: A flat-rate of 25% of the total eligible direct costs (excluding eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties, and any unit costs or lump sums which already include indirect costs). - Matching Fund/Co-financing: The 70% funding rate implies that the remaining 30% of eligible costs must be covered by the applicant, effectively acting as a co-financing requirement. - Payment Schedule: Typically involves a pre-financing payment (normally 160% of the average EU funding per reporting period) at the start, followed by one or several interim payments linked to periodic reports, and a final payment at the project's conclusion. - Mutual Insurance Mechanism: An amount ranging from 5% to 8% of the maximum grant will be deducted from the pre-financing payment and transferred to a mutual insurance mechanism. - Financial Reporting: Required through periodic and final reports. Certificates on financial statements may be necessary depending on the grant amount and beneficiary type. - No-Profit Rule: Grants are not intended to generate a profit for beneficiaries. Any surplus of revenues plus the EU grant over costs will be deducted from the final grant amount. - No Double Funding: Strictly prohibited. The same costs cannot be declared to two different EU actions.

Eligibility Requirements

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Organizational Type & Legal Status

Any legal entity, regardless of place of establishment, is eligible to participate.
Legal entities are defined as natural or legal persons with legal personality under national, EU, or international law, or entities without legal personality (if representatives can undertake legal obligations and offer financial guarantees).
Affiliated entities are allowed if eligible for participation and funding.
Associated partners can participate without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions.
Public bodies, research organisations, and higher education establishments (including private ones) from EU Member States and Associated Countries must have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in place. Private for-profit organizations (including SMEs), non-governmental organizations, or civil society organizations are exempt from the GEP requirement.

Geographic Location for Funding

To receive funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
EU Member States: AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE.
Horizon Europe Associated Countries: AL, BA, GE, IS, IL, MD, ME, MK, NO, RS, TR, UA, UK, NZ.
Specific low- and middle-income countries as detailed in Annex B of the Horizon Europe General Annexes. (Note: Only countries listed in the provided dictionary above are included here.)
Legal entities established in countries not listed above are eligible for funding only if explicitly provided for in the specific call conditions or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.

Consortium Requirements

A consortium is required, consisting of at least three independent legal entities.
Each of these three entities must be established in a different eligible country.
At least one independent legal entity must be established in an EU Member State.
At least two other independent legal entities must be established in different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Affiliated entities do not count towards the minimum consortium composition requirements.

Exclusion Criteria

Entities subject to EU restrictive measures.
Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible to participate in any capacity (exceptions may be granted case-by-case).
Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 (and any entity they maintain) are not eligible for funding as long as Council measures are in place.
Entities assessed as "high-risk suppliers" of mobile network communication equipment (and any entities they own or control) are not eligible to participate in actions concerning the evolution of European communication networks (5G, post-5G, etc.). This criteria applies if the action is identified as "subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks".
Applicants facing bankruptcy, winding up, breach of social security/tax obligations, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, links to a criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism-related crimes, child labour, human trafficking, or significant deficiencies in complying with previous EU contracts are excluded.
Applicants who have misrepresented information or were involved in preparing award procedure documents where this results in a breach of the principle of equality of treatment.

Financial & Operational Capacity

Applicants must demonstrate stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the project and contribute their share.
A financial capacity check is typically performed for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500,000 (public bodies/international organizations, or grants up to EUR 60,000 are exempt).
Applicants must possess the know-how, qualifications, and resources (human, technical, and other) necessary to execute their tasks effectively.

Activity Scope & Technical Requirements

Projects must focus exclusively on civil applications.
Excluded activities include: human cloning for reproductive purposes; heritable modification of human genetic heritage (except for cancer treatment of gonads); creation of human embryos solely for research or stem cell procurement.
Project content must correspond, wholly or in part, to the topic description.
Projects must align with EU policy interests and priorities (e.g., environment, social, security, industrial policy).
As an Innovation Action, projects typically involve Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) ranging from TRL 5 (Technology validated in a relevant environment) to TRL 8 (System complete and qualified).

Application Process

APPLICATION PRACTICAL INFORMATION: Application Submission

All applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal electronic submission system.
Paper submissions are not permitted.
Applications must be complete, readable, accessible, printable, and include all mandatory annexes and supporting documents.
The coordinator must confirm their mandate to act for all applicants and verify that all information provided is correct and complete, and that all participants comply with EU funding conditions.

Application Format & Content

The application form consists of two parts:
Part A: Filled in online, containing administrative information, a summarised budget, and call-specific questions.
Part B: Downloaded, completed offline, and re-uploaded as a PDF, containing the technical description of the project.
Page Limits:
First-stage application: 10 pages.
Full application (Innovation Actions with lump sum funding): 50 pages.
Excess pages beyond the specified limits will be automatically made invisible and will not be considered during evaluation.
An Exploitation and Dissemination Plan (including communication activities) is required for full applications (not for the first stage of two-stage procedures).
For lump sum grants, a detailed budget table is required to justify and/or fix the lump sum amount.

Submission Deadlines & Timeline

First Stage Deadline: 2025-04-29 00:00:00+02:00.
Latest (Second Stage) Submission Deadline: 2025-09-17 00:00:00+02:00.
Indicative Timeline:
Information on outcome of first-stage evaluation: Around 3 months from the first-stage deadline.
Information on outcome of second-stage evaluation: Around 5 months from the second-stage deadline.
Indicative date for grant agreement signature: Around 8 months from the second-stage deadline.

Support & Assistance

Direct support email: Calls@chips-ju.europa.eu.
Additional resources: Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and Partner Search tool.

Post-Award Requirements & Compliance

The grant agreement will specify project starting date and duration, deliverables, reporting requirements, and payment terms.
Beneficiaries must comply with ethical principles, applicable EU, international, and national laws.
Security requirements related to classified and sensitive information must be strictly adhered to.
Gender equality plans and open science practices are mandatory for eligible organizations.
Specific obligations regarding the exploitation of results, including potential non-exclusive licenses for public emergencies, and informing the granting authority about contributions to standards.
A consortium agreement is necessary for multi-beneficiary grants to ensure smooth implementation and manage internal arrangements.

Evaluation Criteria

EVALUATION CRITERIA: Proposals are evaluated against three primary criteria, with different weights and thresholds for two-stage submission procedures. Excellence

Clarity and pertinence of the project's objectives.
Extent to which the proposed work is ambitious and goes beyond the state of the art.
Soundness of the overall methodology, including underlying concepts, models, assumptions, and inter-disciplinary approaches.
Appropriate consideration of the gender dimension in research and innovation content.
Quality of open science practices, including sharing and management of research outputs, and engagement of citizens, civil society, and end-users where applicable.

Impact

Credibility of the pathways to achieve the expected outcomes and impacts specified in the work programme.
Likely scale and significance of the contributions from the project.
Suitability and quality of measures to maximise expected outcomes and impacts, as outlined in the dissemination and exploitation plan (including communication activities).

Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

Quality and effectiveness of the work plan.
Assessment of risks and appropriateness of effort assigned to work packages and overall resources.
Capacity and role of each participant, and the extent to which the consortium as a whole brings together the necessary expertise.

Scoring and Thresholds (Full Application - Stage 2)

Each criterion is scored out of 5.
The individual threshold for each criterion is 3.
The overall threshold, applying to the sum of the three individual scores, is 10.
For Innovation Actions, the score for Impact is given a weight of 1.5.
Proposals must pass both individual and overall thresholds to be considered for funding.

Two-stage Evaluation (First Stage)

Only the Excellence and Impact criteria are evaluated.
The individual threshold for both criteria at the first stage is 4.
The overall threshold for the first stage is typically set between 8 and 8.5 (ensuring the total requested budget of proposals admitted to Stage 2 is 2.5 to 3 times the available budget).

Compliance & Special Requirements

COMPLIANCE AND SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Regulatory Compliance

Projects must adhere to strict ethical principles, including the highest standards of research integrity, and comply with all applicable EU, international, and national laws.
An ethics self-assessment is mandatory during application. Projects with identified ethics issues will undergo a formal ethics review.
Projects involving classified or sensitive information are subject to a security appraisal process and specific security rules detailed in the grant agreement. This includes restrictions on classification levels (no TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET), facility security clearances (FSC), and personnel security clearances (PSC) for higher classifications.
Compliance with data protection regulations (specifically Regulation 2018/1725).
Adherence to the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is expected for financial management.
Labour standards compliance is implicitly required as part of general EU project execution.

Intellectual Property (IP) & Exploitation

Rules governing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), background, results, access rights, and rights of use are detailed in the grant agreement (Article 16 and Annex 5).
Additional exploitation obligations apply in case of a public emergency: Beneficiaries may be required to grant non-exclusive licenses to their results (for a limited period and on fair/reasonable conditions) to legal entities needing them to address the emergency (up to 4 years post-action).
The granting authority retains the right to object to transfers of ownership or exclusive licensing of results for up to 4 years after the action ends.
Beneficiaries must inform the granting authority if project results could contribute to European or international standards (up to 4 years post-action).

Innovation & Technology Specifics

The grant targets Innovation Actions (IA), focusing on producing concrete plans, designs, products, processes, or services.
Activities encompass prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation, and market replication.

Cross-cutting Themes

Gender Equality: Beneficiaries are required to promote equal opportunities between men and women and strive for gender balance across all personnel levels involved in the action.
Open Science: Beneficiaries must provide digital or physical access to data/results necessary to validate scientific publications' conclusions, safeguarding legitimate interests. In public emergencies, research output must be immediately deposited in a repository and made openly accessible (CC BY or CC0).

Project Management & Other Considerations

A Consortium Agreement is a practical and legal necessity for multi-beneficiary grants to ensure smooth implementation and internal resource distribution.
High-scoring proposals that do not receive funding due to budget limitations may be awarded a Seal of Excellence.
The grant adheres to a 'no-profit rule', meaning the total EU funding combined with project revenues cannot exceed total eligible costs.

Grant Details