Grants8 logo Grants8
Login Create account

Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to significantly advance research and innovation in smart airports, airports as multimodal nodes, and the overall passenger experience. This includes developing solutions for collaborative management, enhanced performance monitoring, seamless integration into air traffic management (ATM) processes, improved environmental performance, and robust cybersecurity capabilities for airport platforms. It also targets the integration of new technologies like vertiports and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). - Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: The grant targets a wide range of legal entities, including businesses (SMEs, enterprises), research organizations, universities, NGOs, and public bodies, collaborating in consortia. There are no explicit size restrictions, but the project scope and funding levels suggest suitability for medium to large organizations or groups of organizations. - MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, focused on Aviation, Air Traffic Management (ATM), Airports, and associated Technology and Transport sectors. - Geographic scope and any location requirements: Open to entities from EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe. Funding provisions may also be available for specific non-EU/non-Associated countries. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Applicants should be involved in aviation or related technology, have strong R&I capabilities, and be prepared to form or join a consortium for collaborative projects. - Grant frequency and program context: This topic is part of the broader HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-IR-02 call, indicating it is a recurring part of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking's work programme within Horizon Europe.

Financial Structure

  • Minimum grant amount per project: 1,000,000 EUR.
  • Maximum grant amount per project: 3,000,000 EUR.
  • Total budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-IR-02-WA4-2): 6,000,000 EUR, intending to fund 2 projects.
  • Funding rate: 70% of eligible costs will be covered by the grant for all beneficiaries, regardless of their legal status.
  • Cost model: Funding will be provided in the form of a lump sum, as defined by the Horizon Europe framework.
  • Eligible costs: Covered by the agreed lump sum, following the Decision of 7 July 2021 on lump sum contributions under Horizon Europe.
  • Ineligible costs: Not specifically detailed, but costs not covered by the agreed lump sum calculation will be ineligible.
  • Currency: All financial amounts are in EUR.
  • Financial guarantees and audit requirements: Implicit for EU funding mechanisms like Horizon Europe, adhering to standard EU financial regulations.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type
  • Any legal entity is eligible to apply, as the funding rate of 70% applies to 'all beneficiaries (regardless of their legal status)'.
  • A consortium is required; applicants must apply as part of a group and establish a collaboration agreement.
Geographic Location
  • Eligible countries are defined in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes:
    • 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.
    • Countries associated with Horizon Europe (e.g., AL, BA, GE, IS, IL, MD, ME, MK, NO, RS, TR, UA, UK).
    • Specific provisions may exist for non-EU/non-Associated Countries that make funding available for their participants.
Technical and Operational Capacity
  • Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
  • The nature of the call (Research and Innovation Actions) implies a need for strong research, development, and innovation capabilities in relevant fields such as aviation, ATM, cybersecurity, data science, and environmental management.
Project Linkage
  • Projects awarded under this topic will be linked to previous actions from calls HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01 and HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01.
Exclusion Criteria
  • The call is subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks, meaning proposals or entities violating these may be excluded.

Application Process

Application Timeline
  • Call opening date: 2025-04-01.
  • Application deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+0000 (UTC).
  • Maximum project duration: Projects can last up to 36 months.
Submission Process
  • Submission model: Single-stage process.
  • Submission platform: Applications must be submitted electronically via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
  • Required documentation:
    • Standard application form (HE RIA, IA) - Part A.
    • SESAR 3 application form (RIA, IA) - Part B (specific for this call, available in the Submission System).
    • Detailed budget table (HE LS - for Lump Sum projects).
  • Pre-application requirements: It is strongly advised to submit any enquiries related to proposal submission to [email protected] at least 2 weeks before the deadline to ensure a timely response.
Post-Award Requirements
  • Reporting: Beneficiaries are subject to additional dissemination and exploitation obligations, which must be acknowledged and incorporated into the proposal and grant agreement.
  • Progress Tracking: Expected outcomes and deliverables will be monitored throughout the project duration.
  • Collaboration Agreement: A formal collaboration agreement is required among consortium members and for linking with previous SESAR actions.
Application Support
  • Comprehensive guidance and assistance are available through various channels, including the SESAR 3 JU Call Helpdesk, the Online Manual, the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), the Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and specific helpdesks for standardisation (CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk).

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria Weighting
  • Excellence: 40% of the total score.
  • Impact: 40% of the total score.
  • Implementation: 20% of the total score.
Quality and Innovation
  • Proposals must demonstrate high scientific and technological quality, aligned with the scope of Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).
  • Expected project content includes advancing solutions for collaborative airport management (Centralised Lite APOC), group airport performance monitoring (AOP), integration with user-driven prioritisation processes (UDPP), airport environmental performance management, smart airport concepts (e.g., integrated planning, information sharing, AI/ML for demand management, cybersecurity), and the safe integration of IFR RPAS.
Impact Expectations
  • Projects should lead to improved predictability of inbound, turnaround, and outbound operations at airports.
  • Expected to enhance collaborative environments and connectivity within the ATM network.
  • Contribute to better management of disruptions and faster recovery to normal operations.
  • Integrate environmental considerations into airport operations, potentially using environmental dashboards for monitoring.
  • Improve mobility planning and prediction for both airports and the wider ATM network.
  • Strengthen cybersecurity posture against attacks on airport infrastructure.
  • Lead to more seamless passenger experiences and effective intermodal transport system integration.
  • Achieve safe and efficient integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) into airport and controlled airspace operations.
  • Proposals must clearly align with and contribute to the objectives of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085, the SESAR Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), and the European ATM Master Plan.
Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
  • Applicants must commit to proactive efforts to share all relevant results, on a royalty-free basis and in a timely manner, with other grants awarded under the same call.
  • Proposals must outline efforts to meet dissemination and exploitation obligations, which include making results available for reuse under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory conditions through a trusted repository.
  • If results are related to standardisation, a non-exclusive, royalty-free license must be granted.
  • Mutual access to background and results of ongoing and closed linked actions must be ensured if necessary for implementation or exploitation.
Cross-cutting themes
  • The integration of a gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) into Research & Innovation content is explicitly stated as not a mandatory requirement for this call.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance
  • Admissibility conditions are detailed in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
  • Other eligible conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
  • Proposals must comply with restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
  • Legal and financial setup of grants adheres to Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific exceptions for lump sum funding.
Intellectual Property (IP)
  • Beneficiaries have additional exploitation obligations: all relevant results generated must be made available for reuse under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) conditions via a trusted repository.
  • If the purpose of exploiting results is related to standardisation, beneficiaries must grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to these results.
  • For linked actions, beneficiaries must ensure mutual access to the background and results of ongoing and closed linked actions, if necessary for implementation or exploitation.
Risk Management
  • While not explicitly detailed, the nature of Research and Innovation Actions in the critical aviation sector, particularly concerning cybersecurity capabilities, implies strong risk management practices are expected.
Specific Programme Alignment
  • Projects must align with the objectives set in Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085, the SESAR Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), and the European ATM Master Plan.
Cross-Cutting Considerations
  • The integration of a gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) into research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement for this specific call.
Collaboration
  • A collaboration agreement is a mandatory requirement, crucial for effective implementation and linking with related projects (HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01, HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01).

Grant Details

smart airports airports as multimodal nodes passenger experience aviation air traffic management atm cyber-resilience cybersecurity airport platforms collaborative management regional airports apoc airport operations centre aop performance monitoring user-driven prioritisation process udpp environmental performance management emissions noise reduction vertiports intermodal transport rpas integration remotely piloted aircraft systems ifr rpas taxi technologies autonomous taxi research and innovation transport technology digital aviation eu funding horizon europe sesar lump sum funding
Smart airports, airports as multimodal nodes and passenger experience
47761674TOPICSen
Horizon Europe - SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking
SME ENTERPRISE NGO PUBLIC UNIVERSITY OTHER
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 AL BA GE IS IL MD ME MK NO RS TR UA UK
TECHNOLOGY TRANSPORTATION ENVIRONMENT OTHER
DEVELOPMENT EARLY_MARKET
51-250 251-500 500+ OTHER
SDG9 SDG11 SDG13
FUNDING RESEARCH_DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY_BUILDING INNOVATION_COMMERCIALIZATION
6000000.00
1000000.00
3000000.00
EUR
70.00
Sept. 16, 2025, midnight
2025-04-01 to 2025-09-16