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Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to develop a comprehensive Front-End Module (FEM) design for the 6G FR3 frequency range, advancing towards ITU IMT 2030 specifications and leveraging European technological strengths. - Primarily targets legal entities including industrial leaders, academics, and Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs) in Europe. SME participation is a positive evaluation criterion. - SECTOR-SPECIFIC - Open to legal entities established in EU Member States, Associated Countries, OECD, and Mercosur countries. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Must be a legal entity from specified eligible countries; not a high-risk mobile network communication equipment supplier; not established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine, or controlled by Russian entities; project focuses on microelectronic FEM for FR3 range. - Part of the Smart Networks and Services (SNS) Joint Undertaking annual Work Programme under Horizon Europe, focusing on 2025 priorities.

Financial Structure

  • Budget per grant: 12000000.0 EUR.
  • Expected number of grants: 1 for this specific topic.
  • Currency: EUR.
  • Minimum grant amount: 12000000.0 EUR.
  • Maximum grant amount: 12000000.0 EUR.
  • Co-financing/Cost-sharing: Not explicitly defined as a percentage, but 'at least half of the budget should be implemented by the SNS JU member (other than the Union) and their constituent or affiliated entities' implies a significant financial contribution or responsibility from SNS JU members within the consortium.
  • Eligible costs: Aligns with general Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) guidelines (see General Annex G).
  • Financial capacity assessment: Required as per General Annex C.
  • Audit requirements: Standard Horizon Europe audit requirements apply.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Types & Legal Status
  • Legal entities established in EU Member States, Associated Countries, OECD, and Mercosur countries.
  • Public bodies, research organizations, or higher education establishments (including private ones) must have a Gender Equality Plan.
Exclusions & Restrictions
  • Legal entities assessed as 'high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment' (or entities they fully or partially own or control) are not eligible to participate as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, or associated partners.
  • Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible in any capacity.
  • Legal entities established outside Russia but whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by legal persons established in Russia are also not eligible.
  • Entities from eligible countries directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity may participate only if they provide guarantees ensuring their participation does not negatively impact the Union's strategic interests, autonomy, or security.
Consortium & Capacity
  • Consortiums are required, bringing together European industrial leaders in radio communication and microelectronics, with adequate support from academics and RTOs.
  • At least half of the project's budget must be implemented by an SNS Joint Undertaking (JU) member (other than the Union) and their constituent or affiliated entities.
  • Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity as per Horizon Europe General Annex C.
Technical & Intellectual Property
  • Employees or other persons involved in the action may require a national security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate.
  • Control over the applicant legal entity must not restrain or restrict its ability to carry out the action and deliver results, or impose restrictions concerning infrastructure, IP, or know-how needed for the action.
  • Ownership of intellectual property arising from and results of the action must remain within the recipient during and after completion, not subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries, and not exported without approval.

Application Process

Application Timeline
  • Planned Opening Date: 2025-05-22.
  • Application Deadline: 2025-09-18T00:00:00+00:00.
Submission Process
  • Application is a single-stage process.
  • Submissions must be made through the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
  • A call-specific application form will be used, available in the Submission System.
  • A mandatory table of compliance must be filled at the proposal stage in the Application Form Technical Description (Part B).
  • Proposals that do not fulfill these conditions at the time of submission will be considered ineligible.
Required Documentation
  • Full proposal with a page limit of 70 pages for Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) submitted under Stream B.
  • Mandatory table of compliance.
  • Gender equality plan, if applicable (for public bodies, research organizations, higher education establishments).
Post-Award Requirements
  • Participants of selected projects will be requested to cooperate in the SNS Programme for topics of common interests by signing a written collaboration agreement.
  • AI/ML training datasets created and used in Stream B projects must be made available through a common repository that will be openly accessed and may be used by other SNS projects over the program lifecycle.
  • Standard Horizon Europe reporting and monitoring requirements will apply (General Annex G).

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria & Scoring
  • Proposals are evaluated based on three main criteria: Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation.
  • Specific sub-criteria are introduced for the Impact section:
    • Contribution to the overall SME objective.
    • Contribution to the IKOP objectives (Innovation Key Performance Objectives).
Tie-breaking Procedure
  • If two Research and Innovation Action (RIA) proposals are equally ranked, the following criteria will be used to separate them:
    • First, the coverage criterion.
    • Second, the excellence criterion.
    • Third, the generic Impact criterion.
    • Fourth, the level of SME participation.
    • Fifth, the level of IKOP (Innovation Key Performance) contribution.
Research & Innovation Content
  • Consideration of the gender dimension in research and innovation content is an award sub-criterion, to be addressed where research results are expected to differ when applied to different gender populations of users.
  • The project's contribution to advancing ITU IMT 2030 specifications, notably for maximum data rate, user data rate, and spectral efficiency, while targeting 50% mobile transmission system energy consumption.
  • Demonstration of feasibility for European product developments and mass markets based on proposed technologies and architectures.
  • Integration capabilities for heterogeneous technologies (computing, RF, power generation).
  • Enabling integration of secure sensing technologies and Integrated Communication and Sensing (ICAS) use-cases.
  • Evaluation of use of ML/AI for Tx/Rx for 6G performance, low cost, and low energy consumption solutions.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance
  • Compliance with Article 22(5) of the Horizon Europe Regulation concerning restrictions on participation for the protection of the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security.
  • Adherence to Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 concerning entities linked to Russia.
  • Compliance with General Annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2025.
Data & Intellectual Property
  • Intellectual Property (IP): Ownership of IP arising from the action must remain within the recipient and not be subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries/entities, nor exported without approval.
  • Data Sharing: AI/ML training datasets generated must be openly shared via a common repository accessible by other SNS projects throughout the program lifecycle.
Strategic & Technical Focus
  • The project must have a clear plan for development and downstream transfer to relevant Chip JU Pilot Lines.
  • The work is expected to be backed by a very solid combination of European industrial leaders in the radio communication and microelectronic domains with adequate support from relevant academics and Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs).
  • The scope is open to several competing technologies and designs to optimize downstream implementation.
  • Minimization of interferences and support of efficient interference control with incumbent users of the FR3 spectrum range (notably satellites) is required, involving close cooperation with related projects.
Cross-Cutting & Ethical Considerations
  • Adherence to ethical standards and principles, including the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment.
  • Consideration of the gender dimension in research and innovation content where relevant.
  • Projects are expected to contribute to the overall SME objective and IKOP objectives.

Grant Details

6g smart networks and services sns microelectronics front end module fem wireless communication telecommunications rf technology integrated circuits semiconductors ai ml energy efficiency spectral efficiency itu imt 2030 fr3 giga hertz radio communication chip ju pilot lines isac integrated communication sensing soc system on chip research and innovation action ria horizon europe
Microelectronic – Front-End Module (FEM)
48488552TOPICSen
HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01
ENTERPRISE 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 US AU CA CL CO CR IL JP KR MX NZ NO CH TR UK AR BR PY UY
TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING ENERGY OTHER
DEVELOPMENT EARLY_MARKET
OTHER
SDG9 SDG7
FUNDING RESEARCH_DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY_BUILDING INNOVATION_COMMERCIALIZATION NETWORKING
12000000.00
12000000.00
12000000.00
EUR
None
Sept. 18, 2025, midnight
None