Alternatives to EIC defence call

Expected Outcome: Deliverable: Connected National Coalitions for Digital Skills and Jobs to the Core Platform. Objective: The Digital Skills and Jobs Platform provides a single point of information related to digital skills in Europe. At EU level, the Platform gathers all relevant information and funding opportunities for stakeholders to benefit from. At national level, it connects to National Coalition websites, establishing a mutually enriching exchange with relevant content and data on digital skills and jobs. In 2024, 22 national websites are connected to the Platform. Additional Member States websites will be connected by the ongoing project on National Coalitions for Digital Skills and Jobs [1] by 2026. The Platform also hosts the Cyber Security Skills Academy and will host other relevant sectoral academies and initiatives. The objective of this topic is to consolidate and uphold the operation of the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform, including corrective and adaptive maintenance. This topic will also sustain and extend the activities related to the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, as well as deepening the exchange between the National Coalition websites and the core…

Expected Impact: The action under this topic is expected to achieve the following impacts and contribute to the following EU policies/initiatives: deliver innovative, early technology solutions that contribute to addressing strategic unmet public health needs across multiple therapy areas to improve prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment; leverage the unique network and scale of IHI JU members to create a pipeline to support innovative startups in the health industry, fully integrated into European initiatives in support of start-ups and entrepreneurship; drive early cross-sector health R&D and innovation to strengthen the European healthcare industry’s global competitiveness, contributing to the EU Industrial Strategy and Pharmaceutical Strategy objectives; create a sustainable network of European healthcare incubators to guide and support highly talented and innovative early-stage companies; harness digital health and data-sharing technologies (e.g., AI and big data) to enable interoperable health solutions, contributing to the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and improved evidence based care;- the action should generate a portfolio of early‑stage companies that have…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Measurable reduction in the costs of deep renovation compared to current best practices; Measurable increase in resource and energy efficiency compared to current best practices; Measurable reduction in the number of days when occupants are disturbed due to renovation works; Measurable reduction of dust, noise, waste and pollutant and greenhouse emissions on the construction site compared to current best practices. Scope: Meeting Europe’s ambition for the renovation of the housing stock requires innovative approaches that improve buildings’ energy performance and occupants’ satisfaction, at a reduced cost while speeding up the renovation process and minimising impact on the construction site and disturbance for occupants. Renovation approaches should cover the whole workflow from design, off-site manufacturing and on-site installation to strategies for maintenance, operation and end of life. Proposals are expected to address all of the following: Demonstrate cost-effective approaches (comprising design, planning and construction processes and techniques) for deep renovation to…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: impacts of continuous and impulsive underwater noise levels on marine organisms and ecosystems, and the related ecosystem services they provide, including cumulative impacts with other pressures, are well understood, taking into account regional differences; environmental authorities have access to advanced methods, tools and indicators enabling them to comprehensively monitor and assess the impacts of underwater noise pollution on marine species and ecosystems and to devise strategies for protecting the ecosystems services they provide. Scope: Proposals should: develop new, or improve upon existing, scientific methods and tools for comprehensively monitoring the impacts of anthropogenic underwater noise pollution on marine ecosystems and species populations at different trophic levels and taking into account regional differences; develop new, or improve upon existing, indicators for the assessment of the effects of noise exposure as well as their cumulative effects on marine organisms and ecosystems, and the services they provide, in line with methods (including threshold…

Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support the implementation of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the upcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan. Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes: The methodology for identifying, selecting and consolidating global and regional reference climate data sets and scenarios is advanced and their consistent use across the EU in relation to climate adaptation is supported. Standardisation and quality of climate services across the EU are improved, and their uptake is enhanced. Climate services and best practices are used effectively to inform climate adaptation policies and decisions Scope: Rationale As climate risks intensify, the demand for tailored and effective climate services is growing. However, despite their increasing adoption, the lack of sufficient regulation can compromise quality assurance and consistency of climate services, leading to poor decision-making, limited use in policy, and underdeveloped markets, ultimately resulting in maladaptation. In its Communication on Managing climate risk , the European Commission announced its intention to ask European Standardisation…

Expected Outcome: the project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes: access to cutting-edge infrastructure for researchers and research teams from Euratom and Associated Countries to EU and international state-of-the-art nuclear research infrastructures; enhancing the network developed under the OFFERR project for optimised use of nuclear research infrastructures identified in the EU, thus supporting the implementation of the Euratom programme’s objectives and the establishment of the European Research Area (ERA) in the nuclear safety and radiation protection field; strengthened cross-border collaboration in nuclear safety and radiation protection research in the EU, a significant increase in transnational nuclear research and the fostering of shared expertise and resources; preservation of critical facilities, possibly increasing their number to ensure the long-term availability of key experimental facilities for research into safety, security, safeguards, radioactive waste management and radiation protection (e.g. materials testing research reactors in operation, irradiation infrastructure, hot cells and laboratories, mechanical and thermal…

Expected Outcome: this topic is a continuation for the co-funded European partnership for research in nuclear materials (CONNECT-NM) and constitutes the EU’s contribution to the 2026-2027 budgetary period. This action aims to provide additional funding to the co-funded European partnership on nuclear materials that brings together European entities that have a national mandate for research in materials science and deal with nuclear materials. It aims to pool their resources in order to achieve critical mass and improve safety, as well as efficiency and effectiveness, when implementing materials solutions in the nuclear domain across Europe. The scope of the partnership on nuclear materials covers the research interests of all Member States and Associated Countries dealing with nuclear materials research. It is not limited to countries that generate nuclear power. The grant to the partnership will contribute to the expected outcomes specified in topic HORIZON-EURATOM-2023-NRT-01-04. The consortium that won the grant under topic HORIZON-EURATOM-2023-NRT-01-04 is uniquely placed to submit a proposal to continue the envisioned partnership. The consortium for the present topic may…

Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to all following points: Significantly reduced EU dependency on imported battery-grade raw materials, specifically emerging technologies and carbon-based electrode materials. Established European value chains for next-generation battery materials, enhancing the EU's technological leadership and strategic autonomy. Scope: Proposals under this topic are expected to address all aspects for one of the following categories: 1. Sustainable Processing and Refining of next generation batteries-grade Material, delivering all of the following: Development and validation of innovative, environmentally friendly refining technologies for producing battery-grade metals and materials suitable for next-generation battery chemistries. This covers raw and advanced electrode materials for the components of sodium-ion batteries or beyond generation 3 [1] lithium-ion batteries Development of processes achieving significant reductions in carbon and ecological footprint, emissions of pollutants, energy usage, and chemical inputs. The selected processes should not negatively impact any of the aspects above or cause significant harm. Validation of…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: Advance in the achievement of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan’s research and innovation priorities and targets for wind energy; Efficient and effective support to wind energy research and innovation through alignment and cooperation among different actors, avoiding fragmentation of efforts; Energy producers and consumers benefit from increased performance of wind energy technologies with the focus on efficiency and flexibility, reduced cost, improved reliability and sustainability, operation and maintenance, safety, robustness and security during all stages of the lifetime of a wind energy farm from installation, operation and maintenance to decommissioning; Increased contribution of wind energy to the energy system, with minimal impacts on health and the environment (notably biodiversity and pollution) and at the lowest possible cost. Scope: The action contributes to address the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan’s research and innovation priorities and targets for wind energy, as defined by the Implementation Working Group (IWG) on wind energy, the European…

Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Chemical Industry Action Plan, the Clean Industrial Deal as well as the Horizon Europe Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030" in particular to Objective 2: "Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, Seas and waters". Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Full industrial scale biorefinery and related value chain(s) to produce SSbD bio-based solutions for home and/or personal care sector with significantly improved sustainability. Wider availability of bio-based products in home and/or personal care sector meeting both regulatory standards and technical performance requirements. Increased consumer/end user acceptance of bio-based solutions, facilitating market uptake. Contribution to the EU strategic autonomy, resilience and competitiveness, reducing the fossil feedstock dependence for chemicals production and minimising biomass imports dependencies. Scope: The home and personal care sector, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and cosmetics, is a key industry where…

Expected Outcome: Proposals under this topic should aim to deliver results that are directed and tailored towards and contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Healthy people and in particular people at risk will benefit from microbiome tests and programmes that can discover and predict their transition to cancer before the onset of disease. People will have a better understanding of risks and will be enabled to address risks early by following treatments or adapting their lifestyles, including nutrition and other interventions. Physicians will be able to start cancer treatments earlier with a higher success rate. Policy makers and authorities will be enabled to develop and implement advanced and strategic programmes addressing cancer prevention. Scope: This topic will contribute to the achievement of the EU Cancer Mission’s objective to achieve better cancer prevention and early detection. The focus is on the development of validated microbiome tools, an assessment of predispositions, the comparison with other predictive tools and risk modelling approaches. Cancer often develops over several years and progresses silently before symptoms appear. Some cancers are…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Reinforcing EU strategic autonomy by reducing non-EU dependencies on critical space EEE components and related technologies across their entire supply chain; Providing unrestricted access to critical space EEE components and related technologies relevant for EU space missions (Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, IRIS 2 and EU pilot missions on In-Orbit Space Operations and Quantum Gravimetry); Developing or regaining capacity to operate independently in space by developing resilient space EEE components and related technologies supply chains, relying on EU supply chains and/or trustable and reliable supply chains not affected by non-EU export restrictions; Enhancing competitiveness by developing products and capabilities reaching equivalent or superior performance level than those from outside the EU and compete at worldwide level. Scope: Unrestricted access to state-of-art space EEE components and related technologies is a pre-requisite for the EU space industry responding to EU space missions. However, especially for some families of components, the available solutions in EU do not…