Cluster 4, ‘Digital, Industry and Space’ aims to shape competitive and trusted technologies for EU leadership in these technologies; to enable production and consumption respecting the boundaries of our planet; and to maximise the benefits for all parts of society in the variety of social, economic and territorial contexts in Europe. It will for example boost Europe leadership and competitiveness on Artificial Intelligence innovation (AI), leading the way on making AI safer and more trustworthy, and on tackling the risks stemming from its misuse. Similarly, it will ease the exploitation of untapped data potential while promoting high standards of data protection.
This cluster will serve the goals of the Competitiveness Compass through substantial R&I investments, often complemented by private investments through partnerships, across different technology readiness levels; and by integrating technological, environmental and social objectives into innovation.
This cluster will also support the Clean Industrial Deal, by driving decarbonisation and circularity in the manufacturing, energy-intensive and construction industries; and by providing the advanced materials and advanced manufacturing technologies that are needed for a net-zero economy. It aims to position the European Union as a technology and industrial leader in clean technologies.
Actions under this cluster will support key enabling technologies that are strategically important for Europe’s future, and deliver on the following six expected impacts in the Strategic Plan, through matching destinations in this Work Programme.
– Destination ‘Achieving global leadership in climate-neutral, circular and digitised industrial and digital value chains’, or ‘TWIN TRANSITION’, with calls related to: remanufacturing, circular economy, advanced manufacturing, net-zero industry, energy efficient industries, upcycling technologies and products,
– Destination ‘Achieving technological leadership for Europe’s open strategic autonomy in raw materials, chemicals and innovative materials’, or ‘MATERIALS’, with calls related to: semiconductor raw materials production, textile and apparel production, life cycle assessment for chemicals
– Destination ‘Developing an agile and secure single market and infrastructure for data-services and trustworthy artificial intelligence services’, or ‘DATA’, with calls related to: Connected Collaborative Computing Networks (3C), TelCo Edge-Cloud deployments, end-to-end infrastructures, next generation computing technologies (IoT, edge, cloud, HPC), open internet stack, submarine cable infrastructures, compliant data ecosystems, GenAI along the cognitive computing continuum, softare engineering for AI and GenAI
– Destination ‘Achieving open strategic autonomy in digital and emerging enabling technologies’, or ‘DIGITAL EMERGING’, with calls related to: quantum computing, post-exascale HPC, sensor technologies, fabless startups/SMEs ecosystems, robust and trustworthy GenAI for robotics and industrial automation, assessment of AI capabilities and risks, soft robotics for advanced physical capabilities
– Destination ‘Open Strategic Autonomy in Developing, Deploying and Using Global Space-Based Infrastructure, Services in Space and on Ground, Applications and Data’, or ‘SPACE’, with calls related to: European spaceports, space trasnportation systems, design and simulation tools, ISOS pilot mission, satellite telcom and earth observation, AI/ML digital transition of Copernicus services, satellite navigation, chip scale atomic clocks, solar cells,
– Destination ‘Digital and industrial technologies driving human-centric innovation’, or ‘HUMAN’, with calls related to: virtual worlds, open and interoperable Web 4.0, GenAI, semiconductors, digital standards, cooperation in digital science
Projects funded under Horizon Europe usually last from 12 to 48 months. The expected EU contribution per project ranges from EUR 0.5M to 90M.
Deadlines go from 23 September to 2 October 2025 depending on the call.
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
– the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
– the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
– countries associated to Horizon Europe listed here : https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf
– low- and middle-income countries listed here : https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf
Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call conditions, only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as
beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
– at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
– at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Country
