Accelerated multi-physical and virtual testing for battery aging, reliability, and safety evaluation (Batt4EU Partnership)

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity titled "Accelerated multi-physical and virtual testing for battery aging, reliability, and safety evaluation (Batt4EU Partnership)" aims to foster innovation in battery technology through improved testing methodologies. This grant is classified as a Horizon Europe Innovation Action and offers a lump-sum grant model.

Eligible applicants include research institutes, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, and public-private partnerships. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) can also participate as a consortium member. The geographical scope of this funding encompasses EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe, with a focus on utilizing materials sourced from these regions.

The main goal of the grant is to reduce the development timeline and costs associated with new battery systems. It is particularly focused on battery technologies for electric vehicles and related applications, addressing the need for reliability and safety through accelerated multi-physical and virtual testing methods. Projects are expected to validate how various operational loads, aging processes, and misuse impact battery performance.

Funding amounts to a total of €15 million, spanning two expected grants of €7.5 million each. The application process follows a single-stage open call, with the opening date set for September 16, 2025, and a deadline on January 20, 2026.

Successful proposals should aim to establish advanced testing profiles and environments, combine physics-based testing with data-driven strategies, and develop scalable commercialization plans. The use of artificial intelligence and generative AI methodologies in testing strategies is strongly encouraged. Collaboration with other connected projects and integrating the European safety classification system into the findings will be vital.

While explicit co-funding requirements are not stated, proposals will need to demonstrate procurement strategies favoring EU-produced materials. The competition for grants is expected to be robust, with typical Horizon Europe success rates ranging from 10% to 39%.

In summary, this grant focuses on enhancing the efficiency and safety of battery technology development in Europe, emphasizing collaboration, the integration of modern testing techniques, and alignment with EU sustainability goals.

The EU Funding and Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically within Cluster 5, call 01-2026 (WP 2025). The topic is HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D2-05, titled "Accelerated multi-physical and virtual testing for battery aging, reliability, and safety evaluation (Batt4EU Partnership)". This is a HORIZON-IA (Innovation Action) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement. The deadline model is single-stage, with a planned opening date of 16 September 2025 and a deadline of 20 January 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of the projects are: shortened development time of battery cells and systems, increased battery reliability and safety, acceleration of verification and validation, and standardised testing approaches. The scope of the topic is to reduce development costs and time to market for new battery systems by using accelerated multi-physical and virtual testing. It addresses the need to understand the impact of multi-physical operational loads, failure modes, ageing, and misuse on battery safety and reliability.

Proposals should address and demonstrate the following activities: understanding the impact of multi-physical loads, deriving advanced operating profiles for X-in-the-Loop (XiL) testing, combining physics-based with data-driven test strategies, and developing simplified test strategies. Synergies between different battery chemistries should be exploited. Research activities should lead to advanced response strategies for damaged and aged batteries and contribute to the European safety classification system. Collaboration with selected proposals under topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D5-03 is expected.

Activities encouraged include: development of virtual methods for full system validation, development and harmonisation of advanced battery measurement and diagnostic methods, definition of performance indicators, and application of AI and generative AI for experimental and testing strategies. Exploitation plans should include scalability, commercialisation, and deployment strategies. Cooperation with the selected proposal under topic HORIZON-CL5-2023-D2-02-03 is expected. Involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) is possible. Projects are expected to collaborate with the Coordination and Support Action defined under topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-D2-02-06. The use of materials, products, and equipment produced in EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe is expected. The topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU), and projects will be expected to report on results to the partnership.

General conditions include admissibility conditions, eligible countries, other eligible conditions, financial and operational capacity and exclusion, evaluation and award criteria, submission and evaluation processes, indicative timeline, and legal and financial set-up of the grants. Specific conditions relate to application and evaluation forms, model grant agreement, and additional documents.

The budget overview lists several HORIZON actions with their respective budgets, stages, opening dates, deadlines, contributions, and indicative number of grants. For HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D2-05, the budget is 15,000,000 EUR, it is a single-stage action, the opening date is 16 September 2025, the deadline is 20 January 2026, and the indicative number of grants is 2.

Partner search announcements are available for those seeking partners to collaborate on this topic. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

The call provides access to various support resources, including the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk, the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment, and a Partner Search function.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on advancing battery technology by promoting innovative testing methodologies that combine physical and virtual approaches. The goal is to reduce the time and cost associated with battery development while enhancing the safety, reliability, and performance of batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. The call encourages collaboration, the use of AI, and the involvement of European resources to strengthen the European battery ecosystem. Successful projects are expected to contribute to standardised testing approaches and the development of a European safety classification system for batteries.

The EU is offering funding to projects that can improve the way we test batteries, especially for electric vehicles. Current testing methods are too slow and expensive. The EU wants projects that can use computer simulations and faster, more efficient physical tests to better understand how batteries age, how safe they are, and how they perform under different conditions. The goal is to help European companies develop better batteries more quickly, making electric vehicles more reliable and affordable. The projects should also work with other EU initiatives to create common standards for battery testing and safety.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe calls, eligible applicants typically include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other legal entities capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) or a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) or a HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to require a consortium, as the Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding. Partner Search help is available to find a partner organisation for your proposal.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is energy, specifically related to battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs) and electro-mobility, as well as stationary applications. The program targets the climate and mobility sectors.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe. It also refers to non-EU and non-associated countries ('third-countries').

Project Stage: The project stage targets both research and innovation, as indicated by the types of actions: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA). The scope includes activities from development to demonstration and potentially commercialization.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €1,500,000 to €30,000,000. The indicative number of grants per topic also varies.
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D2-01 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 24 000 000 EUR, around 8000000 EUR per grant, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D2-04 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 30 000 000 EUR, around 10000000 EUR per grant, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D2-05 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 15 000 000 EUR, around 7500000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D2-09 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 1 500 000 EUR, around 1500000 EUR per grant, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D5-17 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 16 000 000 EUR, around 8000000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-03 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 8 000 000 EUR, around 4000000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-04 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 5 000 000 EUR, around 5000000 EUR per grant, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-05 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 4 000 000 EUR, around 4000000 EUR per grant, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-06 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 4 000 000 EUR, around 4000000 EUR per grant, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-07 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 22 000 000 EUR, around 11000000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-08 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 15 000 000 EUR, 7000000 to 8000000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-09 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 3 500 000 EUR, around 3500000 EUR per grant, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-10 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 16 000 000 EUR, around 8000000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-13 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 10 000 000 EUR, around 5000000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-14 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 10 000 000 EUR, around 5000000 EUR per grant, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D6-15 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 4 000 000 EUR, around 4000000 EUR per grant, 1 grant

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive funding in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the expected competitiveness.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly stated.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe Cluster 5 call focuses on advancing battery technology for electric vehicles and other applications. The primary goal is to reduce the development time and costs associated with new battery systems while enhancing their reliability and safety. This will be achieved through accelerated multi-physical and virtual testing methods. The call encourages proposals that address electric vehicle batteries and methodologies applicable to electro-mobility and stationary applications. Projects should aim to understand the impact of various operational loads, failure modes, and ageing on battery performance, and to develop advanced testing profiles and environments. The use of AI and generative AI is encouraged to optimize experimental testing strategies. Collaboration with other related projects and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) is also encouraged. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the call is open to a wide range of applicants from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU countries. The call includes both Innovation Actions (IAs) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs), indicating a focus on both development and research aspects. The indicative budget and number of grants vary by topic, with opening planned for September 16, 2025, and a deadline on January 20, 2026. This initiative aims to strengthen the European battery ecosystem and promote the competitiveness of the European battery value chain.