Advanced integrated photonic devices for extended features and ultra-low power consumption (RIA) (Photonics Partnership)

The HORIZON-CL4-2027-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-03 call, titled "Advanced integrated photonic devices for extended features and ultra-low power consumption," is part of the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically under the DIGITAL pillar. This initiative aims to enhance the functionality, efficiency, and integration of photonic devices and circuits, supporting their application across multiple sectors, including digital technologies, automotive, industrial, healthcare, and security.

Eligible applicants include a variety of legal entities from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, associated countries, OECD countries, and MERCOSUR countries. However, entities that are controlled by non-eligible countries cannot participate. The funding type is a lump sum grant, with total funding of €25,000,000, which is expected to support approximately six grants. Each grant will range from €3,000,000 to €5,000,000.

The call operates on a single-stage submission model, with a planned opening date of November 17, 2026, and a deadline of March 18, 2027. The projects should focus on the development and demonstration stages, enhancing photon device performance, including aspects such as spectral purity, modulation speed, miniaturization of circuits, and reduction of power consumption.

Participating consortia are encouraged to demonstrate advancements relevant to systems and applications, showcasing real-world applicability. The nature of support is strictly financial, aimed at covering eligible costs through the lump sum grants. There are no explicit co-funding requirements from applicants, although additional funding can be secured voluntarily.

Evaluation criteria and conditions for participation are outlined in the general annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme. This call aims to reinforce the competitiveness of EU photonics actors, ensuring the development of technologies that advance Europe's strategic autonomy in critical areas such as photonics, thereby reducing dependency on external suppliers.

The HORIZON-CL4-2027-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-03 call, titled "Advanced integrated photonic devices for extended features and ultra-low power consumption (RIA) (Photonics Partnership)," is part of the Horizon Europe Programme under the DIGITAL (HORIZON-CL4-2027-05) call. It is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) that aims to enhance the functionality, efficiency, and integration of photonic devices and circuits. The grant agreement will be a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS].

The call adopts a single-stage submission model with a planned opening date of November 17, 2026, and a deadline of March 18, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of this call are:

Advanced integrated photonic devices and circuits with enhanced functionality and performance, enabling wider application across multiple sectors, including digital, automotive, industrial, health, and security.
Reinforced competitiveness of EU photonics actors by demonstrating advancements in representative system configurations and validating real-world applicability.
Significantly improved performance of electro-optic systems in applications such as communication, computing, sensing, medical diagnostics, data processing, and AI, supporting the introduction of photonic elements into such systems.
Low power consumption sensors with increased performance in application domains.

The scope of the call focuses on Research and Innovation (R&I) activities that enhance the functionality, efficiency, and integration of photonic devices and circuits, with a focus on extended system performance. Actions should address at least two of the following aspects:

Enhanced performance through improved spectral purity, wavelength coverage, output power, and noise characteristics.
Increased modulation or detection speeds going beyond the capability of existing PIC material platforms, improved signal-processing capabilities, and integration of novel materials such as thin-film LiNbO3, BTO, graphene, silicon carbide, phase change materials and TMDCs.
Miniaturised, high-complexity photonic circuits (e.g. multilayer photonics, chiplets, multiple integrated functional elements), scalable interconnects and electronics-photonics integration (co-packaged, heterogeneous, or monolithic) to improve performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
Reduction of power consumption for example through improved electrical-to-optical conversion, lower optical losses, devices operable at higher temperatures to reduce cooling needs, and low-power circuit actuation and control.

Proposals should consider system-level impact and demonstrate advancements in representative configurations relevant to one or more application domains. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on photonics.

The total budget for this topic in 2027 is EUR 25,000,000. The indicative number of grants to be awarded is 6, with contributions ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 5,000,000 per grant.

Admissibility conditions require adherence to proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

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. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other eligible conditions include the requirement to avoid technological dependency on non-EU sources to safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security. Participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland and Norway, associated countries, OECD countries and MERCOSUR countries. Entities controlled by non-eligible countries or entities are not allowed to participate.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the standard application form (HE RIA, IA). Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including the standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA).

Additional guidance and documents include:

HE Programme Guide
Model Grant Agreements (MGA) Lump Sum MGA
Call-specific instructions Detailed budget table (HE LS)
Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

Support is available through 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, and Partner Search.

This Horizon Europe call aims to foster research and innovation in advanced integrated photonics to enhance the functionality, efficiency, and integration of photonic devices and circuits. It seeks to improve system performance, reduce power consumption, and boost the competitiveness of EU photonics actors. Projects should focus on developing advanced photonic devices and circuits with applications across various sectors, including digital, automotive, industrial, health, and security. The call encourages proposals that address multiple aspects of photonic device improvement, such as enhanced performance, increased modulation speeds, miniaturization, and reduced power consumption. Participation is limited to entities from Member States, Iceland, Norway, associated countries, OECD countries, and MERCOSUR countries, with specific conditions to avoid technological dependencies on non-EU sources. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and detailed guidance is available through various documents and support services provided by the European Commission.

Eligible Applicant Types: The opportunity is open to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland, Norway, associated countries, OECD countries, and MERCOSUR countries. However, entities established in eligible countries but directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity are not allowed to participate. The specific types of legal entities eligible (e.g., SME, large enterprise, university, research institute) are not explicitly mentioned but can be inferred to include those involved in research and innovation activities.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (RIA) with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used is the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS].

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the partner search announcements and the nature of Research and Innovation Actions suggest that a consortium is possible, and perhaps even preferred, to adequately address the scope of the call.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, associated countries, OECD countries, and MERCOSUR countries.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is digital technologies, specifically focusing on photonics. This includes advanced integrated photonic devices and circuits, electro-optic systems, communication, computing, sensing, medical diagnostics, data processing, and AI. It also touches upon sectors like automotive, industrial, health, and security where photonics applications are relevant.

Mentioned Countries: Iceland, Norway, EU member states, OECD countries, and MERCOSUR countries are explicitly mentioned.

Project Stage: The expected project stage is research and innovation, focusing on enhancing functionality, efficiency, and integration of photonic devices and circuits, demonstrating advancements in representative system configurations, and validating real-world applicability. This suggests projects in the development, validation, and demonstration stages.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic is EUR 25,000,000. The indicative contribution per grant ranges from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 5,000,000. Six grants are expected to be awarded.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, meaning there is only one submission deadline. The call is an open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant to cover eligible costs.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided information.

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

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under the DIGITAL pillar, aims to foster research and innovation in advanced integrated photonic devices and circuits. The goal is to enhance the functionality, efficiency, and integration of these devices to enable wider applications across various sectors, including digital, automotive, industrial, health, and security. The call seeks to reinforce the competitiveness of EU photonics actors by demonstrating advancements in representative system configurations and validating real-world applicability. Projects should significantly improve the performance of electro-optic systems in areas like communication, computing, sensing, medical diagnostics, data processing, and AI, while also focusing on low power consumption sensors.

Eligible applicants are legal entities from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, associated countries, OECD countries, and MERCOSUR countries. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, with individual grants ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 5,000,000. The call follows a single-stage application process, with a planned opening date of November 17, 2026, and a deadline of March 18, 2027.

The research should address at least two of the following aspects: enhanced performance, increased modulation or detection speeds, miniaturized high-complexity photonic circuits, and reduction of power consumption. Proposals should consider system-level impact and demonstrate advancements in representative configurations relevant to one or more application domains. This initiative is part of the co-programmed European Partnership on photonics, emphasizing the strategic importance of photonics for the EU's digital future.