Advanced manufacturing technologies for leadership of EU manufacturers in products for the net-zero industry (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)

The grant opportunity titled "Advanced manufacturing technologies for leadership of EU manufacturers in products for the net-zero industry" is part of the Horizon Europe program, specifically under the Made in Europe Partnership. It is categorized as an Innovation Action (IA) with a total budget allocation of €42 million. The application process for this funding is open with a single-stage submission, having started on May 22, 2025, and closing on September 23, 2025.

Eligible applicants include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and public-private partnerships involved in industrial innovation. The funding mechanism is primarily a grant aimed at supporting projects that contribute to enhancing the European Union's manufacturing industry, particularly in the context of attaining net-zero emissions.

Projects must be collaborative, requiring a consortium of multiple applicants to leverage different expertise and resources. Geographical eligibility is focused on EU Member States, associated countries, and potentially participants from non-EU countries under specific provisions. The grant supports advanced discrete manufacturing processes critical to the net-zero industry, including technologies for additive manufacturing and automation.

The anticipated funding for each project ranges between €5 million and €7 million, emphasizing that projects should aim for high-value outputs that align with sustainability goals. Successful proposals should integrate innovative manufacturing technologies, address energy efficiency, and meet environmental standards, thereby contributing to strategic net-zero technologies specified in EU policy frameworks.

Participants must include a business case in their proposals, outlining the intended exploitation strategy. The successful implementation of projects should focus on minimizing environmental impact and enhancing the capability of the EU manufacturing sector.

The call aims to facilitate the transition towards climate neutrality by promoting cross-sector collaboration between academia and industry, improving productivity, and fostering technological advancements that align with European environmental commitments. Co-funding is generally required for profit-oriented entities, suggesting a minimum contribution of 30%.

Overall, this funding opportunity is designed to bolster the EU's competitive position in the global market for advanced manufacturing while achieving critical sustainability targets aligned with the Net-Zero Industry Act.

This is a description of the EU funding opportunity HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-05, titled "Advanced manufacturing technologies for leadership of EU manufacturers in products for the net-zero industry (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)". This call falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) call. It is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] model grant agreement. The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date was 22 May 2025, and the deadline for submission is 23 September 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome of this funding opportunity is to benefit the European Union's manufacturing industry by enhancing capabilities in strategic and high-value-added products for the net-zero industry, increasing production capacity for clean technologies in Member States and Associated Countries, diversifying supply sources, and ensuring high environmental standards. It also aims to contribute to reaching the targets set by the Net Zero Industry Act, ensuring the reduction of strategic dependencies.

The scope of this funding opportunity focuses on advanced discrete manufacturing processes for products, components, and equipment that are essential for the net-zero industry. These processes should enable new product features (in terms of geometry, weight, robustness, functional integration, re-use-potential), advanced production processes including automation, or the use of innovative materials. The processes should improve productivity and upscaling, decrease waste, and shorten time-to-market and process integration times.

Proposals should address manufacturing technologies applicable to products for at least one of the strategic net-zero technologies listed in Annex I of the Net-Zero Industry Act, and should address the key manufacturing technologies that generate cross-sectoral impact among the chosen net-zero technology sectors.

Research and innovation should focus on the innovative development and application of one or more of the following manufacturing technologies and associated systems: Additive manufacturing or cladding for manufacturing and/or repair; Advanced joining technologies; Advanced forming and material shaping technologies; Surface processing technologies, functionalisation, nano- or micromanufacturing; and High-precision machining and assembly.

Proposals should consider integrating: Innovative metrology and inspection methods, aiming at first-time right manufacturing; Advanced and flexible automation approaches, for instance for large components, complex assembling or handling of hazardous materials; Digital twins and data mining for fast ramp-up, scale-up and real-time optimisation of production; Circular manufacturing approaches and reduced reliance on Critical Raw Materials, in view of increasing the options for re-manufacturing, disassembly, recycling, etc.; and Relevant skills and standards.

The overall environmental impact of the manufacturing processes should be minimal in terms of energy and resource consumption and CO2 emissions. Proposals should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. The aspect of manufacturing in the Union is particularly important in this topic.

The attention of proposers is also drawn to the complementary topic HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-34: Smart integration of net zero technologies into Energy Intensive industries. Technologies covered by that topic are not in the scope of this topic. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.

The submission session is now available for multiple topics including: HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-52, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-37, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-65, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-66, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-DIGITAL-61, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-31, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-02, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-44, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-64, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-63, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-34, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-61, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-32, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-38, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-63, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-36, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-DIGITAL-62, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-31, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-05, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-61, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-39, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-01, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-62, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-45, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-33, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-60, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-62.

General conditions for participation include admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, eligible countries, and other eligibility criteria. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are also specified. The evaluation and award process involves award criteria, scoring, thresholds, submission and evaluation processes, and an indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement. The legal and financial set-up of the grants is also detailed.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme. Application and evaluation forms and a model grant agreement (MGA) are available. Additional documents include various Horizon Europe work programmes, the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, the Horizon Europe Specific Programme Decision, the EU Financial Regulation, a decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions, rules for legal entity validation, and other relevant guidelines and manuals.

The budget overview provides a list of topics, their corresponding budgets for 2025 and potentially 2027, the type of action, the opening date, the deadline, the number of contributions, and the indicative number of grants.

There are 24 partner search announcements available for this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the portal.

To start the submission process, applicants need to access the Electronic Submission Service and select the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement.

Applicants are encouraged to read all provisions carefully before preparing their application and can find support 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, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to enhance the EU's manufacturing capabilities for net-zero technologies by funding innovation actions that focus on advanced manufacturing processes, digital integration, circularity, and reduced environmental impact. It seeks to strengthen the EU's industrial leadership and contribute to its climate and energy goals.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to include a variety of entities involved in research, development, and innovation within the manufacturing sector. This likely includes: SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and other relevant organizations based on the Horizon Europe program guidelines.

Funding Type: The primary funding mechanism is a grant, specifically through HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND). These actions are designed to support projects ranging from research and development to innovation and market deployment.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the nature of the projects (innovation actions, research, and coordination) suggests that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred, if not required, to bring together the necessary expertise and resources. Partner Search Announcements are explicitly mentioned.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. The possibility of funding for participants from non-EU/non-Associated Countries is mentioned, contingent on specific provisions and as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets the manufacturing sector, with a specific focus on advanced discrete manufacturing processes for the net-zero industry. This includes technologies and processes related to: Additive manufacturing, Advanced joining technologies, Advanced forming and material shaping technologies, Surface processing technologies, Digital twins and data mining, Circular manufacturing approaches, Automation, Metrology, Inspection methods, Skills and standards.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries as the primary geographic focus. It also alludes to the possibility of participants from non-EU/non-Associated Countries receiving funding under specific conditions.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of projects ranges from research and innovation (RIA) to innovation actions (IA), suggesting support for projects in the development, validation, demonstration, and potentially early commercialization stages.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary widely depending on the specific topic and type of action:
HORIZON-RIA: around EUR 6 million, EUR 4-5 million, EUR 6-8 million, around EUR 14 million
HORIZON-CSA: around EUR 1-3 million, EUR 0.5-1 million, EUR 1-1.5 million
HORIZON-IA: around EUR 3-8 million, EUR 5-10 million, EUR 5-9 million, around EUR 28 million
HORIZON-COFUND: around EUR 90 million

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

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support their projects.

Application Stages: The application process involves a 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 potential competitiveness.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is explicitly required for HORIZON-COFUND actions. For other action types, it may be implied or encouraged as part of the overall project financing strategy.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call focuses on bolstering the EU's manufacturing industry to achieve net-zero emissions. It seeks to enhance capabilities in strategic, high-value-added products and increase clean technology production within Member States and Associated Countries. The call targets advanced discrete manufacturing processes, encouraging innovation in areas like additive manufacturing, joining technologies, automation, and digital twins. Projects should address key manufacturing technologies with cross-sectoral impacts, aligning with the Net-Zero Industry Act's strategic net-zero technologies. Proposals must include a business case and exploitation strategy, emphasizing manufacturing within the Union. The call provides grants through various Horizon Europe action types (RIA, IA, CSA, COFUND), each with specific funding ranges and objectives, and it is a single-stage open call.