Automated Scientific Discovery – Food (RAISE pilot)

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity titled HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01-02 focuses on "Automated Scientific Discovery – Food" under the AI in Science initiative. It aims to fund the development and demonstration of closed-loop scientific experimentation systems in the food sector. This pilot program has a budget of €3 million designated for one project expected to demonstrate advanced AI-driven laboratory automation.

The key details of this grant include an opening date of September 22, 2026, with a deadline for submissions set for February 2, 2027. It follows a single-stage submission process, allowing applicants to submit complete proposals for evaluation without prior screening. Eligible applicants can include a variety of organizations such as research institutions, universities, SMEs, large enterprises, and public bodies from EU member states, EEA countries, and associated countries. Third-country participation is also possible under specific provisions.

The funding is structured as a grant provided under the Research and Innovation Action (RIA) category, which emphasizes direct financial support for research and development without equity or loan components. While no mandatory consortium requirement is specified, collaboration across multiple labs is encouraged.

The focus is on integrating laboratory automation with AI technologies to create systems capable of planning, executing, and analyzing experimental protocols autonomously. Specific targets of the initiative include biotechnology applications, alternative proteins, bio-based materials, and advanced food production technologies. The project is intended to enhance productivity, reproducibility, and operational efficiency in scientific discovery, leveraging existing laboratory infrastructure with intelligent software solutions.

Successful projects are expected to produce demonstrators of functional automated systems that facilitate scientific experimentation. An emphasis is placed on data management, security, and ethical considerations throughout the development process. The expected outcomes include improved scientific methodologies, standards for laboratory interoperability, and innovations applicable to various research domains.

For contextual financial aspects, the broader call comprises a larger topic with a €29 million budget aimed at funding approximately three projects with an expected contribution of around €10 million each.

This call reflects the European commitment to leading global advancements in AI and automation within the scientific research framework, particularly in the food and biotechnology sectors. Overall, applicants are encouraged to develop proposals that align with the call's objectives and demonstrate innovative solutions for enhancing scientific automation and productivity.

This is a Horizon Europe call under the AI in Science initiative (HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01) focusing on Automated Scientific Discovery in the Food sector (RAISE pilot). The call aims to fund Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) to develop safe and trustworthy closed-loop scientific experimentation systems. These systems should integrate laboratory automation with AI-driven decision-making processes and robust data infrastructures. The goal is to help scientific labs with advanced automation and digitalization to design, develop, and test an intelligence layer that enables scientific instrumentation to semi- or fully autonomously plan, run, and analyze experiments. Ideally, this should occur in coordination with other labs and without requiring a complete redesign of existing laboratory setups.

The expected outcomes of funded projects include: Development of closed-loop scientific experimentation systems that integrate automation with AI-driven, trustworthy decision-making processes in existing laboratory environments; Accelerated scientific discovery with increased efficiency and reproducibility; Improved scientific productivity; Advancement of laboratory automation, including development of best practices, challenges, and opportunities for accelerating R&D; Prototype functional demonstrators that showcase the integration of automation with AI-driven decision-making, enabling the development of closed-loop scientific experimentation systems.

The scope of the call emphasizes the development of an intelligence layer that allows scientific instruments to plan, execute, and analyze experiments autonomously. Proposals should incorporate comprehensive data management systems for collecting, storing, processing, and sharing experimental data. This includes developing scalable and secure data storage solutions, efficient data processing and analysis tools, and mechanisms for data sharing and collaboration across labs, while ensuring data security and privacy. Systems could incorporate AI-driven resource optimization modules to minimize energy, reagent, and material consumption during automated experimentation cycles. Systems should incorporate an appropriate level of security and robustness by design. Proposals should demonstrate how an existing lab can be retrofitted with AI-driven software systems to plan, execute, and analyze experiments in a closed-loop fashion, incorporating human oversight and interaction to ensure accuracy, safety, and ethical compliance.

Possible research targets include, but are not limited to: Autonomous/semi-autonomous and adaptive AI systems (including agentic AI) that connect with laboratory instruments and robotics and can autonomously plan, act, learn and adapt within a scientific environment, within a validated safe pipeline; Assistive and interactive safe AI-managed robotic systems that automate diverse experiments and can be applied to a diverse hardware setup; Scalable automation solutions and networked AI systems that enable collaborative experimentation across multiple labs and networks of labs (including different geographic locations), supporting the simultaneous execution of large volumes of experiments; Systems that provide real-time data processing and analytics, enabling immediate feedback and dynamic adjustments during experiments; Standards and protocols to ensure interoperability between different laboratory instruments, robotics, and AI systems; Intuitive user interfaces for enhanced human-machine interaction; AI-driven predictive maintenance systems to optimize equipment uptime and resource utilization; Exploration of how scientific automation technologies can be adapted for use in various scientific disciplines beyond those in the scope of this call.

While the call prioritizes software development, it does not exclude the justified purchase of complementary equipment necessary to implement the research targets of the project. Impact areas of automated experimentation in biomass and precision fermentation could include the development of alternative protein sources in food production and alternative fats, bio-based materials, specialty carbohydrates, biotechnologies in food systems (such as biochemicals, microbial cultures, etc), food ingredients. International collaboration is encouraged.

The call is structured with a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date is 22 September 2026, and the deadline for submission is 02 February 2027 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

There are two specific topics under this call:

HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01-01: This topic has a budget of 29,000,000 EUR and aims to fund approximately 3 grants, each around 10,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01-02: This topic has a budget of 3,000,000 EUR and aims to fund 1 grant, around 3,000,000 EUR.

General conditions for admissibility, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, exclusion, evaluation, award criteria, submission and evaluation processes, indicative timeline, and legal and financial setup are described in the Annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including a standard application form (HE RIA, IA). Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including a standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA). Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreements (HE MGA). Call-specific instructions, information on financial support to third parties, and information on clinical studies are also available.

Additional documents include: 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 – 14. Horizontal Activities, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes, HE Programme Guide, 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, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The Funding & Tenders Portal is the primary platform for submission and management of proposals. Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated in the topic header. Applicants are advised to carefully read all provisions before preparing their application.

Support resources include 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, ETSI Research Helpdesk, the European Charter for Researchers, and Partner Search tools.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to foster the development and implementation of AI-driven, automated scientific experimentation systems within the food sector. It encourages projects that can retrofit existing labs with intelligent software and hardware solutions to accelerate scientific discovery, improve productivity, and optimize resource utilization, with a strong emphasis on data management, security, and ethical compliance. The call provides funding opportunities for both larger and smaller projects, encouraging international collaboration and offering extensive support resources for applicants.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is open to scientific labs with an already advanced level of automation and digitalisation. The call text refers to entities eligible for funding under Horizon Europe, which includes a wide range of organizations such as universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other legal entities. The specific eligibility criteria are detailed in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) under the Horizon Europe program. The Type of MGA (Model Grant Agreement) is HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG].

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the call encourages collaboration across multiple labs and networks of labs, including those in different geographic locations. The partner search announcements section suggests that consortia are welcome and potentially encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The text mentions that 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. This indicates that the geographic eligibility includes EU member states, associated countries, and potentially other countries as specified in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The target sector is the intersection of laboratory automation, artificial intelligence, and scientific discovery, particularly in the context of food and biomass. Specific areas include alternative protein sources, alternative fats, bio-based materials, specialty carbohydrates, biotechnologies in food systems, and food ingredients. The call prioritizes software development but does not exclude the purchase of complementary equipment.

Mentioned Countries: The text refers to EU member states, associated countries, and non-EU/non-associated countries that have made specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects. No specific countries are named, but the eligibility extends to the EU, associated countries, and potentially other "third countries" as defined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on development and demonstration. The call aims to help scientific labs design, develop, and test the intelligence layer for scientific instrumentation. It also seeks prototype functional demonstrators that showcase the integration of automation with AI-driven decision-making.

Funding Amount: There are two topics mentioned: HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01-01 has a budget of 29,000,000 EUR with an indicative contribution of around 10,000,000 EUR per grant and HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01-02 has a budget of 3,000,000 EUR with an indicative contribution of around 3,000,000 EUR per grant.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, meaning that applicants submit a full proposal in one step.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a 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 HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01-01 is 3 and for HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01-02 is 1.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, under the AI in Science initiative (HORIZON-RAISE-2027-01), aims to foster the development of safe and trustworthy closed-loop scientific experimentation systems. It targets scientific labs that are already advanced in automation and digitalization, providing funding to design, develop, and test AI-driven intelligence layers for their scientific instrumentation. The goal is to enable semi- or fully autonomous experiment planning, execution, and analysis, ideally in coordination with other labs. Projects should focus on integrating laboratory automation with AI-driven decision-making processes and robust data infrastructures. The call encourages the development of comprehensive data management systems, AI-driven resource optimization modules, and retrofitting existing labs with AI-driven software systems. International collaboration is encouraged. The call is structured as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) with a single-stage application process. There are two topics: one with a larger budget aimed at funding 3 projects, and another with a smaller budget aimed at funding 1 project. The projects are expected to contribute to accelerated scientific discovery, increased efficiency and reproducibility, improved scientific productivity, and the advancement of laboratory automation. The call also emphasizes the importance of human oversight, safety, and ethical compliance in the development and implementation of these systems.