Building a Long-Term Africa Union (AU) and European Union (EU) Research and Innovation joint collaboration on Sustainable Renewable Energies

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity identified as HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15 is designed to foster long-term research and innovation collaboration between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), specifically focusing on sustainable renewable energy technologies. This initiative aligns with the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, emphasizing priorities such as the Green Transition and addressing energy access gaps in Africa through renewable energy solutions.

Eligible applicants for this funding opportunity include researchers, industries, funding organizations, and policymakers based in EU member states, associated countries, and African Union member states. A significant requirement is that at least 40% of the beneficiaries must be established in AU member states, ensuring a strong local presence in the projects.

The funding type is categorized as a lump sum grant under Horizon Europe’s Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), which implies that funding is provided as fixed amounts for predefined deliverables. The total budget allocated for this call is EUR 4,000,000, with presumably one grant expected to be awarded.

The application process is structured as a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for September 2, 2025. Beneficiaries of this grant will receive monetary support, and the application process is designed to be straightforward with a single submission stage.

The focus of the projects funded under this initiative includes activities that support the implementation of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda. These activities entail analyzing the impact of existing EU-Africa research and innovation projects, facilitating the transition of innovative solutions into real-world applications, engaging local communities in the development and adoption of renewable technologies, building human and institutional capacities, and revising strategic research roadmaps.

While specific individual countries are not explicitly mentioned in the grant details, the scope is broadly regional, encompassing the entire EU and AU membership. The success rates for applications under this funding call are not provided, but generally, Horizon Europe coordination actions have moderate selectivity.

No co-funding requirement is stated, as the lump sum grants are intended to cover 100% of eligible costs, simplifying financial management for project leaders. The strategic aim of the grant is to strengthen science diplomacy, broaden access to knowledge and expertise, and establish a robust framework for sustained AU-EU collaboration in renewable energy research and innovation.

Overall, this funding opportunity prioritizes collaboration between European and African entities, promoting sustainable energy solutions and bolstering research and innovation partnerships across both regions.

This EU funding opportunity aims to foster a long-term research and innovation collaboration between the Africa Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) focusing on sustainable renewable energies. This initiative stems from the AU-EU High-level Policy Dialogue and seeks to implement the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, aligning with the EU Green Deal's objectives to bridge the energy access gap in Africa through renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions, including clean cooking technologies.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this opportunity are:

Establishment of a durable AU-EU R&I partnership framework: This framework will support the implementation of joint R&I programs involving researchers, industries, funding organizations, and policymakers.

Enhanced access to knowledge and expertise: Researchers, industry stakeholders, public authorities, and citizens will benefit from increased knowledge, improved assessment methods, advanced tools, and a robust network of expertise.

Strengthened collaboration and science diplomacy: The joint AU-EU Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Collaborative Partnership and EU Science Diplomacy in Africa will be reinforced.

The scope of the projects should include the following activities:

Supporting the AU-EU Innovation Agenda: Focus on the Green Transition priority and the Global Gateway initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa to boost investments in energy access.

Analyzing the impact of EU-Africa R&I projects: Evaluate the outcomes of EU-funded projects in the sustainable energy sector.

Accelerating innovation translation: Facilitate the conversion of innovative ideas into tangible, real-world applications.

Engaging local communities: Involve African communities in the co-design, hybridization, and accelerated adoption of innovations, with a key role for social sciences and humanities, including gender studies.

Developing human and institutional capacities: Build capacities in innovative sustainable energy through a network of experts and science-based policymaking knowledge, aligning with existing AU and EU initiatives.

Implementing clustering activities: Foster collaboration among EU, national, and regional projects to promote cooperation, consultations, and joint activities on cross-cutting issues.

Supporting the AU-EU Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Partnership: Contribute to the AU-EU High Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation, and other AU-EU policy agendas.

Updating strategic roadmaps: Revise and update joint research and innovation action roadmaps, building on the LEAP-RE project (www.leap-re.eu), to align with the ambitions for 2030 and 2050.

Proposals must present a long-term vision for financially and structurally supporting the AU-EU Research and Innovation joint collaboration on Sustainable Renewable Energies beyond the project's duration. Activities should further develop and implement this long-term perspective. Synergy and complementarity with projects selected under topics HORIZON-CL5-2024-D3-01-09: Africa-EU CO-FUND action and HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-07: Implementing the climate action pillar of the EU-African Union Partnership on Climate Change and Sustainable Energy will need to be ensured.

The admissibility conditions include adherence to proposal page limits and layout guidelines as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.

Eligible countries are listed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions are made for non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other eligible conditions state that legal entities from African Union member states can participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities, with at least 40% of beneficiaries established in African Union member states.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are outlined 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 detailed in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also in Annex F.

Eligible costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal. General information on legal and financial aspects is in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the model grant agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, call-specific instructions, detailed budget table (HE LS), and guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025, HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the decision authorizing lump sum contributions, rules for legal entity validation, the EU Grants AGA, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Statement.

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

The submission session opened on 06 May 2025, and the deadline for submission is 02 September 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The budget overview for 2025 includes various HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA), Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA), and Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND) with budgets ranging from EUR 500,000 to EUR 69,000,000.

This funding opportunity is designed to support collaborative projects between European and African entities to promote sustainable renewable energy solutions, bridge the energy access gap in Africa, and strengthen research and innovation partnerships between the two continents. It encourages projects that not only develop innovative technologies but also foster capacity building, engage local communities, and contribute to policy development in the field of sustainable energy. The lump sum funding model simplifies the financial management of projects, and the requirement for a significant portion of beneficiaries to be based in African Union member states ensures that the projects are relevant and impactful in the African context.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include researchers, industries, funding organisations, and policymakers. Legal entities established in the African Union member states may exceptionally participate as beneficiary or affiliated entity, provided they are eligible for funding. A consortium is required, with at least 40% of the beneficiaries established in African Union member states.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA).

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required. In addition, at least 40% of the beneficiaries must be established in African Union member states.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes the European Union (EU), associated countries, and African Union (AU) member states. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible if they have specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is climate, energy, and mobility, specifically focusing on sustainable renewable energies, green transition, and energy access in Africa. It also touches upon social sciences and humanities, including gender studies.

Mentioned Countries: African Union member states, European Union member states.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on building upon existing achievements (LEAP-RE project), strengthening collaboration frameworks, expanding support networks, and developing long-term perspectives and visions. It aims to accelerate the translation of innovation into real-life outputs and update strategic roadmaps, suggesting a focus on development, demonstration, and potentially early commercialization/scale-up activities.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15 is EUR 4,000,000. The indicative number of grants is 1.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call.

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

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

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

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

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call (HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15) aims to foster a long-term research and innovation collaboration between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) in the field of sustainable renewable energies. The call seeks proposals for Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) that will build upon the achievements of the LEAP-RE project to establish a lasting framework for joint R&I activities. The primary goal is to support the implementation of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, particularly its priority on Green Transition and the Global Gateway initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa, to increase investments in energy access and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Eligible applicants include researchers, industries, funding organisations, and policymakers from the EU, associated countries, and the African Union. Consortia must include at least 40% of beneficiaries established in African Union member states. The selected project will receive a lump sum grant of EUR 4,000,000 to support activities such as analysing the impact of EU-Africa R&I projects, accelerating innovation translation, engaging local communities, developing human and institutional capacities, implementing clustering activities, supporting the AU-EU Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Partnership, and updating strategic roadmaps. The call emphasizes synergy and complementarity with other relevant Horizon Europe projects. The application process is a single-stage submission with a deadline of September 2, 2025.