Co-funding Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan renewable fuel value chains at EU, national, regional, and local level

The Horizon Europe call, designated HORIZON-CL5-2027-02-D3-08, focuses on co-funding Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan renewable fuel value chains at various EU levels, encompassing national, regional, and local dimensions. This action aims to mobilize resources and establish interconnected regional value chains in renewable fuel technologies.

The opportunity has a total budget of €30 million and operates under HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions. The application process is a single-stage call, scheduled to open on December 3, 2026, with a submission deadline of March 31, 2027. The funding rate offered is 70% of eligible costs, requiring beneficiaries to secure 30% co-funding. Moreover, Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) is allowed, with a maximum grant of €500,000 available per third party.

Eligible applicants include a wide spectrum of entities such as research institutions, SMEs, larger companies, public authorities at all levels, and private entities. The call explicitly encourages participation from Eastern Europe, ensuring inclusiveness across the EU Member States and Associated Countries.

The call supports projects at all stages of technology development, from fundamental research to demonstration and commercialization. Renewable fuels supported under this initiative include advanced biofuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, and bioenergy carriers, while excluding hydrogen as an end product.

The objective is to overcome fragmentation in the renewable fuel sector through collaborative efforts among diverse stakeholders, enhancing innovation capacity and aligning public and private funding priorities. The action should also contribute to the SET Plan's Implementation Plan by fostering joint transnational calls and coordinating with other relevant Horizon Europe projects.

Overall, this Horizon Europe initiative seeks to enhance technological development, market viability, and efficient regulatory environments for renewable fuel technologies, ultimately contributing to the EU’s climate neutrality goals and energy transition strategies.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL5-2027-02-D3-08, for co-funding Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan renewable fuel value chains at EU, national, regional, and local levels. It falls under the BATTERIES and ENERGY call (HORIZON-CL5-2027-02) of the Horizon Europe program. The type of action is HORIZON-COFUND, which stands for HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions, utilizing a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement.

The call is forthcoming with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is December 3, 2026, and the deadline for submission is March 31, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic budget for the year 2027 is 30,000,000 EUR, and the indicative number of grants is 1.

The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this call are: Support for advancing the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan Action of Renewable fuels and Bioenergy, overcoming fragmentation by mobilizing resources and establishing interregional value chains of renewable fuel technologies across the EU, and better alignment of public and private R&I priorities and funding mechanisms. Benefits for all sector stakeholders from the establishment of renewable fuels value chains at EU, national, regional, and local levels, overcoming fragmentation across Europe. Benefits for different stakeholders (e.g., EU, SET Plan countries, regions, communities, etc.) from their engagement in the co-creation of a very flexible R&I Programme in renewable fuels. Access for researchers, industry, and public authorities to increased knowledge and challenges of the different renewable fuel technologies along their lifecycle and value chains, and benefits from synergies to overcome fragmentation of the value chains and from increased critical mass in implementing R&I activities in the area. Profits for technology providers from technology development, successful demonstration and de-risking of a portfolio of renewable fuel technologies, improved access to better financing exploiting synergies across funding schemes, and from more effective market uptake, increased competitiveness and commercialization opportunities. Benefits for energy producers, clean tech manufacturing industries, and consumers from improved performance and security of a portfolio of renewable fuel technologies and from better exploitation opportunities in a larger and more homogeneous marketplace. Provision of evidence to policymakers and regulators to accelerate permitting procedures and increase public acceptance of innovative and sustainable renewable fuel projects, minimizing negative environmental impacts including biodiversity, and improving the regulatory framework.

The scope of this call includes boosting R&I activities under the SET Plan Implementation Plans, contributing to pooling diverse resources to increase R&I funding and impact across the European Research Area, creating connected regional renewable fuel value chain activities across Europe, involving regions with lower innovation performances, by sharing and transferring capacities and know-how, overcoming fragmentation of the value chains where different regions have different capacities (feedstock, technology, skills), and creating collaboration at EU, national, regional or local level to collectively develop and implement complete value chains of renewable fuel technologies.

The action should contribute to the implementation of the Implementation Plan and its updated versions of the Implementation Working Group of Renewable fuels and Bioenergy under the revamped SET Plan. All renewable fuel technologies, both of biological and non-biological origin, at all TRL levels and market up-take measures, which are listed in this Implementation Plan and its updated versions, but also new identified interregional and transnational challenges across these value chains, are within scope, including for example feedstock standardization, permitting fragmentation and lack of fit-for-purpose business models in rural regions, and using artificial intelligence as appropriate.

Activities should draw from the detailed R&I activities program of the Implementation Plan of the SET Plan Action Renewable Fuels and Bioenergy (Annex I) regarding development, demonstration (also at pilot scale) and scale-up of: Advanced liquid and gaseous biofuels through biochemical / thermochemical/ chemical conversion from sustainable biomass and/or from autotrophic microorganisms and primary renewable energy. Other renewable liquid and gaseous fuels (with particular attention to direct solar and algae-based fuels but excluding hydrogen as end-product) through thermochemical/ chemical /biochemical /electrochemical transformation of energy neutral carriers (like CO2 or N2) with renewable energy. Solid, liquid and gaseous intermediate bioenergy carriers through biochemical / thermochemical/ chemical conversion from sustainable biomass and further upgrading to advanced biofuels taking into account the input defined in this context by the Implementation Working Group on Renewable Fuels and Bioenergy, the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Bioenergy (ETIP Bioenergy), the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) Bioenergy Joint Programme and the SET Plan Direct Solar Fuel forum as its SRIA becomes available.

The action may support networking and coordination, research and innovation, pilot actions, market uptake measures, training and mobility, awareness raising and communication, and dissemination and exploitation across an entire value chain of renewable fuel technologies, thus providing the highest possible flexibility for activities in supporting the related challenges. The action should establish a joint comprehensive plan of activities. The range of activities supported should include an appropriate set of research projects, demonstration projects, technology transfer projects and other activities.

The activities carried out through Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) calls can pertain to any of the research and innovation areas listed above in scope. The applicants must clearly describe in their proposal the objectives and the expected results of the FSTP call. The FSTP calls should take into account the provisions on ‘financial support to third parties’ set out in Annex B of the General Annexes and incorporate them into the proposal. The FSTP calls should consider specifically elements within the FSTP schemes to address broad EU geographical balance. The FSTP calls should be open to any public or private entities, including SMEs. The consortium is expected to ensure that eligibility for financial support to third parties is extended to participants established in any EU Member States and Associated Countries. Applicants are advised to consult the European Commission’s guidance on FSTP activities.

Inclusiveness of a broad range of EU Member States and Associated Countries is expected, aiming at involving also partners coming from Eastern Europe who could enable solutions, thus strengthening their engagement in the SET Plan. Participation of public interest legal entities such as state, and notably regional and local authorities, which may have particular interest in regional development of renewable fuel value chains, is encouraged.

Implementation of the action should profit from and capitalize the expertise in collaborating and networking of the relevant R&D programmes of national governments of the ERA-NET-Bioenergy network on European research cooperation and coordination related to the field of the SET Plan Action Renewable Fuels and Bioenergy, as well as from the EU ERA-NET BESTF3.

The action is expected to have a duration of 5 years. It is expected that the action will organize joint transnational calls on an annual basis and will consider ample time for the implementation of the co-funded projects, notably before its end. Flexibility in defining activities for joint calls and implementing these calls adjusted to specific needs among beneficiaries is encouraged while FSTP must be defined in accordance with legal application requirements. Appropriate monitoring and reporting of the results is expected.

The proposal should envisage to design and carry out coordination and clustering activities of the co-funded projects and also with other Horizon Europe projects of renewable fuels. These activities should also include synergies, communication (joint meetings), dissemination and exploitation and contribute to the Knowledge Community of the CETPartnership.

Hydrogen production as end-product and heat and power production are not in scope.

The general conditions include: Admissibility Conditions: The proposal page limit is increased to 60 pages due to the complexity of the topic. Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Other Eligible Conditions: If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award: 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. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The funding rate is 70% of the eligible costs. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants. The maximum amount of FSTP to be granted to each third party is EUR 500 000.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA): Application form templates are available in the Submission System (Standard application form (HE COFUND)). Evaluation form templates will be used with the necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form (HE COFUND)). Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide. Model Grant Agreements (MGA) are available (HE MGA). Call-specific instructions and information on financial support to third parties (HE) are also available.

Additional documents include: HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility, 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 budget overview lists several HORIZON Innovation Actions and one HORIZON Programme Cofund Action, each with its specific budget, opening date, deadline, contributions, and indicative number of grants.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants after logging into the Portal.

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

General FAQs and support are 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, ETSI Research Helpdesk, the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment, and Partner Search.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to co-fund projects that advance the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan Action of Renewable fuels and Bioenergy. It seeks to overcome fragmentation in the renewable fuel value chains by mobilizing resources, establishing interregional collaborations, and aligning public and private R&I priorities. The call encourages participation from a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, industry, public authorities, and SMEs, with a focus on inclusiveness and geographical balance across EU Member States and Associated Countries. The projects should contribute to the development, demonstration, and market uptake of advanced renewable fuel technologies, while also addressing challenges such as feedstock standardization and permitting fragmentation. The funding rate is 70% of eligible costs, and beneficiaries can provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) up to EUR 500,000 per party. The call emphasizes the importance of coordination, communication, and dissemination of project results to contribute to the Knowledge Community of the CETPartnership.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is open to any public or private entities, including SMEs. Participation of public interest legal entities such as state, and notably regional and local authorities, which may have particular interest in regional development of renewable fuel value chains, is encouraged.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Programme Cofund Action (HORIZON-COFUND) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA). Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required. The consortium is expected to ensure that eligibility for financial support to third parties is extended to participants established in any EU Member States and Associated Countries.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. Inclusiveness of a broad range of EU Member States and Associated Countries is expected, aiming at involving also partners coming from Eastern Europe who could enable solutions, thus strengthening their engagement in the SET Plan. 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 program targets the renewable energy sector, specifically renewable fuels and bioenergy. All renewable fuel technologies, both of biological and non-biological origin, at all TRL levels and market up-take measures, are within scope. This includes advanced liquid and gaseous biofuels, other renewable liquid and gaseous fuels (direct solar and algae-based fuels, excluding hydrogen as end-product), and solid, liquid, and gaseous intermediate bioenergy carriers. Artificial intelligence is also mentioned as an applicable technology.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States, Associated Countries, Eastern Europe.

Project Stage: The program supports activities ranging from development and demonstration (also at pilot scale) to scale-up, market uptake measures, technology transfer projects, and other activities across the entire value chain of renewable fuel technologies. This covers a range of TRL levels.

Funding Amount: The budget varies by topic, ranging from EUR 5,000,000 to EUR 43,000,000. The funding rate is 70% of the eligible costs. The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) to be granted to each third party is EUR 500,000.

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. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants.

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

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants varies by topic.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is required, as the funding rate is 70% of the eligible costs.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call (BATTERIES and ENERGY, HORIZON-CL5-2027-02) aims to co-fund projects that advance the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan Action of Renewable Fuels and Bioenergy. The goal is to mobilize resources and establish interregional value chains of renewable fuel technologies across the EU, addressing fragmentation and better aligning public and private R&I priorities. The call supports a wide range of activities, including research, innovation, pilot actions, market uptake, training, and dissemination, across the entire value chain of renewable fuel technologies. Projects should contribute to the implementation of the SET Plan's Implementation Plan and involve a consortium of public and private entities, including SMEs, from EU Member States and Associated Countries, with a focus on inclusiveness and geographical balance. The funding rate is 70% of eligible costs, and successful projects will organize joint transnational calls and coordination activities with other relevant projects. The call specifically excludes hydrogen production as an end-product and heat and power production. The call provides financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 500,000 per third party. The call aims to create connected regional renewable fuel value chain activities across Europe, involving regions with lower innovation performances, by sharing and transferring capacities and know-how.