Community Centres of Excellence

The HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01 call is part of the Horizon Europe program and aims to create Community Centres of Excellence (CoEs) focused on High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The goal is to improve and scale software codes for exascale and post-exascale performance to address various scientific, industrial, and societal challenges. The total budget for this call is EUR 60 million, with a single-stage submission process that opened on June 10, 2025, and closes on January 20, 2026.

Eligible applicants include legal entities such as universities, research institutions, and industry participants established in EU Member States and associated countries that are part of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. Participation must involve multidisciplinary teams, and projects should present a collaborative approach that leverages existing resources across Europe.

The funding contribution varies per project, with amounts ranging from EUR 1 million to EUR 4 million, while the EU will fund up to 50% of eligible project costs. Specific project topics have designated funding ranges, and the overall call expects to award between 10 and 48 grants.

Proposals should demonstrate technical excellence and significant impact on the European HPC community. Key actions include identifying targeted applications, delivering optimized codes for advanced AI, improving application energy efficiency, and contributing to training and capacity building in HPC.

The CoEs must detail their development plans, with clear objectives and milestones, while also committing to user-driven approaches that engage various community members. The projects are expected to enhance European competitiveness in digital fields, foster innovation, and support scientific discovery.

Additional obligations for beneficiaries include adherence to open science practices, the provision of software, and dissemination of results. The funding supports the development of applications and the training of personnel, ultimately aiming to advance European capabilities in tackling pressing challenges like energy, healthcare, and cybersecurity.

This opportunity encourages collaboration, synergies with other initiatives, and a focus on user needs, aiming to significantly impact the European HPC landscape. The application process requires a thorough understanding of the project requirements, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to comprehensive community engagement and training.

The HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01 call, part of the Horizon Europe program, aims to establish and support Community Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). These CoEs are expected to advance the transition towards more performant and scalable codes, up to exascale and post-exascale levels, by developing or scaling up existing parallel codes. The goal is to address scientific, industrial, and societal challenges while providing cutting-edge capabilities for the European HPC user community. The call is structured around three main topics: HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01-01, HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01-02, and HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01-03, all of which fall under the HORIZON-JU-RIA (Research and Innovation Actions) funding scheme.

The total budget for this call is 60,000,000 EUR. The call adopts a single-stage submission process, with the opening date set for June 10, 2025, and the deadline for submissions on January 20, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The expected EU contribution per project varies: 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR for some projects, 1,000,000 to 2,500,000 EUR for others, and 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 EUR for the remaining ones. The indicative number of grants to be awarded is between 10 and 48.

The CoEs are expected to demonstrate scientific and technical excellence, ensuring impact across the European HPC community, including industry and academia. Proposals should include a selection of the following actions: identifying targeted applications and user communities, delivering highly scalable and optimized codes for exascale or post-exascale/advanced AI, improving energy efficiency of applications, and contributing to training and capacity building. Maximizing impact through collaboration with transversal CoEs, Lighthouse Codes, the Support Centre for HPC-powered AI Applications, and national and EU-funded projects is also crucial.

The scope of the call involves developing HPC-ready applications with clear objectives and roadmaps for achieving maturity and scalability. A user-driven approach is emphasized, connecting CoEs with developers, HPC users, and industrial and scientific communities. Coordinated efforts with EuroHPC, AI Factories, and national HPC programs are essential. Community CoEs should define targeted applications, user communities, and performance needs, presenting a detailed development plan with KPIs, milestones, and deliverables. They should target European users beyond the CoE consortium, commit to co-design activities, federate existing resources, and expand capabilities across Europe, including EU widening countries and Horizon Europe associated countries. Proposals should articulate scientific grand challenges and justify advanced HPC performance needs, while also developing synergies with preceding and existing CoEs to avoid duplication.

The admissibility conditions include a 70-page limit for the application, as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout are detailed in Part B of the Application Form in the Submission System. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Participation is limited to legal entities established in eligible countries, and the EU seeks to safeguard its strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security.

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 detailed in Annex D, while 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 also found in Annex F.

Beneficiaries must adhere to open science practices, including coordinated provision of software, algorithms, and relevant information to the wider European HPC user community. Deliverables include a data management plan, a communication plan, and a plan for the dissemination and exploitation of results. Additional dissemination obligations involve training activities in collaboration with linked grants and Coordination and Support Actions. The EU-funding rate for eligible costs will be up to 50%.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, with standard application forms (HE RIA, IA) and evaluation form templates. Guidance is provided through the HE Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreements (HE MGA, HE Unit MGA). Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2023-2025, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants. The Electronic Submission Service can be accessed via the submission button, and existing draft proposals can be accessed through the Funding & Tenders Portal.

The call aims to foster the development of Community Centers of Excellence that will drive innovation and enhance the capabilities of the European HPC ecosystem. By supporting the development and scaling up of parallel codes, promoting collaboration, and addressing key challenges in HPC and AI, this initiative seeks to advance scientific discovery, industrial competitiveness, and societal well-being across Europe. The focus on user needs, training, and synergy with other European initiatives ensures that the CoEs will have a lasting impact on the European HPC landscape.

In simpler terms, this EU funding opportunity is all about creating hubs of expertise in Europe that can make computer codes run faster and more efficiently, especially for very large and complex problems. These hubs, called Community Centers of Excellence, will focus on improving software for supercomputers and AI systems. The goal is to help European researchers, industries, and other users tackle big challenges like developing new energy sources, fighting diseases, and protecting against cyber threats. To get the funding, groups need to show they have strong technical skills, a clear plan for improving their software, and a commitment to working with others in Europe. They also need to make sure their work benefits a wide range of users and helps train the next generation of HPC experts. The EU will provide up to 50% of the project costs, and the projects should aim to make a real difference in how Europe uses high-performance computing to solve important problems.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are legal entities established in eligible countries described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This encompasses a broad range of organizations, including but not limited to: universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other entities capable of contributing to the objectives of the call. The call specifically targets Community Centres of Excellence (CoEs), which are expected to involve multidisciplinary teams combining application domain expertise with HPC system, software, and algorithm expertise.

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

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium. The call emphasizes the need for Community CoEs to federate existing resources around Europe, exploit available competences, and ensure multidisciplinary collaborations. The text also mentions the importance of connecting the Community CoE to national scientific communities, inviting them to get involved in the activities developed and use their services.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is primarily focused on legal entities established in eligible countries described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This includes EU member states, countries associated with Horizon Europe, and potentially certain non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. The call also encourages the inclusion of user communities from EU widening countries and countries associated with Horizon Europe that are members of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The program targets the development, enhancement, and optimization of software codes for exascale and post-exascale computing, including advanced AI capabilities. It also focuses on scientific, industrial, and societal challenges that can be addressed through HPC and AI applications. Specific areas mentioned include fusion energy, defeating cancer, storage battery technology, and AI-driven cybersecurity.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU member states, EU widening countries, and countries associated to Horizon Europe that are members of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects. Therefore, the relevant regional options are EU and EEA.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at the development and validation stages. The call aims to support the development of HPC-ready applications and bring targeted applications to the next level of maturity and scalability. It also seeks to enhance existing application codes and port them to exascale/post-exascale/AI-optimized domains.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the call is EUR 60,000,000. The indicative number of grants is 48. The funding contributions vary depending on the specific topic:
HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01-01: EUR 2,000,000 to 4,000,000
HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01-02: EUR 1,000,000 to 2,500,000
HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01-03: EUR 1,000,000 to 1,500,000

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process. The submission session opened on June 10, 2025, and the deadline for submission is January 20, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to cover eligible costs. The EU-funding rate for eligible costs will be up to 50%. Beneficiaries will also be subject to additional obligations regarding open science practices and dissemination of results, including coordinated provision of software and training activities.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage. Applicants must submit a full proposal by the deadline.

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

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is required, as the EU-funding rate for eligible costs is up to 50%. This implies that the remaining 50% of the eligible costs must be covered by the applicant or other sources.

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting the development of Community Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The goal is to advance European capabilities in exascale and post-exascale computing by supporting projects that enhance and optimize software codes, address scientific and industrial challenges, and provide cutting-edge capabilities for the European HPC user community. The call encourages collaboration, user-driven approaches, and synergies with other European initiatives. Eligible applicants must be legal entities established in eligible countries, and consortia are expected to federate existing resources and expertise across Europe. The funding covers up to 50% of eligible costs, and projects are expected to demonstrate scientific excellence, impact on the wider European HPC community, and alignment with the objectives of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. The application process involves a single-stage submission, with a deadline of January 20, 2026. Successful projects will contribute to the development of HPC-ready applications, the training of skilled personnel, and the advancement of European competitiveness in the digital era.