Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) evolution: improved soil-vegetation-atmosphere modelling and data assimilation of atmospheric constituents

The Horizon Europe initiative, specifically the SPACE-HADEA (HORIZON-CL4-2025-02) call, aims to enhance the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) by advancing atmospheric composition analysis and forecasting through improved modeling and data assimilation techniques. This grant is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) offering funding up to €10 million and is open for submissions until September 25, 2025. The application process is single-stage, requiring proposals to demonstrate technical feasibility and alignment with CAMS objectives.

Eligible applicants include research institutes, universities, and consortia with expertise in atmospheric science, Earth observation, or environmental modeling. Collaboration with operational entities like the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is essential. The project emphasizes atmospheric monitoring, air quality, and public health, specifically regarding pollutants and allergens.

Geographically, the call targets entities from EU member states and associated countries, with no specific third-country eligibility mentioned. The focus is mainly on advancing capabilities in soil-vegetation-atmosphere modeling and improving methodologies for estimating and managing environmental impacts, including those related to eutrophication and acidification.

Funding is structured as a lump sum grant, with typical project budgets ranging from €1 million to over €10 million. The call encourages the development of tools and methodologies that can be operationally deployed within CAMS systems, aiming for significant advancements in data assimilation and atmospheric monitoring technologies.

The overall objective is to facilitate better environmental policy management and improve public health outcomes related to atmospheric components. Success rates for applications are expected to fall between 10% and 39%, with co-funding likely not required for successful proposals. This initiative promotes collaboration, open-source software development, and integrated approaches to using satellite-based data, seeking synergies with other related EU-funded projects.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically SPACE-HADEA (HORIZON-CL4-2025-02), focusing on the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) evolution through improved soil-vegetation-atmosphere modeling and data assimilation of atmospheric constituents. It is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model. The call is currently open for submission with a deadline of September 25, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. It is a single-stage submission process.

The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this call are:
1. Accurate simulation of the biogenic fluxes of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and other atmospheric constituents to represent the corresponding processes in numerical models.
2. Enhanced monitoring of environmental policies regarding eutrophication and acidification of soils and ecosystems as well as for regulatory reporting commitments.
3. Improved management of soils and vegetation with a view to reduce health impacts from pollen and VOCs.

The scope of the call encompasses several research and innovation areas, including:
1. Advancing soil-vegetation-atmosphere surface/interface and evapo-transpiration parameterizations, numerical models, and data assimilation techniques.
2. Further development of surface (sub-)models that can account accurately and dynamically for the sources and sinks of key trace gases and aerosols and are compatible with operational implementation in CAMS global and regional systems.
3. Improvement of methodologies to estimate deposition fluxes and associated uncertainties.
4. Development of data assimilation approaches to deliver highly resolved deposition products, based on in-situ deposition networks and Earth Observation.
5. Development of accurate pollen source models for additional species among the most allergenic ones in Europe (the current pollens in the CAMS portfolio are alder, birch, olive, grass, mugwort, and ragweed).
6. Investigation of modeling of pollen at the global scale.
7. Development of further use of satellite observations for improving calculation of dry deposition fluxes and emissions.

The call emphasizes the importance of addressing eutrophication and acidification of ecosystems, which drive the revision of emission reduction strategies (UNECE Gothenburg Protocol, NEC Directive). It also highlights the public health issues related to pollen and many atmospheric trace components such as VOCs, affecting hundreds of millions of people globally and in Europe. The call seeks elaborated soil-vegetation-atmosphere surface/interface models and associated parameterization to represent emissions, concentrations, and deposition of such constituents. Enhanced numerical models, data assimilation, and parameterization techniques are needed to characterize the fate of such constituents.

Proposals are expected to develop activities that will improve and expand the operational global and regional atmospheric composition analyses, forecasts, and reanalyses. Demonstrations of downstream applications that would benefit from these improvements are also expected. Synergies with Destination Earth are encouraged.

The main output of the project should be tools and methodologies that can be readily transferred to the CAMS operational global and regional systems. Coordination with CLMS is also encouraged.

The transfer of research results to operations should receive active attention during the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational deployment in the future. Appropriate involvement and/or interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entities of the Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project implementation. Particular attention should be paid to the potential use and complementarities with the products already developed in the other Copernicus services. Strengthening Copernicus services collaboration could be foreseen. Software should be open licensed.

Collaboration with related EU-funded projects like SYLVA (biogenic aerosol) or CERTAINTY and CleanCloud on modeling is encouraged.

The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed only if relevant in relation to the objectives of the research effort.

General conditions for participation include:
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
2. Eligible Countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions: Projects using satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and/or related timing data and services must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

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

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information:
Application form templates are available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE RIA, IA).
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE RIA, IA).
Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide.
The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is the Lump Sum MGA.
Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS) and guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents include:
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. 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
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The budget overview for the call in 2025 is as follows:
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-11 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions: Budget 1 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-12 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 3 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-13 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions: Budget 7 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-21 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 18 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-22 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 17 500 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-23 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 12 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-24 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 5 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-31 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 6 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-32 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions: Budget 11 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-41 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 10 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-42 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 3 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-43 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 3 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-44 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 5 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-45 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 12 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-46 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions: Budget 5 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-71 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 5 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-72 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 8 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-73 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 1 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-74 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 6 000 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-81 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions: Budget 500 000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1

There are 19 partner search announcements available.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to improve the CAMS by funding research and innovation that enhances soil-vegetation-atmosphere modeling and data assimilation. The goal is to better simulate biogenic fluxes, monitor environmental policies, and manage soils and vegetation to reduce health impacts from pollutants. The call encourages collaboration, open-source software, and the use of Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS data. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the deadline for submission is September 25, 2025.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the nature of Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Innovation Actions (IA), eligible applicants can include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other types of organizations involved in research and innovation activities. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries are also eligible for funding.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the Horizon Europe Programme. The actions are either Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) or Innovation Actions (IA), and also Coordination and Support Actions (CSA).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to require a consortium, as the Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding, and there are partner search announcements.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries, as specific provisions have been made for funding participants from these countries in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is space, with a focus on improving and expanding the operational global and regional atmospheric composition analyses, forecasts, and reanalyses within the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). This includes areas of R&I related to soil-vegetation-atmosphere modelling, data assimilation of atmospheric constituents, and the use of satellite-based earth observation.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are explicitly mentioned, but the opportunity is open to EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries. Europe is mentioned as the region for allergenic pollens.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be focused on research, development, and innovation, with an emphasis on transferring research results to operational deployment. This includes activities ranging from advancing numerical models and data assimilation techniques to demonstrating downstream applications and strengthening collaboration within Copernicus services.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic and type of action (CSA, RIA, IA), ranging from EUR 500,000 to EUR 17,500,000.
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-11 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 1 000 000 single-stage
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-12 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 3 000 000 single-stage 1000000 to 3000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-13 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 7 000 000 single-stage 4000000 to 7000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-21 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 18 000 000 single-stage 6000000 to 12000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-22 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 17 500 000 single-stage 12000000 to 17500000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-23 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 12 000 000 single-stage 10000000 to 12000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-24 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 5 000 000 single-stage 2000000 to 3000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-31 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 6 000 000 single-stage 1000000 to 5000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-32 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 11 000 000 single-stage 2000000 to 6000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-41 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 10 000 000 single-stage around 10000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-42 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 3 000 000 single-stage around 3000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-43 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 3 000 000 single-stage around 3000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-44 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 5 000 000 single-stage around 5000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-45 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 12 000 000 single-stage around 12000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-46 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions 5 000 000 single-stage around 5000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-71 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 5 000 000 single-stage 4500000 to 5000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-72 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 8 000 000 single-stage 3500000 to 4000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-73 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 1 000 000 single-stage 800000 to 1000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-74 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 6 000 000 single-stage 2500000 to 3000000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-81 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 500 000 single-stage 450000 to 500000

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

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

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not explicitly mentioned.

This Horizon Europe call, under the SPACE-HADEA (HORIZON-CL4-2025-02) program, aims to advance the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) by improving soil-vegetation-atmosphere modelling and data assimilation of atmospheric constituents. The call invites proposals for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) that contribute to accurate simulation of biogenic fluxes, enhanced monitoring of environmental policies, and improved management of soils and vegetation. The scope includes advancing numerical models, data assimilation techniques, and surface models for key trace gases and aerosols. Proposals should also focus on improving methodologies for estimating deposition fluxes, developing accurate pollen source models, and utilizing satellite observations. Synergies with Destination Earth and coordination with CLMS are encouraged, with an emphasis on transferring research results to operational deployment. The funding ranges from EUR 500,000 to EUR 17,500,000 depending on the action type, and the call is open to a wide range of eligible entities from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries. The application process is a single-stage submission, with a deadline of September 25, 2025. The overall goal is to enhance the operational global and regional atmospheric composition analyses and forecasts provided by CAMS, addressing critical environmental and public health issues related to eutrophication, acidification, and air quality.