Delivering Earth Intelligence to accelerate the green and digital transition

The grant opportunity titled "Delivering Earth Intelligence to accelerate the green and digital transition" is part of Horizon Europe, specifically under Cluster 6, aimed at developing Earth observation solutions to support European environmental objectives. Eligible applicants include public entities, private companies, research institutes, universities, small and medium enterprises, and non-profit organizations involved in co-designing solutions with users such as governments. This initiative focuses on collaborative partnerships, emphasizing the need for a consortium of stakeholders across Europe to implement effective solutions for operational uptake.

The funding type for this grant is a monetary grant categorized under Horizon Innovation Actions. A consortium is mandatory, with teams expected to demonstrate cooperation with existing projects and stakeholders. Geographic eligibility is primarily for EU member states, including associated and candidate countries, ensuring broad participation.

Target sectors include environmental management, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, water resources, and climate change, aligning with the goals of the European Green Deal. The project aims to reach technology readiness levels of 7 to 8 through demonstration and validation activities.

Expected funding amounts typically range from €1 million to €5 million, depending on the specific project. The application process is structured as a single-stage open call with a deadline set for September 24, 2025. This initiative has a competitive success rate expected to be between 10 and 39%. Co-funding is likely required, although not explicitly stated in the guidelines.

The summary highlights the project's goal of promoting Earth observation technologies, integrating advanced digital solutions like artificial intelligence, and developing practical applications that contribute to EU policies. Projects need to demonstrate scalable solutions and align with existing European infrastructures, fostering innovation and cooperation across various sectors to address pressing environmental challenges.

This is a Horizon Europe (HORIZON) call, specifically Cluster 6 Call 03, designed as a single-stage application process. The call aims to deliver Earth Intelligence to accelerate the green and digital transition. The type of action is HORIZON-IA (Innovation Actions) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement. The call is currently open for submission, with a deadline of September 24, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The opening date for submissions is May 6, 2025.

The expected outcome of successful proposals is to contribute to more accessible and interoperable environmental observations, accelerating the green and digital transition of economic sectors. This involves developing end-user applications and decision support systems for operationalization or commercialization by public or private service providers. It also includes integrating and consolidating European and national GEO-related activities across EU Member States and Associated countries, contributing to the GEO work program, EuroGEO initiative, and supporting the EC Knowledge Centre on Earth Observation (KCEO) for EU policy making.

The scope of the call is an application-oriented initiative responding to the new GEO post-2025 strategy. It aims to combine and advance existing European Earth observation services and solutions prototyped under relevant Horizon, Copernicus, and other EU and national projects, scaling them up with end-users and customers. Projects should develop, test, demonstrate, and customize 2 to 3 integrated solutions using advanced digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence, including generative AI, with a clear path towards operationalization. These solutions should align with focus areas of the GEO Post-2025 implementation plan, such as Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, Water Resilience, Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Carbon Management, and Disaster Resilience.

Solutions should be co-designed with relevant European users, including local, regional, and national governments, and mature business plans should be developed to ensure operational uptake after the project. Activities should leverage European infrastructures and integrate remote sensing platforms like satellites and drones, contributing to the existing European digital ecosystem, including data spaces and citizen science initiatives. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this call topic and other relevant projects are essential, with resources earmarked for coordination activities.

Outreach and training activities are expected to reach the wider European EO community, supporting the upscaling of EO services and promoting pan-European synergies. Active participation in EuroGEO action groups and workshops, as well as engagement with the Copernicus stakeholder community, is encouraged.

The general conditions include admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits 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. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Other eligible conditions require projects using satellite-based earth observation to utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are detailed in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, submission and evaluation processes, and the indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement are described in Annexes D, F, and G, respectively, of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The legal and financial setup of the grants is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions require activities to achieve a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7-8 by the project's end, with activities potentially starting at any TRL.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the Model Grant Agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025, the HE Programme Guide, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, rules for legal entity validation, the EU Grants AGA, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual.

The budget overview provides details for various topics under the call, including the type of action (RIA or CSA), budget in EUR, stage (single-stage), opening and deadline dates, and the indicative number of grants.

Partner search announcements are available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests.

To start the submission process, applicants must access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button, selecting the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement.

Support is 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, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.

The call is structured around several specific topics, each with its own budget, type of action (Research and Innovation Actions RIA, Innovation Actions IA, or Coordination and Support Actions CSA), and indicative number of grants. All topics follow a single-stage submission process with the same opening and deadline dates. The topics include:

HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-01: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 6,000,000, around 1 grant
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-02: HORIZON-IA, EUR 12,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-03: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 12,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-04: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 8,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-05: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 9,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-06: HORIZON-CSA, EUR 4,400,000, around 1 grant
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-07: HORIZON-CSA, EUR 4,000,000, around 1 grant
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-08: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 10,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-09: HORIZON-IA, EUR 15,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-10: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 16,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-11: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 12,000,000, around 2 grants
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-12: HORIZON-CSA, EUR 3,000,000, around 1 grant
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-13: HORIZON-CSA, EUR 10,000,000, around 1 grant
HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-14: HORIZON-RIA, EUR 8,000,000, around 1 grant

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on leveraging Earth observation data and technologies to support the European Green Deal and the digital transition. It encourages projects that build upon existing solutions, integrate advanced technologies like AI, and involve close collaboration with end-users to develop operational and commercially viable applications. The call provides funding opportunities for both research and innovation actions, as well as coordination and support activities, with a strong emphasis on achieving tangible impacts and contributing to European policy-making in areas such as agriculture, water management, biodiversity, carbon management, and disaster resilience.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly defined in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe calls, eligible applicants can include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, non-profit organizations, and other legal entities capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The call encourages co-design with relevant European users, including local, regional, and national governments, suggesting their eligibility or involvement in projects.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically through HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe program. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG].

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the call encourages clustering and cooperation with other selected projects, implying that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred or potentially required. Partner search announcements are available, further suggesting the possibility or need for consortia.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. The text also mentions that a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects, suggesting broader international participation is possible.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors:
Earth Observation (EO)
Environmental Sciences
Digital Technologies (Artificial Intelligence, generative AI)
Agriculture and Food Security
Water Management
Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Carbon Management
Disaster Resilience
European Green Deal

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have specific provisions for funding participants, implying a broader international scope.

Project Stage: The activities are expected to achieve Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7-8 by the end of the project, but activities may start at any TRL. This indicates that the expected project stage is demonstration to commercialization.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €3,000,000 to €16,000,000. The indicative number of grants per topic also varies, typically being 1 or 2.

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 a grant.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

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

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

Summary: This Horizon Europe Cluster 6 call (HORIZON-CL6-2025-03) focuses on "Delivering Earth Intelligence to accelerate the green and digital transition." It aims to combine and scale up existing European Earth observation services and solutions to support the European Green Deal targets and the GEO post-2025 strategy. The call encompasses various topics related to governance, research, and innovation in areas such as sustainable agriculture, water resilience, ecosystems, carbon management, and disaster resilience. Projects should develop integrated solutions using advanced digital technologies like AI and generative AI, co-designed with European users, and demonstrate a clear path towards operationalization. The call is open to applicants from EU Member States, Associated Countries, and potentially non-EU/non-Associated Countries with specific funding provisions. Funding ranges from 3 million to 16 million euros depending on the type of action, and the application process involves a single-stage submission. The expected project outcome is to advance technologies to TRL levels 7-8, emphasizing demonstration and commercialization.