Dual-use technologies

Digital Europe Programme call DIGITAL-ECCC-2027-DEPLOY-CYBER-11 DUALUSE funds development, demonstration and deployment of dual-use cybersecurity technologies and operational infrastructures to strengthen cooperation between civilian and defence stakeholders. The topic has an indicative budget of €10 million, expects about three grants with an EU contribution of €3 million to €5 million per project, opened on 1 September 2026 and closes on 14 January 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time. Eligible applicants include public bodies with cybersecurity responsibilities and multi-stakeholder consortia of authorities, industry, SMEs, research organisations and academia, and projects must deliver working prototypes, ready-to-market products or operational deployments. The action is a single-stage DIGITAL JU Simple Grant submitted via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal, typically funded at a 50 percent rate and requiring compliance with GDPR, the EU AI Act where applicable, and participation in ECCC clustering activities upon request.

Call at a glance

Strengthening European Cybersecurity Technologies, Capacities and Preparedness

What it funds:development, demonstration and deployment of dual-use cybersecurity solutions (civilian and defence relevance) including quantum-safe cryptography, Zero Trust Architectures, AI-driven threat detection and response, cyber ranges / digital twins, SOAR platforms, secure communications, early warning systems and joint training programmes. Projects should deliver working prototypes, ready-to-market products or operational infrastructures and propose harmonised cross-sector standards.

Who can apply:Consortia of legal entities established in the eligible countries listed in the call document, typically national authorities and NCCs, SMEs, industry, academia, research organisations and law enforcement bodies; participation rules and country eligibility are set out in the call documentation ¹.

1. 1Type of action: DIGITAL JU Simple Grants (DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based).
2. 2Opening date: 01 September 2026. Deadline: 14 January 2027 (single-stage, 17:00 Brussels time).
3. 3Expected number of grants for this topic: around 3. Indicative grant size: €3 000 000 to €5 000 000 per project.
4. 4Total indicative budget for the dual-use topic: €10 000 000 (budget year 2026).
5. 5Projects must comply with GDPR, EU cybersecurity rules and relevant security/ethics requirements; clustering with ECCC activities may be requested.

Scope highlights:cross-sector secure data-sharing frameworks between civilian and military actors, EU-level cyber and hybrid early warning systems, integrated AI/ZTA/Digital Twin threat detection, cross-sector standards for interoperability, extension of SOC/CSIRT capabilities, digital forensics and tools to counter hybrid campaigns and digital fraud/violence.

Footnotes

1. 1Full eligibility, admissibility, budget breakdowns, application templates and detailed conditions are in the call document and topic page on the Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

Call: Strengthening European Cybersecurity Technologies, Capacities and Preparedness

Quick facts

Identifier:DIGITAL-ECCC. Programme: Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) managed by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). Type of action: DIGITAL JU Simple Grants. Type of Model Grant Agreement: DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG]. Opening date: 01 September 2026. Deadline: 14 January 2027, 17:00 Brussels time. Submission model: single-stage through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Indicative topic-level contribution: €10,000,000 (total for this sub-topic). Indicative grant size per selected proposal: €3,000,000 to €5,000,000. Indicative number of grants for this sub-topic: around 3 ¹.

Call focus and expected outcomes:The call targets development, demonstration and deployment of dual-use cybersecurity technologies and operational infrastructures that are applicable in both civilian and defence contexts. Expected outcomes include: secure data sharing frameworks compliant with GDPR and EU rules; a European-level early warning system (EWS) for cyber and hybrid threats with real-time monitoring and predictive analytics; joint civil-military collaborative training programmes (including AI and cybersecurity scenarios); integrated threat detection systems combining AI, Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA) and Digital Twins; harmonised cross-sector cybersecurity standards to enable interoperability and scalability across Member States; stakeholder partnerships among authorities, SMEs, industry and academia to accelerate innovation and deployment. Projects will be expected to produce working prototypes, ready-to-market products or operational infrastructures and to participate in ECCC clustering activities upon request ¹.

Scope and technology domains in scope

The scope explicitly lists example domains of interest where civil and defence cooperation is expected. Projects should address one or more of these domains and demonstrate deployment for one or more application areas (e.g., critical infrastructure protection, secure communications, hybrid threat management, SOC/CSIRT extension, digital forensics and cross-jurisdictional law enforcement support).

1. 1Quantum-safe cryptography: encryption and communications resistant to quantum attacks; quantum-safe key management and secure channels between civilian and defence stakeholders.
2. 2Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA): implementation of ZTA frameworks for endpoint and network access control usable across sectors (healthcare, finance, defence systems).
3. 3AI-driven threat detection and response: real-time AI/ML systems for anomaly detection, adaptive defence, prioritisation of actionable intelligence and support to Law Enforcement Authorities; deployment must respect GDPR and AI Act ethical and legal constraints.
4. 4Cyber ranges and Digital Twins for cybersecurity: simulation environments and digital twin technologies to emulate cyberattacks on civilian and military networks to identify vulnerabilities and rehearse responses.
5. 5Advanced SOAR platforms: Security Orchestration, Automation and Response solutions to streamline incident response across civilian and defence operational contexts.
6. 6Other dual-use cybersecurity domains where civil and defence have common interest and can develop working systems together.

Application demonstration areas (non-exhaustive):undersea infrastructure, transportation networks, communications, energy grids, healthcare, GPS jamming/spoofing mitigation, cable sabotage scenarios, ransomware + disinformation countermeasures, digital fraud and digital violence prevention tools, cross-border digital forensics and evidence collection capabilities.

Eligibility and applicants

Eligible applicant types are defined by the call document and standard Digital Europe rules. The call explicitly expects multi-stakeholder consortia involving public authorities, SMEs, industry and academia; associated partners and subcontractors are allowed per the standard MGA. Applicants should consult section 6 of the call document for detailed country eligibility and any ownership/control restrictions. The portal text recommends contacting the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centres (NCCs) and the ECCC Applicants Direct Contact Centre for guidance.

1. 1Eligible applicant types (broad): SMEs (including start-ups), large enterprises, research organisations and universities, non-profit organisations, public bodies and national authorities, law enforcement bodies (as stakeholders/beneficiaries where allowed), consortium coordinators and affiliated entities as per DEP MGA rules.
2. 2Consortium requirement: Consortium-based proposals are expected (multi-participant) though the grant model supports multi- and mono-beneficiary grants depending on the specific sub-topic rules; for this DIGITAL JU Simple Grants sub-topic, consortia that demonstrate civil–defence cooperation and multi-stakeholder integration will be prioritised.

Geographic eligibility / Beneficiary scope:Primary geographic eligibility: EU Member States and the EEA participating in the programme. The call text references the Network of National Cybersecurity Coordination Centres (one per 27 EU Member States plus Iceland and Norway) and repeatedly refers to EU Member States participation, therefore applicants established in EU Member States, Iceland or Norway are explicitly within scope; further eligible countries and any third-country participation rules are described in section 6 of the call document and must be checked in the call conditions ¹.

Target sectors

1. 1Cybersecurity (core)
2. 2Defence and security / cyber defence
3. 3Critical infrastructure protection (energy, transport, communications, undersea infrastructure, healthcare)
4. 4ICT, AI and Quantum technologies (quantum-safe cryptography, digital twins)
5. 5Law enforcement and digital forensics
6. 6Hybrid threat management and resilience
7. 7SME/industrial cybersecurity solutions

Explicit countries and entities mentioned:EU Member States collectively; Iceland and Norway explicitly referenced via the NCC Network. The NCC list in the scraped material names national centres in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and others via national centre naming. Applicants should refer to section 6 of the call document for the exhaustive list of eligible countries and to the Participant Register for country-specific rules ¹.

Project stage, maturity and expected outputs

Expected project maturity:development, demonstration, validation and deployment of dual-use prototypes and operational infrastructures; emphasis on working prototypes, pilots that can be scaled to market, and operational deployments across civil and defence settings. Projects should present an implementation plan leading to demonstrators, pilots or early market roll-out during the project lifetime.

Funding and financial details

Funding type:Primary funding mechanism: Grant (budget-based action grant under the DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based model).

Indicative grant size and programme budget:For the Dual-use technologies sub-topic: topic-level contribution €10,000,000 for 2026. Indicative per-project grant size: €3,000,000 to €5,000,000. Indicative number of grants for this sub-topic: approximately 3. Overall call-level budgets for complementary sub-topics are shown in the budget overview (several sub-topics across the DIGITAL-ECCC-2027-DEPLOY-CYBER-11 call). See Annex and budget overview in the call documentation for exact breakdowns ¹.

Funding rate and co-funding:The scraped topic page does not state an explicit funding rate for this sub-topic in the summary. Funding rates and co-funding requirements follow the DEP Model Grant Agreement provisions and topic-specific rules in the call document. Applicants must consult the call document, the DEP MGA and Annex 2 for exact funding rates and any co-funding obligations. In Digital Europe grants, co-funding requirements and funding rates vary by type of beneficiary and type of cost; they are specified in the call conditions and in the MGA. Check the call document for final detail before budgeting ¹.

Application process and evaluation

Submission method:single-stage open call through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Submission Service. Applicants must use the Application Form (DEP) consisting of Part A (administrative forms entered in the Portal) and Part B (technical description uploaded as PDF with annexes). The submission session for this topic opened on 01 September 2026. The Portal includes Application form templates, Ownership control declaration template and the DEP Model Grant Agreement. Applicants must submit by the deadline through the Portal. Contact points: National Cybersecurity Coordination Centres and ECCC Applicants Direct Contact Centre (applicants@eccc.europa.eu) for guidance ¹.

1. 1Submission: EU Funding & Tenders Portal, single-stage, electronic submission via the Submission Service.
2. 2Application documents to prepare: Part A data in Portal (auto-generated), Part B PDF technical description following the DEP Application Form template, Ownership Control Declaration (assembled by coordinator and uploaded as single file) and any supporting annexes required by the call.
3. 3Admissibility rules: page limits and layout for Part B are described in the call document and Part B Application Form template (typical page limit 70 pages unless otherwise stated; min font Arial 9).
4. 4Evaluation process: described in call document sections 8 and 9 and the Online Manual; award criteria, scoring and thresholds are specified in the call document.

Application stages and timeline:Number of stages: single-stage call — therefore one submission stage. Indicative evaluation and award timeline is described in the call document (section 4 and the indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement). Applicants should consult the call document for precise evaluation windows and grant preparation timings. Submission deadline: 14 January 2027, 17:00 Brussels time ¹.

Success rates:The portal provides an indicative number of grants (around 3 for this sub-topic) but does not disclose the expected number of applicants. Therefore an exact success rate cannot be calculated from the scraped content. Historically for Digital Europe and ECCC calls with limited slots and large budgets per grant, success rates are frequently single-digit percentages; applicants should assume competitive selection and design high-quality, policy-aligned proposals ¹.

Evaluation criteria and award

Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are presented in section 9 of the call document. The technical proposal (Part B) should address: relevance to the call objectives and expected outcomes, maturity and readiness to deploy, implementation quality and efficient use of resources (work plan, consortium capacity, risk management), and expected impacts (operational deployment, sustainability, market uptake and dissemination). Proposals will be evaluated for compliance with admissibility and eligibility conditions described in the call document and the online manual ¹.

Administrative, legal and financial set-up

Grants will be awarded under the DEP Model Grant Agreement (DEP MGA). The call documentation provides templates and annexes, including the Application Form (DEP), Ownership Control Declaration, DEP MGA and guidance documents (e.g., Digital Europe Cybersecurity Work Programme 2025-2027, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment). Applicants must complete Part A in the Portal, Part B PDF using the provided template, and supply any requested declarations and supporting documents. Ownership and control declarations are required; supporting documents may be requested during grant preparation. Record-keeping, reporting (continuous and periodic), certificates and audit rules follow the DEP MGA provisions ¹.

Co-funding requirement:The scraped material does not state a specific co-funding percentage for this sub-topic. DEP MGA and call-specific Annex 2 determine funding rates and whether co-funding is required. Applicants must consult the call document and Annex 2 during proposal preparation to set the budget. Historically Digital Europe grants can fund up to a high share of eligible costs, varying by beneficiary type and cost category; verify the call document for final conditions ¹.

Application templates and structure

Applicants must use the Application Form (DEP) available in the Submission System. The Application Form consists of two parts: Part A (administrative forms entered into the Portal screens) and Part B (narrative technical description uploaded as a PDF plus annexes). Part B uses the DEP template and contains structured sections and page limits. Key structural points from the DEP Application Form template:

1. 1Part A: General information, Participants, Budget, Other questions (ethics, security, non-EU involvement), declarations and signatures. Many fields are mandatory in the Portal screens and the coordinator uploads the assembled Ownership Control Declaration file.
2. 2Part B: Cover page and structured technical description with table of contents including sections: Project summary; 1. Relevance (objectives and activities, policy alignment, supply chain, financial obstacles); 2. Implementation (maturity, implementation plan, project management, quality assurance, risk management, capacity and consortium roles); 3. Impact (expected outcomes, dissemination, competitiveness and societal benefits, environmental sustainability); 4. Work plan, work packages, activities, resources and timing (detailed WPs, deliverables, milestones, staff effort, subcontracting explanation, purchases and equipment, cost categories and timetable); 5. Other (ethics, security); 6. Declarations and Annexes (detailed budget table/calculator if applicable, CVs, list of previous projects, ownership control declaration).
3. 3Formatting and admissibility: typical Part B page limit normally 70 pages unless otherwise stated; minimum font Arial 9; A4 page size; margins at least 15 mm; supporting documents as annexes do not count towards the page limit unless otherwise specified.

Applicants should not remove embedded tags and must follow template instructions. The Application Form template includes detailed tables for budgets, staff effort, subcontracting, purchase costs and other categories; these must be completed consistently with Annex 2 and the DEP MGA rules ¹.

Compliance, ethics and security

Projects must comply with GDPR, the EU AI Act where applicable, national security rules and ethics requirements. The Application Form includes an Ethics Issues Table and a Security Issues Table (including handling of EU Classified Information and potential misuse). If the call requires handling of classified information or has ownership/control restrictions, applicants must follow the Ownership Control Declaration procedure and may be required to provide guarantees or further documentation during grant preparation. Project consortia must be prepared for audits, checks and certificates per DEP MGA (e.g., certificates on financial statements if thresholds are met) ¹.

Nature of support and post-award obligations

1. 1Nature of support: financial grants (budget-based) — monetary support for eligible costs and contributions as defined in the DEP MGA and call conditions.
2. 2Post-award obligations: continuous reporting via the Portal, periodic technical and financial reporting, record-keeping for a statutory period, potential audits and certificates, participation in ECCC clustering activities upon request, dissemination and communication obligations including EU visibility and use of standard disclaimers and emblems.

Number of application stages:Single-stage call (one submission; no separate full-proposal step beyond the main submission). Evaluation and award follow the procedures and timeline set out in the call document and Online Manual ¹.

Indicative success guidance:Indicative number of grants for this sub-topic is around 3; selection is competitive. Exact success rates cannot be derived from published material because the number of applicants is unknown. Applicants should assume strong competition and prepare high-quality, technically mature proposals aligned to the call’s expected outcomes and policy priorities ¹.

Risks, policy alignment and partner engagement

Risk management, demonstrable civil–military cooperation, clear plans for GDPR and AI Act compliance, ownership and control transparency and robust consortium governance are critical. Projects are expected to contribute to EU policy priorities including DEP Regulation requirements and ECCC Regulation alignment (Article 6.1(f) of DEP Regulation and Article 5.3(g) of the ECCC Regulation are cited in the call). Successful proposals will show scalability, interoperability across Member States, potential for market uptake and clear stakeholder engagement plans including NCC involvement where relevant ¹.

How to prepare a strong proposal (practical checklist)

1. 1Engage early with your National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCC) and the ECCC Applicants Direct Contact Centre for clarifications and guidance.
2. 2Assemble a multidisciplinary consortium with technical, operational and end-user stakeholders (industry, SMEs, academia, national authorities, law enforcement and defence partners where appropriate).
3. 3Demonstrate dual-use relevance with concrete use cases and deployment plans across civilian and defence contexts; include law enforcement applicability where relevant.
4. 4Provide clear technical specifications and evidence of TRL/maturity, a realistic work plan and deliverables, and plans for interoperability and standards compliance.
5. 5Address GDPR, AI Act, ethics and security classification early—prepare ownership/control declarations and plan for any required clearances.
6. 6Complete Part A in the Portal accurately and prepare Part B to the template: relevance, implementation, impact, work plan, staff effort, budget and risk management. Stay within page and formatting limits.
7. 7Justify budget lines carefully following DEP MGA rules; declare subcontracting and purchases transparently and follow public procurement rules where applicable.
8. 8Plan dissemination, sustainability and exploitation (including routes to market and cooperation with Digital Europe, Horizon and EDF assets).
9. 9Be ready to participate in ECCC clustering activities upon request and to supply additional documentation during grant preparation and audits.

Conclusion — what this opportunity is about

This Digital Europe / ECCC call topic funds collaborative pilot projects that bridge civilian and defence cybersecurity needs through development, demonstration and deployment of dual-use technologies. It targets advanced topics such as quantum-safe cryptography, Zero Trust Architectures, AI-driven threat detection, cyber ranges and digital twins, and SOAR tools, to strengthen resilience of critical infrastructure and enable cross-sectoral interoperability. The call finances grant-based, single-stage proposals submitted through the Funding & Tenders Portal. Projects should deliver working prototypes or near-market solutions that are compliant with GDPR and other EU legal frameworks, demonstrate cross-sectoral applicability and future scalability, and engage national authorities, NCCs, SMEs, industry and research partners. The topic carries an indicative funding envelope and expects a small number of relatively large grants (€3-€5Meach) and will be competitive. Applicants must follow the DEP application templates, the DEP MGA, ownership/control and security rules where applicable, and be prepared for standard EU reporting, audit and dissemination obligations ¹.

Source and where to apply:EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page for DIGITAL-ECCC and associated call documents; see the call page for the Application Form templates, DEP MGA, Ownership Control Declaration and Digital Europe Cybersecurity Work Programme 2025-2027 ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Call topic page and documents: Dual-use technologies — DIGITAL-ECCC. Available at EU Funding & Tenders Portal — Dual-use technologies and associated call documents and templates referenced on that page.

This topic is part of the Digital Europe Programme call Strengthening European Cybersecurity Technologies, Capacities and Preparedness and is open for submission as a single-stage DIGITAL JU Simple Grant topic.[2][4] The topic budget is €10 million, with an expected three grants and an EU contribution of €3 million to €5 million per project at a 50 percent funding rate.[1][2][4]

What the funding is about

The call is designed to strengthen cooperation between the civil and defence spheres by supporting dual-use cybersecurity technologies, applications and operational infrastructures that are relevant in both civilian and defence contexts.[2] It focuses on practical deployment, including secure data sharing, early warning systems for cyber and hybrid threats, joint training, integrated threat detection, harmonised security standards, and stakeholder collaboration across public authorities, SMEs, academia and industry.[2]

• Secure data sharing frameworks using standardised and encrypted communication mechanisms aligned with GDPR and other EU rules.[2]
• Early warning systems for cyber and hybrid threats using real-time monitoring and predictive analytics.[2]
• Collaborative training programmes for civilian and military personnel, including law enforcement, with AI and cybersecurity scenarios.[2]
• Integrated threat detection systems using AI, Zero Trust Architectures and Digital Twins.[2]
• Harmonised cross-sector security standards to improve interoperability and scalability across Member States.[2]

Who can apply

The publicly visible call material identifies the core target group as public bodies designated or entrusted by a Member State with cybersecurity responsibilities, including cybersecurity competent authorities and CSIRTs designated under NIS2.[2] Other relevant public or private partners may participate in the consortium to support the preparedness and deployment activities, and an NCC summary notes that partners are not mandatory but are generally advantageous, especially for EU-wide cooperation.[2][1]

Budget, funding rate and project size

Key conditions and requirements

1. 1Proposals must address only this single topic, and separate proposals are required if applicants want to apply for more than one topic in the broader call.[2]
2. 2Applicants should propose dual-use working prototypes, ready-to-market products or operational infrastructures rather than abstract concepts.[2]
3. 3The proposal should clearly demonstrate relevance for both civilian and defence use cases, such as critical infrastructure protection, secure communications, hybrid threat management or digital fraud prevention.[2]
4. 4AI-based solutions must take into account ethical requirements, including compliance with GDPR and the AI Act.[2]
5. 5Project consortia must participate in clustering activities if requested by the ECCC in order to support common actions and synergies between civil and defence communities.[2]

Practical applicant guidance

Applicants should align their proposals with operational cybersecurity outcomes, show a credible route to deployment, and explain how the solution can be used across civilian and defence environments.[2] The call material also recommends contacting the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre in the relevant country, where available, or the ECCC Applicants Direct Contact Centre for support during preparation.[2]