Enhanced logistics and operations of construction sites (IA)

The European Commission is providing funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting enhanced logistics and operations of construction sites through the initiative termed HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-11. This grant aims to improve efficiency, circularity, and safety in the construction and demolition sectors. It is structured as a Horizon Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) and follows a two-stage application process, utilizing a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant model.

The submission process opened on May 22, 2025, with the first-stage deadline set for September 23, 2025, and the second-stage deadline for April 14, 2026. The program's objectives focus on reducing site operation times, enhancing circular economy approaches, and improving health and safety for construction workers.

The call addresses various complex operational aspects of construction beyond just assembly, such as transport, storage, waste management, worker accommodation, utility connections, and planning. It highlights that mistakes and delays can lead to accidents and financial losses, underscoring the importance of technology-driven innovations to enhance on-site operations.

Proposals should develop technologies that improve operational efficiency while maintaining safety. The technologies must be compatible with existing industry standards like Digital Twins and Building Information Modelling (BIM). Additionally, proposals should consider product traceability, integrate circular economy practices, and address social innovation to facilitate market adoption.

Applicants are expected to include a comprehensive business case and exploitation strategy, while also contributing to European standardization efforts and collaborating with initiatives like the New European Bauhaus Facility.

The participation conditions specify eligible countries and guidelines related to proposals, including page limits, financial capacities, and thresholds for evaluation. Although specific success rates are not disclosed, the funding amount for projects under this topic is approximately €6.5 million, supported by a total budget of €13 million expected to fund around two projects.

Support resources for applicants include the Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service, guidance documents, and partner search tools. Overall, the initiative seeks to leverage technological advancements to create a more efficient and sustainable construction industry, offering significant funding opportunities for collaborative projects that align with these goals.

The European Commission is offering funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe program, specifically within the INDUSTRY call, focusing on enhanced logistics and operations of construction sites. The call, identified as HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-11-two-stage, aims to improve efficiency, circularity, and safety in construction and demolition works. This is a Horizon Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a two-stage submission process and utilizes a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model grant agreement.

The call opened for submission on May 22, 2025, with a first-stage deadline on September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time and a second-stage deadline on April 14, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The expected outcomes include reducing the time taken for site operations, increasing the application of on-site circular approaches (re-use, preparing for re-use, and recycling), and improving the health and safety of construction workers.

The scope of the call addresses the complex operations involved in construction works beyond the assembly of elements, such as transport, storage, waste management, worker accommodation, utility connections, planning, and coordination. It recognizes that mistakes and delays can lead to accidents, waste, pollution, and financial consequences. The call emphasizes the need for technology-driven innovations to improve on-site operations and logistics.

Proposals should develop technologies that enhance the efficiency of construction site operations, leading to more productive and faster working practices. These technologies should be interoperable with existing industry practices like Digital Twins and Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools. Safety must not be compromised for speed and efficiency. Proposals should also address the traceability of construction products, integrate circular economy approaches (waste prevention and management), reduce errors and accidents, and consider human-centric and Social Science and Humanities (SSH) aspects. Social innovation mechanisms to facilitate market uptake are also encouraged.

Applicants are required to include a business case and exploitation strategy. Contributions to relevant European standardisation efforts and synergies with initiatives like the New European Bauhaus Facility and Horizon Europe partnerships (e.g., Built4People) are encouraged.

The general conditions for participation include admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, eligible countries (described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide), other eligible conditions (described in Annex B), and financial and operational capacity and exclusion (described in Annex C).

The evaluation and award process involves award criteria, scoring, and thresholds (described in Annex D), submission and evaluation processes (described in Annex F and the Online Manual), and an indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement (described in Annex F). This topic is part of the blind evaluation pilot. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. Legal and financial aspects are detailed in Annex G.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme. Application forms are available in the Submission System, including the standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1). Evaluation form templates and guidance documents such as the HE Programme Guide and Lump Sum MGA are also provided. Additional documents include various HE Main Work Programmes, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment.

The budget overview indicates that the HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-11-two-stage topic has a budget of 13,000,000 EUR for the year 2025 and is expected to fund around 2 projects with contributions of approximately 6,500,000 EUR each.

There are 26 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic. The Funding & Tenders Portal provides access to the Electronic Submission Service, existing draft proposals, and various support resources such as 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 Partner Search tools.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on leveraging technology to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and safety of construction site operations. It encourages proposals that integrate digital tools, circular economy principles, and human-centric design to address the challenges of modern construction and demolition works. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the application process involves a two-stage submission with specific guidelines and support resources available through the Funding & Tenders Portal. The call aims to foster innovation and collaboration to transform the construction industry towards more productive, sustainable, and safer practices.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the Horizon Europe program and the nature of Innovation Actions (IA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), eligible applicants could include startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, nonprofit organizations, and other relevant entities involved in construction, technology development, and circular economy initiatives. Given the emphasis on business cases and exploitation strategies, participation from industry, especially SMEs, is highly encouraged.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) frameworks.

Consortium Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, given the scope and the need for interoperability and synergy with existing industry practices, a consortium is highly probable. The partner search announcements further suggest that consortia are expected.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The opportunity also mentions that 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 construction sector, with a focus on enhancing logistics and operations of construction sites, promoting circular economy principles, and improving health and safety. Relevant thematic areas include: construction, civil infrastructure, technology development, digital twins, building information modelling (BIM), circular economy, waste management, health and safety, social innovation, and advanced machines/processes.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU member states and associated countries. It also refers to "non-EU/non-Associated Countries" that may have specific provisions for funding participation.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at the innovation and demonstration stages, with a focus on developing and implementing technologies to improve construction site efficiency, traceability, and circularity. The HORIZON-IA (Innovation Actions) funding type suggests a focus on projects closer to market deployment, while HORIZON-RIA (Research and Innovation Actions) may support earlier-stage research and development activities.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic. The following ranges are provided:
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-42-two-stage: around €6,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-43-two-stage: around €6,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-51-two-stage: around €7,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-11-two-stage: around €6,500,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-21-two-stage: around €5,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-35-two-stage: €8,000,000 to €12,000,000

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

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant to support their projects.

Application Stages: The application process involves two stages.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential number of successful projects.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, given that it is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action, co-funding may be expected, but this needs to be verified in the specific call documents.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call focuses on enhancing the logistics and operations of construction sites through technology-driven innovations. It aims to reduce construction time, promote circular economy practices, and improve worker safety. The call is structured around several specific topics, each with its own budget and expected outcomes. Projects should develop technologies that improve site efficiency, traceability of materials, waste management, and accident prevention. The call encourages interoperability with existing industry standards like Digital Twins and BIM, and emphasizes the importance of a business case and exploitation strategy. Applicants can find partners through the Funding & Tenders Portal. The application process is two-staged, and eligible costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum. The call is part of the broader Horizon Europe program and aligns with the goals of the New European Bauhaus Facility and the Built4People partnership. The call is open to a wide range of organizations, including SMEs, research institutions, and industry stakeholders from EU member states and associated countries, with potential participation from non-EU countries under specific provisions.