Green and resilient flexible production processes (Processes4Planet partnership) (IA)

The grant opportunity titled "Green and resilient flexible production processes (Processes4Planet partnership) (IA)" is part of Horizon Europe's INDUSTRY initiative. This grant focuses on advancing sustainable practices within energy-intensive industries by promoting flexible and resilient production processes.

Eligible applicants include small and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and public-private partnerships. The funding type is primarily a grant categorized under HORIZON Innovation Actions, with a total indicative budget of €35 million allocated for this topic.

A consortium of at least three entities from different EU or associated countries is required for submission, emphasizing cross-border collaboration. Geographic eligibility includes EU member states, Horizon Europe associated countries, and certain non-EU countries under specific conditions. The target sectors are primarily manufacturing and energy-intensive industries, focusing on decarbonization technologies and clean processes.

The expected project stage encompasses development and validation with an emphasis on demonstrating scalability and efficiency. Funding for individual projects is anticipated to range from €1 million to €5 million, while the overall budget amounts to €35 million. The application process will be single-stage, with a submission deadline of September 23, 2025.

Successful applicants will primarily receive financial grants without equity or loans, and co-funding is required, covering 50% of project costs. Success rates for similar projects under Horizon Europe typically fall between 10% to 39%.

Overall, this grant aims to enhance the flexibility and efficiency of industrial processes with a strong alignment to the EU's climate goals, focusing on the integration of renewable energy sources and improved resource efficiency. Proposals should showcase innovative approaches to redesign existing processes, integrate digital tools, and present tangible benefits for scalability and cost-effectiveness. The call not only supports technological advancements but also requires a comprehensive business case and exploitation strategy to ensure successful deployment and commercialization of the proposed solutions.

The EU Funding and Tenders Portal presents a Horizon Europe call, specifically INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01), focusing on "Green and resilient flexible production processes (Processes4Planet partnership) (IA)". This call aims to enhance the flexibility of energy-intensive industries, enabling them to adapt to variations in renewable energy sources, improve resource efficiency, and contribute to EU climate neutrality goals. The call is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a single-stage submission process. The opening date is May 22, 2025, and the deadline is September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes for energy-intensive industries include: significantly increased process flexibility, enabling individual production plants to adapt to energy input variations with greater speed and range; new flexible and efficient production processes that yield economic and sustainability benefits despite volatile energy supply; significantly improved raw material and energy efficiency when facing renewable energy variations, compared to current industrial processes; contribution to the EU's climate neutrality objective and the Commission's recommendation to reduce EU GHG emissions by 90% by 2040.

The scope of the call emphasizes the necessity for flexibility in energy-intensive production processes to accommodate alternative energy carriers, given the variable nature of renewable energy supplies and the limitations of energy storage. The call addresses the challenge of production plants adapting to load and throughput changes without negatively impacting equipment or energy and resource efficiency. The call encourages the inclusion of storage options, the use of multiple renewable energy sources, and the combination of decarbonization technologies.

Proposals should: address the redesign and modification of existing processes, including changes to process steps or equipment and the integration of renewable energy sources, to improve operational flexibility and ensure continuous efficient operation; propose redesigns to increase the flexibility response rate of plants and processes while maintaining high energy and resource efficiency; demonstrate and evaluate material and energy efficiency gains from a holistic perspective, considering both processing plants and energy systems, as well as economic benefits from energy market price variations; showcase improved performance, scalability, and cost efficiency through realistic use cases at pilot scale; define necessary skills for the proposed solutions to enable industrial implementation. The use of digital tools and advanced control systems is encouraged.

The inclusion of a GHG avoidance methodology is recommended, with a detailed description of baselines and projected reductions. Proposals should include a business case and exploitation strategy, emphasizing the boosting of the industrial decarbonization technologies supply chain in Europe. Project outputs should include an elaborated exploitation plan with preliminary plans for scalability, commercialization, and deployment, including a feasibility study, business plan, financial model, and potential funding sources like the Innovation Fund, InvestEU, and cohesion policy funds. Societal and environmental impacts, as well as workplace implications, should be outlined.

This call implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.

General conditions for participation 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, as 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, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes; financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes; evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds, as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes; submission and evaluation processes, as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual; indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes; legal and financial setup of the grants, as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

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

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information includes: application form templates available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE RIA, IA); evaluation form templates (Standard evaluation form HE RIA, IA); guidance from the HE Programme Guide; Model Grant Agreements (MGA) HE MGA; call-specific instructions; information on financial support to third parties (HE); information on clinical studies (HE).

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 includes various HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01 topics with their respective budgets, action types, opening and deadline dates, and indicative number of grants. The opening date for all listed topics is May 22, 2025, and the deadline is September 23, 2025.

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

The portal provides access to the Electronic Submission Service, Topic Q&As, General FAQ, and support resources, including 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, and Partner Search.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on fostering green and resilient flexible production processes within energy-intensive industries. It seeks innovative solutions that enable these industries to adapt to fluctuating renewable energy supplies, improve resource efficiency, and reduce GHG emissions, aligning with the EU's climate neutrality goals. The call encourages projects that redesign and modify existing processes, integrate digital tools, and demonstrate scalability and cost-effectiveness through pilot-scale use cases. Successful proposals should include a strong business case, exploitation strategy, and detailed plans for commercialization and deployment, contributing to the development of a sustainable and decarbonized industrial sector in Europe.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the nature of Horizon Europe calls, they typically include a mix of: research organizations, universities, SMEs, large enterprises, and other relevant stakeholders in the industry and innovation ecosystem. Given the focus on industrial decarbonization, energy-intensive industries are likely key applicants.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG], as indicated by the Type of MGA. There are also HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA)

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the nature of Innovation Actions and Research and Innovation Actions within Horizon Europe often favors or requires consortia. The Partner Search section suggests that collaborative projects are encouraged. Therefore, a consortium is likely required or at least strongly preferred.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries to the Horizon Europe program. The text mentions "non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding," indicating that some third countries may be eligible under specific provisions.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is industry, specifically energy-intensive industries. The call focuses on industrial decarbonization technologies, digital tools, advanced control systems, renewable energy integration, energy storage, and GHG emissions reduction. Relevant sectors include: energy, environment, climate, manufacturing, digital technologies, and advanced materials.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity details do not explicitly mention specific countries. However, it refers to "EU member states and associated countries to the Horizon Europe program" and "non-EU/non-Associated Countries," implying a focus on the European region with potential participation from associated and third countries.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at least at the pilot scale, as the call requires showcasing "improved performance, scalability and cost efficiency of the proposed solution through at least one realistic use case at pilot scale." This suggests a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5 or higher, focusing on demonstration and validation.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary significantly depending on the specific topic and type of action (RIA, IA, CSA, COFUND). The indicative number of grants and budget allocations for each topic are listed in the Budget overview section. For example, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-32 has a budget of EUR 25,000,000 and aims to award around 3 grants, suggesting an average funding of around EUR 8,000,000 to EUR 10,000,000 per grant. HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64 has a budget of EUR 45,000,000 and aims to award 1 grant, suggesting a funding of around EUR 45,000,000 per grant.

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

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will primarily receive money in the form of grants to fund their projects.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage, meaning applicants submit a full proposal at once.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly mentioned as a general requirement. However, the HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64 topic is a HORIZON Programme Cofund Action, which implies that co-funding from other sources (e.g., national or regional funds) is expected.

Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, under the INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) program, focuses on "Green and resilient flexible production processes" within the Processes4Planet partnership. It aims to support projects that significantly increase the flexibility, efficiency, and sustainability of energy-intensive industries. The call encourages the redesign and modification of existing industrial processes to better integrate renewable energy sources, improve energy and resource efficiency, and reduce GHG emissions. Projects should demonstrate their solutions at pilot scale and include a strong business case and exploitation strategy. The call is open to a wide range of applicants from EU member states and associated countries, with potential participation from third countries. Funding is provided through various types of Horizon Actions (IA, RIA, CSA, COFUND), with budgets ranging from EUR 1,000,000 to EUR 45,000,000 per topic. The application process is single-stage, with a deadline of 23 September 2025. This call represents a significant opportunity for industries and research organizations to contribute to the EU's climate neutrality goals and enhance the competitiveness of European industries through innovative and sustainable production processes.