Holistic solutions for CCAM integration in critical scenarios (CCAM Partnership)

The Horizon Europe call, designated HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-04, focuses on developing holistic solutions for integrating Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) in critical scenarios. This Research and Innovation Action (RIA) offers funding through a lump sum grant model, specifically designed to simplify financial management for beneficiaries while promoting collaborative research.

Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, public research organizations, companies of all sizes, and other legal entities from EU member states, associated countries, and certain non-EU countries with specific provisions. The call encourages participation from diverse stakeholders, including experts in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), aiming to incorporate social perspectives into the developed solutions.

The anticipated funding amount is €5.5 million, with a single-stage application process opening on June 3, 2027, and closing on October 7, 2027. Projects should demonstrate a comprehensive approach, targeting Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5, focusing on validating technology in real-world conditions. The proposals will address various critical situations such as extreme weather, cyberattacks, and road incidents, emphasizing the integration of technology, infrastructure, and human factors.

Grant recipients will provide intellectual outputs rather than commercial products, with a detailed obligation to integrate findings into the broader CCAM strategy. The projects should culminate in practical applications, such as real-time situation interpretation services, optimal solutions for emergency scenarios, and collaborative frameworks among road authorities and service providers.

Collaboration is essential, likely requiring consortium partners that can contribute varied expertise and ensure comprehensive project execution. While no co-funding is explicitly mandated, partnerships might enhance project reach and impact. Success rates for this competitive funding opportunity are not disclosed, but historical context suggests a moderate to high challenge due to the specific focus of the call.

Overall, this Horizon Europe call seeks innovative proposals that harmonize technological advancements with societal needs, ultimately improving safety, resilience, and public acceptance of emerging smart mobility solutions in Europe.

This is a Horizon Europe call focusing on holistic solutions for Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) integration in critical scenarios. The call, HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-04, falls under the MOBILITY (HORIZON-CL5-2027-06) call within the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program. It is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA). The deadline model is single-stage, with a planned opening date of June 3, 2027, and a deadline of October 7, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of projects resulting from this call include:

A detailed clustered collection of critical use cases and scenarios, identifying missing aspects based on findings from previous research projects.
In-depth analysis of stakeholders affected by critical situations and edge cases, focusing on their capabilities and influence in resolving these situations.
Availability of real-time holistic situation interpretation services that address the needs of various road users, operators, and service providers, emphasizing social participation and technological integration within the overall system-of-systems.
A "local deconflicting CCAM architecture" capable of detecting and resolving corner case situations through active and passive technologies, including remote operation techniques. This architecture should calculate optimal countermeasures to ensure safety and minimize negative impacts on all road users, considering available infrastructure and overall conditions. It should also address technology and communication requirements, outlining technical standards and investments for risk mitigation, including solutions for increased situational awareness and timely warnings.
Establishment of working methods and harmonization of interfaces with road authorities, operators, and emergency services, including remote operations and road enforcement. This involves creating or adapting decision-support tools for integration with mobility platforms, traffic control systems, and emergency services, as well as defining shared governance models.
Understanding of the requirements for public road authorities to address CCAM critical cases, defining their role in supporting and enabling CCAM operations.
Enhanced user acceptance through holistic CCAM solutions that address individual needs and requirements in terms of trust, safety, and security.

The scope of the call is based on findings from projects like HEADSTART, SUNRISE, EVENTS, ROADVIEW, and SYNERGIES, focusing on CCAM solutions for critical and high-risk situations, including emergency conditions, unplanned events, extreme weather, road incidents, cyberattacks, traffic disruptions, and loss of Operational Design Domain (ODD) coverage.

The call adopts a holistic approach, examining critical cases from technological, infrastructural, vehicle-related, user, customer, service provider, authority, and city perspectives. The focus is on how the CCAM system addresses and mitigates potential negative consequences, such as safety risks, emissions, and loss of trust.

Proposed actions are expected to address the following aspects:

Development of a clustered list of critical scenarios, impacted entities, stakeholder roles and relations, estimated impact, and optimal CCAM-based countermeasures.
Development and testing of tools and services for detecting critical situations and edge cases, building on tools for robust environment perception.
Development and testing of CCAM-based countermeasure solutions, considering artificial intelligence methods and digital infrastructure support, aligned with tools for robust decision-making. Solutions should reference EU Emergency Response Protocols and include decision-support tools integrated into mobility platforms, traffic control systems, and emergency services.
Customer/user understanding and trust in the CCAM system are crucial, requiring consideration of the user perspective and effective management of critical cases to improve customer perception.
Validation and evaluation of solutions in terms of risk reduction and potential negative impacts, targeting identified scenarios and affected stakeholders to eliminate or reduce risk. This includes quantifying the impact using simulation and validating the integration of solutions into existing platforms in relevant environments (TRL 5).

The outcomes of this call are expected to contribute to future CCAM demonstrations. The call requires the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and experts to enhance the societal impact of research activities. Projects are expected to build on insights from the CCAM Technology Observatory and leverage complementarities.

This call implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM), requiring projects to report on results to support the monitoring of its KPIs. Projects are expected to apply the European Common Evaluation Methodology (EU-CEM) for CCAM.

General conditions for participation include admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, eligible countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, and other eligible conditions such as the use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS for projects using satellite-based data. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described 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 detailed in Annexes D and F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. Legal and financial aspects of the grants are also outlined, including the possibility for the granting authority to object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results for up to 4 years after the action's end. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Specific conditions indicate that there are no specific conditions applicable.

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 2026-2027, the HE Programme Guide, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, the EU Grants AGA, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and related terms and conditions and privacy statements.

The budget overview indicates that for HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-04, the budget is 5,500,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 1 grant. For HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-05, the budget is 4,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 1 grant. For HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-08, the budget is 21,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 3 grants (around 7,000,000 EUR each). For HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-11, the budget is 5,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 1 grant. For HORIZON-CL5-2027-06-D6-12, the budget is 1,600,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 1 grant.

Partner search announcements are available for collaboration on this topic, and the submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

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, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk, the European Charter for Researchers, and Partner Search.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call seeks to fund research and innovation projects that develop and test holistic CCAM solutions for managing critical scenarios and events, ensuring the safety, resilience, and user acceptance of connected and automated mobility systems. It emphasizes a multi-faceted approach, considering technological, infrastructural, and human factors, and requires collaboration across various disciplines and stakeholders. The call aims to enhance the ability of CCAM systems to handle irregular and high-risk situations, contributing to the broader deployment and integration of automated mobility solutions in Europe.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is open to a variety of stakeholders including but not limited to research organizations, universities, SMEs, large enterprises, service providers, authorities, cities, road operators, and emergency services. The call explicitly encourages the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts and institutions. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries are also eligible for funding if they have specific provisions as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used is a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS].

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the nature of the call, particularly the need for a holistic approach and the involvement of diverse stakeholders (including SSH experts, technology providers, infrastructure operators, and emergency services), suggests that a consortium is highly recommended, if not implicitly required. The partner search announcements further support this.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility is for EU member states and associated countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. However, the call 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, referring to the Horizon Europe Programme Guide for more information.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is connected, cooperative, and automated mobility (CCAM). This includes a focus on solutions for critical cases and high-risk situations, integrating various aspects of transport, ICT, AI, infrastructure, and emergency response. The call also emphasizes the importance of considering the user perspective, which touches on aspects of marketing, user experience, and social sciences.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned. The eligibility extends to EU member states, associated countries, and potentially other non-EU/non-associated countries based on specific provisions outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Project Stage: The project stage targets both research and innovation actions, as well as innovation actions, suggesting a focus on development, testing, validation, and integration of solutions. The mention of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 indicates that projects should aim to validate solutions in relevant environments.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific action type:
HORIZON-RIA: around €5,500,000
HORIZON-CSA: around €1,600,000 to €4,000,000
HORIZON-IA: around €5,000,000 to €7,000,000 (with one action at €21,000,000)

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 to support their research, development, and innovation activities.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation of the potential success rate based on the number of expected proposals.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned. As a Horizon Europe action, co-funding requirements may vary and would be detailed in the specific call documentation.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, under the MOBILITY pillar and focusing on the Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) partnership, seeks to fund projects that develop and test holistic solutions for integrating CCAM in critical and high-risk scenarios. The call encourages a multidisciplinary approach, involving technological, infrastructural, and social science perspectives, to address challenges such as extreme weather, road incidents, cyberattacks, and ODD limitations. Projects should aim to create clustered lists of critical scenarios, develop tools for detecting critical situations, test CCAM-based countermeasures, and validate solutions in relevant environments, ultimately contributing to enhanced safety, resilience, and user acceptance of CCAM systems. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the call is open to a wide range of stakeholders from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially other countries with specific funding provisions. The application process is a single-stage submission, and the call encourages collaboration through consortiums and partner search announcements. The call aims to build upon previous research and feed into future CCAM demonstrations, aligning with the European Partnership's KPIs and evaluation methodologies.