Hydrogen cities

The HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-02 grant opportunity, under Horizon Europe, focuses on developing hydrogen strategies in European cities as part of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. It is designed as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) using a lump sum grant mechanism, with a total funding of €5 million. This initiative promotes twinning relationships between established hydrogen valleys and cities looking to decarbonize their local industry and improve air quality, specifically targeting hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy-duty transportation, aviation, and maritime uses. The call encourages collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including research organizations, local governments, and industry players.

Eligible applicants must work in partnerships, ideally in a mentor-mentee structure, which fosters knowledge-sharing and practical support. The scope of the project includes feasibility assessments, detailed implementation roadmaps for renewable hydrogen integration, and activities designed to enhance community engagement among cities, ports, and industries.

Geographically, this opportunity is open to applicants from EU Member States, EEA countries, and associated countries, with an emphasis on participation from enlargement countries like the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova. The application process consists of a single-stage submission with a call opening on February 9, 2027, and a deadline of October 7, 2027.

Given that only one grant is anticipated, the competition for funding is expected to be high, indicating a potentially low success rate. While co-funding is not mandatory, applicants are encouraged to explore synergies with other funding sources to strengthen their proposals. Overall, the program aims to create innovation hubs for hydrogen technologies within urban settings, contributing to the EU's broader climate and sustainability goals.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-02, aimed at supporting the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. It falls under the HORIZON-CSA (Coordination and Support Actions) type of action and utilizes the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement. The call is forthcoming with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 09 February 2027, and the deadline for submission is 07 October 2027 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome of this call is to foster the development and implementation of hydrogen strategies in European cities, focusing on mobility applications and decarbonizing local and peri-urban industries and hard-to-abate sectors. The goal is to transform these cities into experimentation and innovation hubs, promoting a balance between decarbonization, competitiveness, and social cohesion. Project results should contribute to investments in hydrogen applications and infrastructure, the creation of communities of practice, and enhanced synergies between the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission and the Horizon Europe Clean Hydrogen Partnership.

The scope of the call involves establishing 'twinning' relationships between Hydrogen Valleys and cities interested in decarbonizing their hard-to-abate sectors using hydrogen and improving air quality. The focus should be on sectors that are difficult to abate or electrify, such as industrial uses, heavy-duty and long-distance transport, aviation, and maritime uses. The use of hydrogen for heating purposes is explicitly excluded. The twinning approach aims to provide cities with access to expertise and tools for implementing decarbonization strategies based on renewable hydrogen. Geographical balance among participating authorities is encouraged to facilitate learning from diverse projects and approaches. The twinning should be based on mentor-mentee pairings, potentially including enlargement countries like the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova.

The project is expected to organize a selection procedure to identify promising twinning pairs, develop and implement collaborative activities for each pair, deliver detailed roadmaps for integrating renewable hydrogen in industrial decarbonization for each twinned city, and facilitate interaction between participating cities. Collaborative activities may include feasibility assessments, implementation plan design, environmental and socio-economic impact assessment, best practice sharing, and education and training.

It is expected that at least one of the cities selected for twinning will be among the 112 cities participating in the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. The project should enhance synergies between the Horizon Europe Clean Hydrogen Partnership and the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, utilizing the Hydrogen Valley Platform and the Cities Mission Platform. Clustering activities with other relevant projects under the Cities Mission are also expected.

Regarding general conditions, admissibility conditions relate to the proposal page limit 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 detailed 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 are also described in Annex B, while financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are in Annex C. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are in Annex D, and submission and evaluation processes are in Annex F and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F. Legal and financial aspects are detailed in Annex G.

Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03, requiring collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding. Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Specific conditions indicate that this topic is not applicable.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the Model Grant Agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. The standard application form is HE CSA, and the evaluation form is Standard evaluation form (HE CSA). Guidance is provided through the HE Programme Guide and the Lump Sum MGA. Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS) and guidance on lump sums. 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, rules for legal entity validation, and the EU Grants AGA.

The budget overview indicates that the HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-02 call has a budget of 5,000,000 EUR for the year 2027. The opening date is 2027-02-09, and the deadline is 2027-10-07. The indicative number of grants is 1, with contributions around 5,000,000 EUR.

There is one partner search announcement available.

The submission system is planned to open on the date stated in the topic header.

General support and FAQs are available through the Funding & Tenders Portal, 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 the Partner Search tool.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on promoting the adoption of hydrogen strategies in European cities through a twinning program. It aims to connect Hydrogen Valleys with cities to facilitate the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors, improve air quality, and foster sustainable urban development. The call encourages collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the development of roadmaps for integrating renewable hydrogen into urban environments. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and applicants are expected to collaborate with the Cities Mission Platform. The call provides various resources and support mechanisms to assist applicants in preparing and submitting their proposals.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the description, eligible applicants could include cities, ports, Hydrogen Valleys, local and regional governments, industry stakeholders, research institutions, and other relevant organizations interested in decarbonizing urban and peri-urban areas using hydrogen. The call encourages cooperation between cities and Member States, suggesting that public authorities are also eligible.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) framework. Additionally, there are HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement (HORIZON-PCP) funding types available under other topics within the same call.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity encourages twinning between Hydrogen Valleys and cities, implying that a consortium or partnership approach is favored, although the specific requirements for consortium composition are not detailed. The twinning should be based on mentor-mentee pairings.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility focuses on cities and regions within the EU Member States. However, the call also encourages the inclusion of enlargement countries, such as the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova, suggesting that entities from these countries may also be eligible to participate, particularly as mentees in the twinning arrangements. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding may have specific provisions for funding.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors: energy, environment, transport, and innovation, with a specific focus on hydrogen technologies and their application in decarbonizing urban and peri-urban areas. It also targets hard-to-abate sectors such as industrial uses, heavy-duty and long-distance transport, aviation, and maritime uses.

Mentioned Countries: The following countries are explicitly mentioned: Western Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova. The call also refers to EU Member States and non-EU/non-Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is geared towards implementation and deployment, focusing on establishing twinning arrangements, developing collaborative activities, delivering roadmaps for hydrogen integration, and facilitating interaction between participating cities. This suggests a focus on validation, demonstration, and potentially early-stage commercialization of hydrogen technologies in urban settings.

Funding Amount: The budget overview indicates that the HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-02 topic, which is a HORIZON-CSA, has a budget of EUR 5,000,000. The indicative number of grants for this topic is 1, suggesting a single large grant. Other topics within the same call (HORIZON-MISS-2027-04) have different budget allocations:
HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-01 (HORIZON-IA): EUR 20,000,000 (around EUR 7,000,000 per grant, 3 grants)
HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-03 (HORIZON-IA): EUR 18,000,000 (around EUR 9,000,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-05 (HORIZON-PCP): EUR 26,823,812 (EUR 7,000,000 to EUR 12,000,000 per grant, 3 grants)
HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-CCRI-04 (HORIZON-IA): EUR 22,500,000 (around EUR 7,500,000 per grant, 3 grants)

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 lump sum grant to support their activities.

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

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight. For the HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-02 topic, only one grant is expected, which suggests a potentially competitive selection process.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, as the eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum, it is possible that applicants may need to demonstrate financial capacity and stability, which could indirectly imply a need for co-funding or own resources.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, specifically the HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-02 topic, aims to support the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission by fostering the development and deployment of hydrogen strategies in cities across Europe. The call encourages the establishment of "twinning" arrangements between Hydrogen Valleys and cities interested in decarbonizing their local industries and improving air quality. The focus is on hard-to-abate sectors such as industry, transport, aviation, and maritime uses, excluding hydrogen for heating purposes. The selected project is expected to organize a selection procedure to identify promising twinning pairs, develop collaborative activities, deliver roadmaps for hydrogen integration, and facilitate interaction between participating cities. The funding mechanism is a lump sum grant, and the call is open to a range of applicants, including cities, ports, research institutions, and other relevant stakeholders. The geographic scope primarily targets EU Member States, with encouragement for participation from enlargement countries. The application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline in October 2027. This initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance synergies between the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission and the Horizon Europe Clean Hydrogen Partnership, ultimately contributing to the EU's climate goals and the transition towards a sustainable, hydrogen-based economy.