Industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable and scalable tandem technologies (EUPI-PV Partnership)

The Horizon Europe funding opportunity, titled "Industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable and scalable tandem technologies," is part of the HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-16 call under the EUPI-PV Partnership. This initiative is categorized as a Horizon Innovation Action with a budget of €28.5 million available, with each project eligible to receive €9.5 million, aiming to support three expected grants.

The call will open on August 4, 2027, and proposals must be submitted by December 1, 2027. The primary objective is to enhance the commercialization potential of tandem photovoltaic (PV) technologies which align with EU climate and energy independence goals.

Eligible applicants include a diverse range of organizations from EU Member States and Associated Countries. This encompasses research organizations, SMEs, large enterprises, and universities, particularly those involved in advanced solar photovoltaic technology development. The opportunity strongly encourages the formation of consortia that include diverse organizations, focusing on industrial collaboration for scaling up manufacturing processes.

The nature of support provided is in the form of grants, calculated based on actual eligible costs under a budget-based funding model. The aim is to facilitate projects that reach Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6 to 8, indicating effective pilot and prototype stages suitable for large-scale industrial deployment.

While there is no mandatory co-funding requirement, it is advantageous for applicants to identify potential additional funding sources to strengthen proposals, emphasizing a sustainable exploitation and commercialization strategy.

Applications will go through a single-stage process, where comprehensive proposals are evaluated based on predefined criteria. Historical data suggests success rates for similar calls typically range from 10 to 39 percent, indicating competitive submission expectations.

Projects are expected to demonstrate advancements in tandem technologies, including improved efficiencies and production processes ready for commercialization. The funding opportunity directly supports the EU's solar energy strategy and aims to bolster European manufacturing capacity, with initiatives aligned to the goals of the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance.

Applicants are encouraged to prepare diligently and are provided access to support services through various networks, ensuring successful proposal submissions.

The EU Funding opportunity focuses on Industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable, and scalable tandem technologies under the EUPI-PV Partnership, as part of the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the ENERGY (HORIZON-CL5-2027-07) call. It is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement (MGA). The deadline model is single-stage, with a planned opening date of 04 August 2027 and a deadline of 01 December 2027 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome of this funding opportunity is to increase the potential for commercialization of tandem PV technologies, creating a competitive technological know-how for the European PV industrial base, contribute to the objectives of the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance, and support the execution of the solar energy joint research and innovation agenda.

The scope of the proposals should include demonstrating tandem technologies with similar lifetimes to Si and higher efficiencies (beyond the Si limits), demonstrating interface and thin-film large scale engineering, and demonstrating production processes and equipment ready for large scale deployment. Proposals should also present a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results, including a strong business case and sound exploitation strategy, with preliminary plans for scalability, commercialization, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan) indicating possible funding sources to be potentially used, particularly the Innovation Fund.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV), and projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

The general conditions include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. 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.
3. Other Eligible Conditions described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants, where the granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the end of the action, as set out in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the specific provision of Annex 5.

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, specifically the Standard application form (HE RIA, IA).
Evaluation form templates that will be used with necessary adaptations, specifically the Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA).
Guidance from the HE Programme Guide.
Model Grant Agreements (MGA), specifically the HE MGA.

Additional documents include:

HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. 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 provides the following information for the year 2027:

HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-11 HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions with a budget of 17,000,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 2, with contributions around 8,500,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-16 HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions with a budget of 28,500,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 3, with contributions around 9,500,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-17 HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions with a budget of 18,000,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 3, with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-25 HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions with a budget of 28,500,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 3, with contributions around 9,500,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-26 HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions with a budget of 28,500,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 3, with contributions around 9,500,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-27 HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions with a budget of 22,500,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 3, with contributions around 7,500,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-28 HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions with a budget of 6,000,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 1, with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-32 HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions with a budget of 30,000,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2027-08-04, deadline 2027-12-01, and an indicative number of grants around 3, with contributions around 10,000,000 EUR.

Partner search announcements are available for those looking to collaborate on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile.

The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

For support, applicants are encouraged to read all provisions carefully before preparing their application and to consult 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 and ETSI Research Helpdesk, and the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment. Partner Search tools are also available to help find partner organizations for proposals.

In summary, this Horizon Europe funding opportunity aims to bolster the European solar PV manufacturing sector by supporting innovation in tandem solar PV technologies. It seeks to fund projects that can demonstrate high-efficiency, reliable, and scalable tandem PV technologies, contributing to the EU's climate targets and energy independence. The program encourages collaboration and provides resources and support to help applicants navigate the process and form strong partnerships. Successful projects will need to show a clear path to commercialization and contribute to the goals of the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the nature of Horizon Europe Innovation Actions (IA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), eligible applicants can include: startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, nonprofit organizations, and other legal entities capable of conducting research and innovation activities. Given the emphasis on commercialization and industry involvement, it is likely that consortia including industrial partners (especially spin-offs, start-ups, and scale-ups) would be highly relevant.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically through HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA). The grants are budget-based (HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]).

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the call for proposals is for Innovation Actions and Coordination and Support Actions, which typically involve consortia of multiple applicants. The need for demonstrating production processes and equipment ready for large-scale deployment suggests that a consortium approach is highly encouraged, if not required. Partner search announcements are available, implying that consortia are expected.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility primarily includes EU member states and associated countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. However, the documentation 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. Refer to the Horizon Europe Programme Guide for specific details.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is energy, specifically focusing on solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. The program targets innovation in industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable, and scalable tandem technologies. This includes the entire value chain of solar PV manufacturing, with an emphasis on re-consolidating the European solar manufacturing sector.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions the European Union (EU) and non-EU/non-Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at the demonstration and validation stage, with a strong emphasis on commercialization and scalability. The projects should demonstrate production processes and equipment ready for large-scale deployment. The call also expects preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment, including feasibility studies and business plans.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call:
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-11: €17,000,000 (indicative grant amount around €8,500,000, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-16: €28,500,000 (indicative grant amount around €9,500,000, 3 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-17: €18,000,000 (indicative grant amount around €6,000,000, 3 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-25: €28,500,000 (indicative grant amount around €9,500,000, 3 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-26: €28,500,000 (indicative grant amount around €9,500,000, 3 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-27: €22,500,000 (indicative grant amount around €7,500,000, 3 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-28: €6,000,000 (indicative grant amount around €6,000,000, 1 grant)
HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-32: €30,000,000 (indicative grant amount around €10,000,000, 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 grants to support their research, development, and innovation activities.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential success rate, which would depend on the number of applications received.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, given the nature of Innovation Actions, it is possible that some level of co-funding may be expected, particularly for activities closer to commercialization.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, part of the ENERGY (HORIZON-CL5-2027-07) program, focuses on advancing industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable, and scalable tandem solar PV technologies under the EUPI-PV Partnership. The call aims to support the REPowerEU plan and the EU Solar Energy Strategy by promoting the deployment of solar PV and re-consolidating the European solar manufacturing sector. It seeks to fund projects that can demonstrate tandem technologies with improved efficiencies and lifespans, advanced interface and thin-film engineering, and production processes ready for large-scale deployment. The call is structured around Innovation Actions (IA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), with varying budgets allocated to different topics, ranging from €6 million to €30 million. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities from EU member states and associated countries, with potential provisions for non-EU participants. The projects should be at a demonstration and validation stage, with a clear path to commercialization and scalability. The application process is a single-stage open call, and while co-funding is not explicitly required, it may be advantageous. The call provides a significant opportunity for organizations involved in solar PV technology to contribute to the EU's climate and energy independence goals.