Integration of the next generation aircraft for zero/low emission aviation

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a funding opportunity under the HORIZON Call for Digital European Sky Exploratory Research 03, focusing on the integration of next-generation aircraft for zero or low-emission aviation. This initiative operates within the HORIZON Joint Undertaking Research and Innovation Actions framework, utilizing a lump sum grant model.

Eligible applicants include universities, research organizations, non-profits, and a broad range of enterprises involved in aviation and cleantech innovation. The call is open to participants from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially specific non-EU countries under certain provisions.

The project aims to address the challenges of integrating next-generation aircraft, including hydrogen-powered, battery-electric, and hybrid-electric systems, into the European air traffic management (ATM) system. Key goals include collecting requirements for integration, providing recommendations for ATM developments, and evaluating impacts on performance, safety standards, and the regulatory framework.

Funding amounts generally range from 500,000 to 2,000,000 EUR, with a maximum project duration of 30 months. The application process is a single-stage submission, with a deadline set for September 16, 2025. The success rates are estimated at around 10-39%, typical for Horizon Europe projects. While co-funding may be required in some cases, it is not explicitly stated for this call.

The application includes a detailed evaluation based on defined criteria, and successful applications will need to disseminate results effectively. This funding aims to foster collaborative R&D efforts to ensure safe and efficient air transport systems in line with climate sustainability goals within the European Green Deal framework.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals under the HORIZON Call Digital European Sky Exploratory Research 03 (HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03). The call aims to significantly advance the development priority AR-3: Integration of the next generation aircraft for zero/low emission aviation. This initiative falls under the HORIZON-JU-RIA (HORIZON Joint Undertaking Research and Innovation Actions) funding scheme, utilizing the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement.

The call is structured as a single-stage submission process, with the opening date set for April 1, 2025, and a deadline of September 16, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The scope of the call focuses on integrating next-generation aircraft designed for zero or low emissions into the air transport system. These aircraft, including those powered by hydrogen (combustion and/or fuel cells), battery-electric, and hybrid-electric systems, are expected to enter service in the next decade. The ATM Master Plan emphasizes the importance of preparing the ATM system for their seamless integration, ensuring safe and efficient operations without disproportionately impacting conventional air traffic.

The call recognizes that these new aircraft will present challenges to ATM in several areas, including:

Evolution of the fleet mix with increased diversity in aircraft performance, requiring adaptation of ATM to accommodate different performance envelopes.
Different requirements for airport operations, affecting airport operations plan (AOP) and network operations plan (NOP) integration concepts.
Potential evolution of traffic demand due to the lower range and passenger capacity of new aircraft, possibly leading to new city pairs and increased flight frequency.

The research objectives include collecting requirements for the seamless integration of new aircraft models and propulsive systems in European airspace and providing recommendations for ATM developments. Specific areas of focus include:

Trajectory-based operations (TBO) to optimize flights powered by conventional fuel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), or low/zero-emission systems.
Applicability of new ATM concepts supporting sustainability, such as green taxi and wake energy retrieval.
Adaptation of ATM platforms to support the evolution of the fleet with increased diversity of performance envelopes.
Potential impact on airports (including regional airports) and AOP/NOP integration due to changes in predictability of airport operations.
Evolution of aircraft design characteristics for increased fuel efficiency and minimized emissions, requiring additional wake turbulence research.
Impact of different propulsion characteristics and failure cases on take-off and landing distances, route design, and approach procedures.
Potential impact on traffic synchronization, airspace management, network management, and traffic flow management processes.
Prediction of the evolution of traffic demand due to shorter routes and increased flight frequency.

The research should also define potential future scenarios representative of future demand for 2035, considering different combinations of fleet composition, models, and propulsive systems, as well as future ATM concepts. Longer-term visions (e.g., 2040+ for short-medium range hydrogen aircraft, 2045+ for long-range aircraft) combined with more innovative Phase D ATM operational concepts should also be considered.

The research shall evaluate the impact on performance, including the reduction of CO2 emissions and the environmental impact of hydrogen and water (contrails) from hydrogen-powered fuel cell systems. It should also address the impact on other relevant key performance areas (KPA) such as capacity, access, and equity. Furthermore, the research shall identify the needs for adapting the regulatory framework for air navigation and aerodromes, including new requirements, means of compliance, and related safety standards.

The research must consider the work performed under the AZEA initiative (i.e., CONOPS) and the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking programme and coordinate with EASA to ensure that safety concerns are addressed.

The general conditions for participation include admissibility conditions as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The call is subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

The award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes and subsection 1.4 of the BAWP 2024-2025. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The evaluation committee may include representatives of EU institutions and agencies. Grants will be awarded to applications based on ranking and alignment with work area topics, provided the application meets the threshold. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

The legal and financial setup of the grants is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum. Beneficiaries have additional dissemination and exploitation obligations, including sharing results with other grantees, making results available for reuse, granting non-exclusive licenses for standardization purposes, and ensuring mutual access to background and results of linked actions. The maximum project duration is 30 months, including a 6-month period for communications, dissemination, and exploitation activities.

The call documents include the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Bi-Annual Work Programme (BAWP) 2024-2025 - Annex III, application form templates, a detailed budget table, evaluation form templates, the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (Lump Sum MGA), call-specific instructions, and additional documents such as the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Multi-Annual Work Programme (MAWP) 2022-2031, SESAR 3 Project Handbook, SESAR 3 Q&A Document, and relevant Horizon Europe Work Programme annexes.

The budget overview indicates that for the HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-2, HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-1, HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-3, and HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-4 topics, the total budget is EUR 10,000,000, with contributions ranging from EUR 500,000 to EUR 1,000,000 per grant and an indicative number of 1 grant per topic. For the HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-2 and HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-1 topics, the total budget is EUR 14,000,000, with contributions ranging from EUR 1,000,000 to EUR 2,000,000 per grant and an indicative number of 1 grant per topic.

There are 74 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

The call provides various support resources, including the SESAR 3 JU Call Helpdesk, the Online Manual, the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), the Enterprise Europe Network, the IT Helpdesk, the European IPR Helpdesk, and the CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.

In summary, this EU funding opportunity aims to foster research and innovation in integrating next-generation, low-emission aircraft into the European air traffic management system. It seeks to address the challenges and opportunities presented by these new aircraft, ensuring a sustainable and efficient future for air transport in line with the European Green Deal objectives. The call encourages collaborative projects that involve defining requirements, proposing ATM developments, evaluating performance impacts, and adapting the regulatory framework. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and successful projects are expected to disseminate and exploit their results effectively.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but given the nature of Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), eligible applicants can include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other relevant organizations capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The call is open to a wide range of entities involved in the aviation and air traffic management sectors.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] under the HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-JU-RIA).

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, given the scope and complexity of the research topics, a consortium is highly probable. Partner search announcements are present, suggesting that consortia are expected.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. This suggests that the primary geographic eligibility is for EU and associated countries, with potential exceptions for non-EU countries under specific provisions.

Target Sector: The target sector is aviation, specifically focusing on the integration of next-generation aircraft for zero/low emission aviation into the air traffic management (ATM) system. This includes research related to air navigation, aerodromes, and the regulatory framework.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on European airspace and the European ATM Master Plan. The call is part of the Horizon Europe program, so EU member states and associated countries are implicitly included.

Project Stage: The project stage is research and innovation, focusing on collecting requirements, providing recommendations for ATM developments, and evaluating the impact of new aircraft on performance and the regulatory framework. This suggests a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) ranging from research to demonstration.

Funding Amount: For HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-2, HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-1, HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-3 and HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-4, the contributions range from 500,000 EUR to 1,000,000 EUR. For HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-2 and HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-1, the contributions range from 1,000,000 EUR to 2,000,000 EUR.

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.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement. However, Horizon Europe projects often require beneficiaries to cover a portion of the total project costs, even if it is through in-kind contributions.

Summary: This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals under the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, focusing on exploratory research to integrate next-generation, zero/low emission aircraft into the European air traffic management system. The call aims to address the challenges posed by these new aircraft, such as diverse performance envelopes, different airport operation requirements, and potential impacts on traffic demand and airspace management. The research should collect requirements, provide recommendations for ATM developments, and evaluate the impact on performance, the regulatory framework, and safety standards. The call is structured around lump sum grants, with contributions ranging from 500,000 EUR to 2,000,000 EUR, and is open to a wide range of entities from EU and associated countries. The application process is a single-stage submission, with a deadline of September 16, 2025. The maximum project duration is 30 months. The call encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing among beneficiaries, as well as the dissemination and exploitation of research results.