Materials Commons for Europe (IA)

The "Materials Commons for Europe" initiative is a grant opportunity under Horizon Europe, primarily within Cluster 4, focusing on developing a federated digital infrastructure aimed at enhancing advanced materials research and innovation throughout the EU. This call is open for proposals structured across multiple topics, each featuring specific budgets and types of actions, including Research and Innovation Actions, Coordination and Support Actions, Innovation Actions, and Programme Cofund Actions.

The submission period for this opportunity runs from May 22, 2025, to September 23, 2025. The primary objective is to accelerate innovation by interconnecting national digital infrastructures, which will enhance access to high-performance computing and support various stages of advanced materials design, development, characterization, and testing while fostering trust in data sharing aligned with FAIR data principles.

Eligible beneficiaries are predominantly publicly funded organizations with expertise in advanced materials, who are supported by relevant ministries. These organizations will act as central hubs to engage a variety of stakeholders, including academia, industry, and SMEs. The project is designed to progress through three phases: planning and framework establishment, initial build-up, and demonstration.

Funding for projects varies significantly based on action type, with Innovation Actions potentially offering up to 28 million euros, while other action types provide smaller budgets. It is common for these projects to require co-funding, though this varies by specific topic.

Overall, the call emphasizes improving European industrial leadership in advanced materials by fostering collaborative projects and integrating with existing initiatives such as Material Digital in Germany and DIADEM in France. It encourages the inclusion of Social Sciences and Humanities expertise to ensure user-centric designs and enhances synergies with various national and EU initiatives. Detailed guidance can be found in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide and associated resources.

The Materials Commons for Europe is a Horizon Europe call under the INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) call aiming to create a federated digital infrastructure for advanced materials research and development. The call is structured around several topics, each with its own budget, action type, and expected number of grants. The opening date for submissions is May 22, 2025, and the deadline is September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The primary goal is to accelerate research and innovation in advanced materials by interconnecting existing and new national digital infrastructures across the EU. This infrastructure should facilitate access to high-performance computing (HPC) facilities, support the design, development, characterization, and testing of advanced materials, foster trust in data sharing based on FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), and support virtual design and self-driving labs.

The call specifies that beneficiaries are expected to be publicly funded organizations with expertise in the field, mandated by their competent ministry, and able to function as major hubs and contact points for stakeholders in national ecosystems. The project duration is expected to be around four years, and the envisioned project should follow three phases:

Phase 1: Planning and Framework Establishment: This involves developing functional and non-functional requirements, identifying existing solutions (e.g., cloud solutions, middleware, data spaces), planning a governance framework, agreeing on a long-term sustainability plan, determining compatibility issues and standardisation needs, and setting out key stakeholders.

Phase 2: Initial Build-up: This phase focuses on building a trust infrastructure and enabling remote access, establishing a governance framework for data, computational tools, and workflows, developing standards and machine-readable data schemas, and supporting European self-driving labs.

Phase 3: Demonstration: This involves the integration of workflows and tools, the implementation of five use cases across different sectors, and taking concrete steps towards sustainability.

The call emphasizes the importance of complementarity and synergies with existing national initiatives (e.g., Material Digital, DIADEM, CaPeX) and EU initiatives (e.g., “Innovative Materials for EU” partnership, Data Spaces, EOSC, EuroHPC, Open Innovation Testbeds). It also highlights the need for expertise in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) to achieve a user-centered design.

The call includes various topics with different budgets and action types, including Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Programme Cofund Actions.

The following topics are listed with their corresponding budget for 2025, action type, and indicative number of grants:

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-DIGITAL-61: HORIZON-RIA, 30,000,000 EUR, around 5 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-DIGITAL-62: HORIZON-CSA, 3,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-60: HORIZON-CSA, 1,500,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-61: HORIZON-CSA, 1,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-62: HORIZON-CSA, 2,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-63: HORIZON-CSA, 2,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-64: HORIZON-CSA, 5,000,000 EUR, 5 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-65: HORIZON-IA, 3,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-66: HORIZON-CSA, 1,500,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-31: HORIZON-IA, 10,000,000 EUR, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-44: HORIZON-CSA, 2,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-45: HORIZON-IA, 28,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-52: HORIZON-RIA, 15,000,000 EUR, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-61: HORIZON-IA, 24,000,000 EUR, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-62: HORIZON-IA, 30,000,000 EUR, 4 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-63: HORIZON-IA, 24,000,000 EUR, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64: HORIZON-COFUND, 45,000,000 EUR in both 2025 and 2027, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-01: HORIZON-IA, 35,000,000 EUR, 6 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-02: HORIZON-RIA, 35,000,000 EUR, 7 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-05: HORIZON-IA, 42,000,000 EUR, 6 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-31: HORIZON-IA, 25,000,000 EUR, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-32: HORIZON-IA, 25,000,000 EUR, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-33: HORIZON-RIA, 25,000,000 EUR, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-34: HORIZON-IA, 25,000,000 EUR, 3 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-36: HORIZON-RIA, 24,000,000 EUR, 4 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-37: HORIZON-RIA, 28,000,000 EUR, 2 grants
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-38: HORIZON-CSA, 1,000,000 EUR, 1 grant
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-39: HORIZON-CSA, 2,000,000 EUR, 1 grant

The general conditions for participation are described in Annexes A, B, C, D, F, and G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme. Application forms are available in the Submission System, and applicants are advised to consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ for guidance. Support services such as the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, and European IPR Helpdesk are also available.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to establish a sustainable, federated digital infrastructure for advanced materials research and innovation across Europe. It seeks to connect existing national infrastructures, promote data sharing and interoperability, support virtual design and self-driving labs, and involve both academia and industry in the development of advanced materials. The call encompasses a range of topics with varying budgets and action types, all contributing to the overarching goal of accelerating materials discovery and innovation in Europe.

Eligible Applicant Types: Beneficiaries are expected to be publicly funded organizations with the necessary expertise, mandated by their competent ministry. The opportunity also mentions stakeholders including researchers, research organizations, industry, and SMEs, suggesting they can be involved in the projects, potentially as part of a consortium. The inclusive nature of the Materials Commons for Europe shall be facilitated through the creation of an advisory board as part of the project composed of relevant ministries or national funding bodies supporting short- and long-term solutions.

Funding Type: Grant. The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] under the HORIZON-IA (Innovation Actions) and HORIZON-RIA (Research and Innovation Actions). There are also HORIZON-CSA (Coordination and Support Actions) and HORIZON-COFUND (HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions).

Consortium Requirement: While the opportunity explicitly mentions the need for publicly funded organizations to function as hubs and contact points, it also emphasizes collaboration with pan-European organizations, academia, industry, and SMEs. This strongly suggests that a consortium approach is preferred, if not required, to bring together the necessary expertise and resources.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility appears to be primarily focused on EU member states and associated countries, given the emphasis on interconnecting infrastructures across the EU and supporting European researchers and innovators. However, the mention of non-EU/non-Associated Countries having specific provisions suggests that participation from these countries might be possible under certain conditions, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is advanced materials, with a strong focus on the digitalization of research and innovation (R&I) in this field. This includes digital infrastructures, data spaces, AI, High-Performance Computing (HPC), and self-driving labs. The program also touches on areas like industrial leadership, FAIR data principles, and semantic interoperability. Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) expertise is also encouraged.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on EU member states and associated countries. The mention of national initiatives like Material Digital (Germany), DIADEM (France), and CaPeX (Denmark) implies that these countries are already active in this area.

Project Stage: The project stage spans from planning and framework establishment (Phase 1) to initial build-up (Phase 2) and demonstration (Phase 3). This suggests that the opportunity targets projects that are in the development, validation, and demonstration stages, with a clear emphasis on industrial uptake and sustainability.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary significantly depending on the specific topic and type of action (RIA, IA, CSA, COFUND). The funding ranges from 1,000,000 EUR for Coordination and Support Actions to 28,000,000 EUR for Innovation Actions, and up to 45,000,000 EUR for COFUND actions.

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 projects.

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 competition level.

Co-funding Requirement: The HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64 topic is a HORIZON Programme Cofund Action, which implies a co-funding requirement. For other topics, the need for co-funding is not explicitly stated, but it is common for Horizon Europe projects to require some level of financial commitment from the beneficiaries.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call focuses on establishing a federated digital infrastructure for advanced materials research and development across the EU. The goal is to accelerate innovation in advanced materials by connecting existing and new national digital infrastructures, providing access to interoperable data and computational tools, fostering trust in data sharing, and supporting the development of self-driving labs. The call is structured around several topics, each with a specific focus and budget, ranging from Coordination and Support Actions to Research and Innovation Actions and Innovation Actions. Eligible applicants are primarily publicly funded organizations with expertise in advanced materials and digital infrastructure, mandated by their competent ministry, but collaboration with industry, academia, and SMEs is strongly encouraged. The projects are expected to progress through three phases: planning and framework establishment, initial build-up, and demonstration, with a focus on industrial uptake and long-term sustainability. The funding amounts vary depending on the type of action, with some topics requiring co-funding. The application process is a single-stage open call, and applicants should consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide and other relevant documents for detailed guidance.