Novel inverter technologies and flexibility in PV systems (EUPI-PV Partnership)

The grant opportunity titled "Novel inverter technologies and flexibility in PV systems (EUPI-PV Partnership)" falls under Horizon Europe, specifically within Cluster 5. It is categorized as an Innovation Action (IA) and utilizes the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant financial mechanism. This call is currently open for submissions and follows a single-stage submission process with a deadline of September 2, 2025. The total budget for this call in 2025 is €18 million, and it anticipates awarding approximately three grants. This grant aims to foster the integration of renewable energy resources, such as photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage, into the electric distribution system. Key objectives involve the advancement of smart inverter technologies capable of delivering essential grid services such as voltage and frequency regulation, dynamic current injection, and anti-islanding functionalities. The focus on developing novel smart inverter technologies includes creating robust control algorithms, enhancing inverter interoperability, and supporting the development of relevant standards. Eligible applicants include a diverse range of entities such as universities, research institutions, SMEs, and large corporations from EU member states and associated countries, with a focus on fostering collaborative multi-partner projects. The projects must demonstrate the deployment of new inverter technologies that not only exhibit increased power density and reliability but also integrate innovative semiconductor technologies. The expected outcomes include improvements in energy yield for PV systems, optimal use of generated energy, enhanced flexibility services, and significant contributions to energy efficiency. Projects are expected to report their findings to the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV) to support the monitoring of key performance indicators. The application process is straightforward, involving a single-stage submission with no pre-proposal phases required. Grant recipients will receive monetary support in the form of a lump sum, covering 100% of eligible project costs without any co-funding requirements. Overall, this grant aligns with the European Union's goals to enhance renewable energy systems and grid resilience, offering extensive support for innovative research and development in advanced PV technologies.

This is a Horizon Europe (HORIZON) call, specifically under Cluster 5, with the reference HORIZON-CL5, titled "Novel inverter technologies and flexibility in PV systems (EUPI-PV Partnership)". It is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA). The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline model. The opening date was 06 May 2025, and the deadline for submission is 02 September 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic budget for the year 2025 is €18,000,000, and the indicative number of grants is around 6,000,000, with 3 grants expected.

The expected outcome of this call is to integrate renewable and distributed energy resources, such as photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage devices, into the electric distribution system. This requires advanced power electronics, or smart inverters, that can provide grid services such as voltage and frequency regulation, ride-through capabilities, dynamic current injection, and anti-islanding functionality. The aim is to design novel smart inverter technologies, develop robust control algorithms for better inverter functionality, determine interactions between multiple smart inverters and between inverters and utility distribution systems, support standards development for smart inverter functionalities, and analyse the impacts of smart inverters on distribution systems.

The project results are expected to contribute to:Energy yield improvement of PV systems based on smart digitalisation, Optimal utilisation of generated energy, energy savings, and enhanced overall energy efficiency, Enhanced flexibility services and interoperability, and The execution of the solar energy joint research and innovation agenda.

The scope of the proposals should include:Demonstration of new inverter technologies with increased power density and reliability at lower cost (e.g., allowing for medium voltage PV systems), that integrate new power device technologies based on wide bandgap semiconductors (e.g., GaN, SiC) that could supply synthetic inertia and a range of grid services, Design of smart (e.g., integrating condition and health monitoring), and with improved capabilities, inverter hardware and firmware, Ensuring inverters’ electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) proposing optimal mitigation techniques for the causes and propagation pathways of electromagnetic interference (EMI), and conformity with current and under development standards, Use of control and power hardware-in-the-loop techniques to determine interactions between multiple inverters at multiple points of common coupling, Demonstration of integrated communication connection between inverters and other components (e.g., battery, PV modules, grid, etc.) to automatically gather their information (serial number, geolocalisation, etc.) and support the creation of Digital Twins and PV data models, towards a real predictive monitoring of electricity production, and Evaluation of system integration and cybersecurity, while providing guidance for future developments (e.g., recyclability) in both hardware and software.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV). 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 for this call include:Admissibility Conditions regarding 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 available in the Submission System, Eligible Countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, Other Eligible Conditions with exceptions applying to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, Financial and operational capacity and exclusion as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes, Evaluation and award criteria, scoring and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes, Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual, Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes, and Legal and financial set-up of the grants with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 and described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

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 (Standard application form HE RIA, IA), Evaluation form templates that will be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE RIA, IA), HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, Call-specific instructions, Detailed budget table (HE LS), and Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".

Additional documents include:HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility, HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. 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, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

There are partner search announcements available, and 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.

To access the Electronic Submission Service, click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point. To access existing draft proposals for this topic, please login to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

This Horizon Europe call focuses on enhancing the integration of renewable energy sources, particularly photovoltaics and energy storage, into the electric grid through the development of advanced smart inverter technologies. It seeks proposals that can demonstrate innovative inverter solutions, robust control algorithms, and improved communication and cybersecurity features. The goal is to improve energy yield, efficiency, and flexibility while supporting the European Union's solar energy research and innovation agenda. The call encourages projects that can contribute to the development of new standards and the creation of digital twins for predictive monitoring of electricity production. Funding is provided as a lump sum, and successful projects are expected to report their results to the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV).

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given the nature of Horizon Europe calls, eligible applicants typically include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other legal entities capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The specific eligibility criteria are detailed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Funding Type:The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant. The call also includes Innovation Actions (IA), Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), and Programme Cofund Actions.

Consortium Requirement:The text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, Horizon Europe projects often involve consortia to bring together diverse expertise and resources. The Partner Search tool suggests that collaborative projects are encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The Horizon Europe Programme Guide provides information on non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have specific provisions for funding their participants.

Target Sector:The program targets the energy sector, specifically renewable energy, photovoltaics (PV), and smart grids. It focuses on integrating renewable energy resources into the electric distribution system through advanced power electronics and smart inverter technologies.

Mentioned Countries:The text mentions EU member states and associated countries, as well as non-EU/non-Associated Countries with specific funding provisions.

Project Stage:The program supports projects at the innovation and demonstration stages, as indicated by the focus on demonstrating new inverter technologies, evaluating system integration, and supporting standards development. The call includes Innovation Actions (IA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), suggesting support for both development and validation/demonstration stages.

Funding Amount:The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €500,000 to €69,000,000. The indicative number of grants also varies per topic.

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 is single-stage.

Success Rates:The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants per topic provides some insight into the potential success rate.

Co-funding Requirement:Co-funding requirements are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under Cluster 5, focuses on "Novel inverter technologies and flexibility in PV systems" as part of the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV). The call aims to integrate renewable energy resources, particularly photovoltaics and energy storage, into the electric distribution system by advancing smart inverter technologies. It seeks to improve energy yield, optimize energy utilization, enhance flexibility services, and support the solar energy joint research and innovation agenda.

The call encompasses various types of actions, including Innovation Actions (IA), Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), with funding ranging from €500,000 to €69,000,000 per topic. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities, such as universities, research institutes, SMEs, and large enterprises, from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries with specific funding arrangements.

Projects are expected to demonstrate new inverter technologies, design smart inverters with improved capabilities, ensure electromagnetic compatibility, use control and hardware-in-the-loop techniques, demonstrate integrated communication connections, and evaluate system integration and cybersecurity. The call emphasizes reporting results to the EUPI-PV partnership to support the monitoring of its KPIs.

The application process involves a single-stage submission, with a deadline of September 2, 2025. Funding will be provided as a lump sum grant. Applicants are encouraged to use the Partner Search tool to form consortia and access various support resources, including the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, and National Contact Points.