Optimised/Alternative Silicon Growth Technologies (from either liquid or gaseous phase) for PV Applications (EUPI-PV Partnership)

The grant opportunity titled HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09 is part of the Horizon Europe program focused on advancing photovoltaic technologies through optimized methods for silicon growth. This funding initiative aims to support research and development projects that improve the efficiency and sustainability of crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturing. Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large companies, and public-private partnerships involved in photovoltaic technology.

The funding type is classified as a lump-sum grant under the Horizon Innovation Actions mechanism, with a total budget of 18 million euros allocated for this specific topic, expecting to award approximately two grants. The geographic focus is primarily on EU member states and Horizon Europe-associated countries, with potential collaborations extending to international partners due to specific provisions for non-EU participants.

The call seeks proposals that address the challenges faced in silicon photovoltaic production, notably in the ingot and wafering processes. This includes demonstrating new, more efficient methods for growing silicon ingots and wafers at lower costs and energy requirements, or optimizing existing methods to minimize defects and enhance the scalability of production. The project stage is primarily in research and development, with the overall aim of scaling up manufacturing capabilities to support Europe’s renewable energy goals and reduce dependence on external sources.

The application process is structured as a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for September 2, 2025. Proposals must include a detailed exploitation plan that addresses scalability, commercialization, and potential funding sources. Co-funding may be required, although not explicitly stated. The success rate for similar innovation actions generally ranges between 10% and 39%.

Overall, this grant calls for multidisciplinary consortia, particularly those involving silicon ingot and wafer manufacturers, to contribute to the European solar energy agenda, improve production processes, and enhance the competitiveness of the solar industry in Europe.

This is a comprehensive description of the EU funding opportunity HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09, titled "Optimised/Alternative Silicon Growth Technologies (from either liquid or gaseous phase) for PV Applications (EUPI-PV Partnership)". This funding opportunity falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the Cluster 5 Call 02-2025 (WP 2025) and is classified as a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant (HORIZON-AG-LS) model grant agreement.

The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date was May 6, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 2, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The total budget allocated to this topic for the year 2025 is 18,000,000 EUR, and it is anticipated that approximately 2 grants will be awarded.

The expected outcome of this funding opportunity is to address the challenges related to crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, which constitute the majority of the global market. While these cells have achieved efficiencies approaching 27%, further improvements are needed in production yield, stability, reliability, cost, and sustainability. The ingot and wafering production steps, which are power-intensive and generate recyclable waste (kerf slurry), are primarily concentrated in China.

Successful projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

A stronger, more resilient, and competitive European economic base that is well-prepared for green and digital transitions by reducing environmental impact and strategic dependencies for critical raw materials and components.
Scaling up solar PV manufacturing capacity within Europe to accelerate solar PV deployment and support Europe's decarbonization targets.
Reducing energy and material consumption, thereby lowering the carbon and environmental footprint of crystalline silicon PV products throughout their lifecycle.
The execution of the solar energy joint research and innovation agenda.

The scope of this funding opportunity focuses on crystalline silicon wafers, which are the most common absorber material in solar cells and modules due to their efficiency and durability. These wafers are typically produced using directional solidification (for multi-crystalline mc-Si wafers) or the Czochralski (Cz) method (for crystalline silicon c-Si with low defect density). Kerfless silicon wafers can also be grown directly from molten silicon or through gaseous epitaxial deposition on a low-cost substrate at high temperature.

To facilitate the continued and rapid expansion of Si photovoltaics, this call seeks proposals that realize new, more efficient, and less energy and material-intensive processes for silicon feedstock, ingots, and wafers. Proposals should address at least one of the following challenges:

Demonstrate alternative, efficient, and scalable (towards gigawatt capacity) processes or methods and equipment to grow silicon ingots and wafers from either liquid or gaseous phase at lower cost (with lower energy and material requirements) and high-quality compared to standard processes and possibly avoid the wafering step.
Optimize standard processes and equipment for defect, impurities, and structure loss minimization, high-quality ingots with large diameters (for larger wafers) that allow for a higher level of automation and kerf recycling and/or use of recycled silicon from waste solar modules and reduced energy use; optimize wafering.

Proposals are expected to involve multidisciplinary consortia, including at least one silicon ingot and wafer manufacturer.

Furthermore, any project that anticipates developing, creating, manufacturing, or marketing a product, process, or service must include a detailed exploitation and dissemination plan. This plan should address scalability, commercialization, and deployment, including a feasibility study, business plan, and potential funding sources, particularly the Innovation Fund.

This topic is part of the co-programmed European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV), and successful projects will be required to report their results to the EUPI-PV to support the monitoring of its key performance indicators (KPIs).

The general conditions for this funding opportunity include:

Admissibility Conditions: The proposal page limit and layout must adhere to Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may exist for non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Other Eligible Conditions: 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: The award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are detailed in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also described in Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. Further details are available 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, as well as the model grant agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Applicants should use the standard application form for HE RIA and IA actions and the standard evaluation form.

Additional guidance and documents include:

HE Programme Guide
Lump Sum MGA
Detailed budget table (HE LS)
Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
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 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

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants with an active public Person profile.

To start the submission process, applicants should access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button, selecting the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement.

Applicants can find answers to frequently asked questions, guidance, and support through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, and IT Helpdesk.

In summary, this Horizon Europe funding opportunity seeks to support innovative projects that aim to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cell manufacturing in Europe. It encourages multidisciplinary consortia to develop and demonstrate advanced technologies for silicon feedstock, ingot, and wafer production, with a focus on reducing environmental impact and strategic dependencies. Successful projects will contribute to scaling up solar PV manufacturing capacity in Europe and achieving the continent's decarbonization targets. The funding mechanism is based on lump sum grants, and 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, but the call is open to multidisciplinary consortia including at least one silicon ingot and wafer manufacturer. This suggests that eligible applicants could include, but are not limited to, research institutes, universities, SMEs, large enterprises, and manufacturers involved in the silicon and photovoltaics industry.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, as indicated by the type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) being HORIZON-AG-LS. There are also HORIZON Innovation Actions, HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required, as proposals are expected to involve multidisciplinary consortia including at least one silicon ingot and wafer manufacturer.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is primarily focused on EU and associated countries, as indicated by the Horizon Europe program. However, the text 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.

Target Sector: The target sector is energy, specifically photovoltaics (PV) and the manufacturing of crystalline silicon solar cells and modules. It focuses on improving the efficiency, sustainability, and scalability of silicon feedstock, ingot, and wafer production processes.

Mentioned Countries: China is mentioned as a location where ingot and wafering production steps are highly concentrated. The European Research Area (ERA) is also mentioned, implying a focus on EU member states and associated countries.

Project Stage: The project stage ranges from demonstration to commercialization. The call seeks to demonstrate alternative processes, optimize standard processes, and develop exploitation plans including scalability, commercialization, and deployment strategies.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €500,000 to €69,000,000. For the specific topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09, the budget is €18,000,000 with an indicative number of 2 grants.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call, as indicated by the "single-stage" designation and the availability of the submission session.

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 for each topic provides some insight into the potential success rate. For HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09, the indicative number of grants is 2.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement. However, the exploitation plan should include preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment indicating the possible funding sources to be potentially used, in particular the Innovation Fund, which suggests that additional funding sources may be considered or necessary for the later stages of the project.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, specifically topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09, focuses on "Optimised/Alternative Silicon Growth Technologies (from either liquid or gaseous phase) for PV Applications" under the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV). The call aims to improve the sustainability, efficiency, and scalability of crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturing in Europe. It seeks proposals that demonstrate alternative silicon ingot and wafer growth processes, optimize existing methods, and reduce the environmental footprint of PV products. The call is open to multidisciplinary consortia, including silicon ingot and wafer manufacturers, and it encourages projects that can scale towards gigawatt capacity. Funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and projects are expected to contribute to a stronger European economic base, increased PV manufacturing capacity, and the execution of the solar energy joint research and innovation agenda. The application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline of September 2, 2025. The total budget for the HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09 topic is 18,000,000 EUR and it is expected that around 2 grants will be awarded.