Physical and cognitive augmentation in advanced manufacturing (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)

The grant opportunity titled "Physical and cognitive augmentation in advanced manufacturing (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)" is part of the Horizon Europe Programme's Cluster 4, focusing on advanced manufacturing through Research and Innovation Actions (RIA). The eligible applicant types encompass a diverse range of entities, including startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large companies, universities, research institutes, public-private partnerships, and NGOs with a focus on advanced manufacturing or human-centric technologies. Collaborative approaches between academia, industry, and NGOs are emphasized.

The funding type is primarily structured as a grant under the HORIZON Lump Sum model, and a consortium is required for applicants, particularly encouraging international cooperation with countries like Japan and Taiwan. Geographically, the initiative targets EU member states, the European Economic Area, and associated countries, with particular attention to widening participation from areas with lower research and innovation performance.

The project's scope primarily addresses advanced manufacturing, emphasizing digital technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, and human-centric industrial processes. The call is designed to tackle challenges like labor shortages and increasing complexity in manufacturing operations, fostering a culture centered around the human aspect.

While the exact funding amount is not specified, similar Horizon Europe projects typically range from €2 million to €5 million per project. The application process is a single-stage open call, with proposals due by 23 September 2025. The call anticipates success rates of approximately 10% to 39% based on historical data, and there is an expectation for co-funding from private partners within consortia.

Successful proposals should develop innovative technologies and methodologies to augment human capabilities in manufacturing, addressing ergonomic, social, and human factors to ensure inclusivity and accessibility. These projects are expected to consider broader societal implications and include a clear business case and exploitation strategy. By supporting advancements in human-centric augmentation technologies, the initiative aims to enhance worker safety, flexibility, and well-being, ultimately contributing to the European manufacturing sector's competitiveness in a global context.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically within the INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) call. The topic is "Physical and cognitive augmentation in advanced manufacturing (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)" with topic ID HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-02. This is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) 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 22 May 2025, and the deadline for submission is 23 September 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome is that the manufacturing industry should benefit by empowering workers through breakthrough augmentation technologies, enhancing flexibility, inclusiveness, safety, and well-being of workers, and fostering the human-centric aspect of the Industry 5.0 model.

The scope of this call addresses the rising complexity of discrete manufacturing operations and labor shortages, emphasizing the development of a human-centric culture. Proposals should develop breakthrough technologies to augment human capabilities and skills, covering aspects such as:

Developing breakthrough solutions based on mechatronics, sensing, and photonics for human-centric approaches, including innovative perception technologies for shop floor environment sensing and intention prediction, enhancing worker safety and reducing stress.

Developing innovative methodologies, potentially using AI, to provide reasoning capabilities and control manufacturing systems, supporting and interacting with humans to improve efficiency, knowledge sharing, inclusiveness, accessibility, and flexibility.

Assessing and considering the needs of managers and workers throughout the design and development process, ensuring the right skills for implementation and addressing workforce diversity.

Developing new methodologies to assess augmentation technologies and their value added for workers, beyond economic factors.

Digital-twin models can be used in developing new assessment methodologies for virtual scenario validation. The assessment methodologies may lead to new standards for developed systems validation, or indicate how new or existing standards could benefit from a human-centric approach.

Proposals should consider Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) contributions regarding human-related barriers for technology uptake, such as ergonomics, user experience, comfort, trust, safety, knowledge sharing, and liability. They should address gender, age, disability, anthropometric, and ergonomic considerations, and impacts across diverse demographic groups, potentially involving social partners like trade unions. Optionally, proposals may include test and experimentation environments like living labs for validation.

Proposals must include a business case and exploitation strategy. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.

The general conditions include:

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.

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.

Other Eligible Conditions: Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes provides additional details.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information:

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the Standard application form (HE RIA, IA).

Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including the Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA).

Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide.

Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include the Lump Sum MGA.

Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS), information on financial support to third parties (HE), information on clinical studies (HE), and guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents include:

HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction

HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space

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

Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The budget overview lists several topics under the INDUSTRY call with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants. For example, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-02 has a budget of 35,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 7 grants, with contributions ranging from 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 EUR.

Partner search announcements are available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

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

This Horizon Europe call focuses on developing and implementing breakthrough augmentation technologies in the manufacturing industry to empower workers, enhance their well-being, and foster a human-centric approach in line with the Industry 5.0 model. It seeks to address the challenges posed by increasing complexity and labor shortages by placing humans at the center of manufacturing operations. The call encourages proposals that develop innovative solutions, methodologies, and assessment techniques, considering social sciences and humanities aspects, and promoting inclusivity and accessibility in the industrial environment. Successful projects are expected to deliver benefits for both workers and managers, leading to more attractive jobs and a more prosperous European manufacturing industry. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and proposals should include a strong business case and exploitation strategy.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given that this is a Horizon Europe call, eligible applicants are likely to include a range of entities such as universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other organizations involved in research and innovation activities. The inclusion of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) contributions suggests that social partners like trade unions may also be considered. The mention of LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment suggests that any legal entity that can be validated and assessed for financial capacity is eligible.

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

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, the encouragement of partner searches and the nature of the research and innovation actions suggest that consortia are likely to be favored, if not required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility appears to be EU member states and associated countries. The text mentions "non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding" but indicates that some of these countries have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The program targets the manufacturing industry, with a focus on digital technologies, human augmentation, advanced materials, and the twin transition (digital and green). Specific areas include mechatronics, sensing, photonics, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Mentioned Countries: The text mentions "non-EU/non-Associated Countries," indicating that the primary focus is on EU member states and associated countries. No specific countries are explicitly named.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of projects varies depending on the type of action. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) suggest projects in the research, development, and validation stages, while Innovation Actions (IA) suggest projects in the demonstration, commercialization, or scale-up stages.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary widely depending on the specific topic and type of action, ranging from €1,000,000 to €45,000,000. Some topics have indicative grant amounts specified, such as "around 6000000" or "500000 to 1000000."

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 lump sum grants to cover eligible costs.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

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

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is required for HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64 - HORIZON-COFUND HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under the INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) umbrella, aims to transform the manufacturing industry by focusing on digital technologies, human augmentation, advanced materials, and the twin transition. It seeks to empower workers, enhance their safety and well-being, and foster a human-centric approach in manufacturing. The call includes various types of actions, such as Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Cofund Actions, each with different funding ranges and objectives. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities from EU member states and associated countries, with some provisions for non-EU countries. Proposals should develop breakthrough technologies, consider social and ethical implications, and include a business case and exploitation strategy. The application process is single-stage, with a deadline of September 23, 2025. The funding is provided as lump sum grants, with varying amounts depending on the specific topic and action type. The call implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe, emphasizing the importance of European manufacturing in the global economy.