Preparing for large-scale CCAM demonstrations (CCAM Partnership) – Societal Readiness Pilot

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity titled "Preparing for large-scale CCAM demonstrations (CCAM Partnership) – Societal Readiness Pilot" aims to advance Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) technologies through real-world testing and societal integration. This call is part of Horizon Europe's Cluster 5 focusing on Climate, Energy, and Mobility, with an emphasis on engaging a diverse set of stakeholders across the transport and mobility sectors.

Eligible applicants include research institutions, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public-private partnerships, and other industry stakeholders. The project seeks collaboration among various stakeholders, involving an interdisciplinary approach that integrates technical and social sciences expertise.

Funding is provided as a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, which simplifies financial management by offering fixed amounts for predetermined activities. The funding amounts are expected to range from approximately €1.6 million to €22.5 million depending on the topic, with an indicative budget of €4.5 million for this specific call. The application process is framed as a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for September 4, 2025.

The focus of this grant is to prepare for large-scale demonstrations of CCAM technologies, addressing essential societal, technical, and regulatory readiness challenges. The project stage primarily involves demonstration and validation stages, aiming to produce methodologies for field tests, identify test sites across Europe, and engage stakeholders to ensure that societal needs and concerns are taken into account.

The success rate for similar Horizon Europe calls typically ranges from 10 to 39%, though exact metrics for this call have not been provided. Co-funding requirements are not specified, which may indicate that they are not necessary, especially as the Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) usually do not require them.

The overarching goal is to establish a robust foundation for forthcoming CCAM demonstrations, thereby facilitating the deployment of innovative transport solutions while ensuring alignment with user needs and European sustainability objectives. This project is expected to support monitoring of key performance indicators established under the CCAM Partnership and build upon previous initiatives, leveraging collective learnings from earlier projects.

In summary, the opportunity centers on fostering collaboration among public and private stakeholders to prepare for large-scale demonstrations of innovative mobility solutions, enhancing public acceptance and ensuring that these technologies meet societal expectations.

This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals under Cluster 5, specifically targeting "Preparing for large-scale CCAM demonstrations (CCAM Partnership) Societal Readiness Pilot" with topic ID HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D6-02. The call seeks to fund Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant agreement. The submission deadline is September 4, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time, and the call opened on May 6, 2025. The budget for this specific topic is 4,500,000 EUR, and it is anticipated that one grant will be awarded.

The expected outcomes of funded projects are to pave the road for forthcoming Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) deployment, deliver a comprehensive large-scale demonstration plan for CCAM vehicles across Europe, ensure engagement of key stakeholders across the value chain, establish a foundation for future use case specific projects in different domains (public and private road transport, logistics), outline a CCAM promotion strategy, and demonstrate responsiveness to the needs and concerns of diverse social groups.

The scope of the call addresses the challenges related to technical functionality, use, demand, and affordability in vehicle automation. It emphasizes the need for real-life applications via large-scale demonstrations, Field Operational Tests (FOTs) within Living Labs, and targeting specific use cases for public road transport and logistics. Key focuses include validating technical enablers, understanding user behavior, promoting acceptance, and advancing societal readiness. Interoperability of connected automated systems across vehicle brands, regions, and Member States is crucial. The action should leverage previous and ongoing projects and consider the outcomes of the European software-defined vehicle of the future initiative, reflecting the frameworks and guidelines of the CCAM Partnership.

Proposed actions should define prerequisites for large-scale demonstration projects, prepare methodologies and tools for field tests and data management, identify test and demonstration sites across Europe, and initiate a cross-sector stakeholder forum. The proposed action is expected to foster collaboration between public and private stakeholders, engaging the entire CCAM ecosystem, including mobility and transport users, public transport, shared mobility and logistics operators, infrastructure providers, traffic managers, public authorities, and research institutions. Adequate representation of European industrial players such as OEMs and suppliers is also required.

This topic is designated as a Societal-Readiness pilot, requiring an interdisciplinary approach and effective contribution of relevant Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) expertise. Projects are expected to report results to the European Partnership on CCAM to support monitoring of its KPIs and should build upon the results of the FAME project and actions under HORIZON-CL5-2024-D6-01-05. Projects are expected to apply the European Common Evaluation Methodology (EU-CEM) for CCAM.

General conditions for participation include admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, eligible countries, other eligible conditions, financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria, evaluation and award processes, and legal and financial setup of grants. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Application and evaluation forms, model grant agreements, and additional documents are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Applicants are encouraged to consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks for guidance and support. Partner search tools are also available.

In summary, this call is about coordinating efforts and supporting actions to prepare for large-scale demonstrations of connected, cooperative, and automated mobility solutions across Europe. It aims to bring together various stakeholders from the public and private sectors to define the necessary prerequisites, methodologies, and test sites for these demonstrations. The ultimate goal is to pave the way for the successful deployment of CCAM technologies, enhance public awareness, and ensure that these technologies are aligned with societal needs and concerns. The call emphasizes the importance of collaboration, interdisciplinary approaches, and the application of a common evaluation methodology to achieve these objectives.

Eligible Applicant Types: The opportunity is open to a wide range of applicants, including public and private stakeholders across the CCAM ecosystem. This includes mobility and transport users, public transport operators, shared mobility and logistics operators, infrastructure providers, traffic managers, public authorities, research institutions, European industrial players such as OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and suppliers. The call emphasizes the need for engagement of key stakeholders across the value chain in transport and mobility.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA). Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The call emphasizes the need for collaboration between public and private stakeholders. Engagement of key stakeholders, covering the whole CCAM ecosystem, is required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries. 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 transport, specifically connected, cooperative, and automated mobility (CCAM). It also touches on related sectors such as logistics, infrastructure, ICT, and public services.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions Europe and EU member states. It also refers to non-EU and non-associated countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on preparing for large-scale demonstrations, which implies a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) ranging from validation to demonstration. The call aims to pave the way for forthcoming CCAM deployment and deliver a comprehensive large-scale demonstration plan.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from EUR 1.6 million to EUR 22.5 million. The indicative number of grants per topic also varies, ranging from 1 to 2.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call. The submission session is now available for all topics.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

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: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D6-02, focuses on "Preparing for large-scale CCAM demonstrations (CCAM Partnership) Societal Readiness Pilot." It aims to pave the way for the deployment of Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) across Europe. The call seeks to engage key stakeholders from both public and private sectors, including transport users, operators, infrastructure providers, traffic managers, public authorities, research institutions, OEMs, and suppliers. The projects should define prerequisites for large-scale demonstrations, prepare methodologies for field tests, identify test sites across Europe, and initiate a stakeholder forum. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant under the HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) framework. The call is a Societal-Readiness pilot, requiring an interdisciplinary approach and the involvement of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) expertise. Projects are expected to build upon previous initiatives like the FAME project and apply the European Common Evaluation Methodology (EU-CEM) for CCAM. The geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries, with potential provisions for non-EU/non-associated countries. The call aims to optimize investments and create a strong foundation for future large-scale demonstration projects, boosting an industry-wide European deployment strategy for CCAM. The opening date is 06 May 2025 and the deadline is 04 September 2025. The indicative budget for HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D6-02 is EUR 4,500,000 and the indicative number of grants is 1.