R&D for the next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation and solutions for research infrastructure upgrades
Overview
The Horizon Europe call for proposals, titled HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01, focuses on research and innovation aimed at developing next-generation scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalization methods, and solutions for upgrading research infrastructures. This opportunity falls under the Horizon Europe framework with a total indicative budget of €110 million, supporting eleven expected grants ranging from €5 million to €10 million each. The application process is single-stage with a planned opening date of March 10, 2026, and a submission deadline of June 16, 2026.
Eligible applicants include a variety of institutional and commercial entities such as research infrastructures, ESFRI infrastructures, ERICs, and international European research organizations. Proposals must include at least two distinct research infrastructures as beneficiaries, along with technological partners from industry, SMEs, startups, or scaleups to foster collaborative innovation. The focus is on projects that advance the state-of-the-art of research infrastructures, enhancing efficiency, resilience, and sustainability while aligning with EU policy objectives.
The funding mechanism is primarily research and innovation grants under the HORIZON-RIA framework, allowing for funding based on eligible costs incurred. Proposals may also incorporate Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) activities, which aim to foster competitive development of new solutions through structured procurement processes.
Geographically, eligible applicants must be based in EU Member States and Associated Countries, promoting collaboration across these regions. The projects are expected to progress beyond Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4, focusing on development and validation stages. Success rates for this call are expected to be competitive, similar to previous Horizon Europe calls.
The nature of support is predominantly financial, providing grants for R&D initiatives. This call highlights the importance of integrating environmental sustainability practices and advancing technological sovereignty within the European context, with the expectation that successful projects will improve the capabilities of research infrastructures to tackle societal challenges and expand their service offerings.
Eligible applicants include a variety of institutional and commercial entities such as research infrastructures, ESFRI infrastructures, ERICs, and international European research organizations. Proposals must include at least two distinct research infrastructures as beneficiaries, along with technological partners from industry, SMEs, startups, or scaleups to foster collaborative innovation. The focus is on projects that advance the state-of-the-art of research infrastructures, enhancing efficiency, resilience, and sustainability while aligning with EU policy objectives.
The funding mechanism is primarily research and innovation grants under the HORIZON-RIA framework, allowing for funding based on eligible costs incurred. Proposals may also incorporate Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) activities, which aim to foster competitive development of new solutions through structured procurement processes.
Geographically, eligible applicants must be based in EU Member States and Associated Countries, promoting collaboration across these regions. The projects are expected to progress beyond Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4, focusing on development and validation stages. Success rates for this call are expected to be competitive, similar to previous Horizon Europe calls.
The nature of support is predominantly financial, providing grants for R&D initiatives. This call highlights the importance of integrating environmental sustainability practices and advancing technological sovereignty within the European context, with the expectation that successful projects will improve the capabilities of research infrastructures to tackle societal challenges and expand their service offerings.
Detail
This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals focusing on research infrastructures, specifically HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01: R&D for the next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation and solutions for research infrastructure upgrades. It falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the Research Infrastructures 2026 (HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01) call. The action type is HORIZON-RIA (Research and Innovation Actions) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement (MGA).
The call employs a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 10 March 2026, and the deadline for submission is 16 June 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.
The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic include: enhanced scientific competitiveness of European research infrastructures, enhanced research infrastructure capacity to address research challenges and EU policy priorities, increased greening and resilience of research infrastructures, increased efficiency of research infrastructures through digitalisation, increased collaboration of research infrastructures with universities, research organisations and industry, fostering an innovation ecosystem that provides the foundations for the development of innovative companies and startups while considering EU technological sovereignty, fostering the uptake of innovation outside the scientific research market, through co-development with industry of advanced technologies for research infrastructures, and integration of research infrastructures into local, regional, national and global innovation systems and promotion of entrepreneurial culture.
The scope of this topic is to deliver innovative scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, methods and solutions which advance the state-of-art of research infrastructures (RIs) in the EU and Associated Countries and show transformative potential in RIs operation. The related developments, which underpin the provision of improved and advanced services, should lead RIs to support new areas of research and/or a wider community of users, including industrial users. Cutting-edge technologies will also enhance the potential of RIs to contribute to addressing EU policy objectives and socio-economic challenges.
Proposals should be complementary with actions funded under topics HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01-01 and HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01-01, targeting different instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation, and solutions. The complementarity with previous actions should be clearly explained in the proposal.
Proposals should address the following aspects, as relevant: research and development of new scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, and methods for research infrastructures, their technology validation and prototyping, training of RI staff for the operation and use of these new solutions, when relevant, developing skills on technical validation to industrial standards, the innovative potential for industrial exploitation of the solutions and/or for the benefits of the society, including technology concept or validation in laboratory for use by SMEs startups or scaleups.
To minimise the research infrastructures’ environmental footprint and increase resilience e.g. with respect to energy consumption, climate-related aspects or use of critical components and materials, greening and resilience aspects should be addressed for all proposed scientific instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation, and solutions.
Developments for the specific use case of research infrastructures are expected to go beyond TRL 4. When proposed developments have the potential to lead to applications beyond the specific use case of research infrastructures, the TRL of these additional developments should go up to TRL 3-4.
Proposals should include at least two different research infrastructures as beneficiaries each of them being an ESFRI research infrastructure a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) or another research infrastructure that is an international European research organisation.
Other technological partners, including industry, SMEs, startups or scaleups should also be involved, thus promoting innovation and knowledge sharing through co-development of new technical solutions for research infrastructures with due consideration of EU technological sovereignty.
Proposals may include PCP subcontracting activities as described in part H of the General Annexes of the work programme. This option encourages the use of public procurements for the competitive development of new specific solutions, whilst opening market opportunities for industry and researchers active in the EU and Associated Countries. By establishing the procurement process in consecutive phases, the PCP activity can support the development of competing designs, prototypes, and solution testing. This ensures that investment risks do not prevent tackling specific scientific and technological issues and allows a problem to be approached from different angles and to test different solutions.
Proposals are encouraged to incorporate in the development and deployment of innovation, where applicable, principles in line with the EU’s environmental policies such as Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD), circular-by-design and others.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. However, where applicable in the proposed developments, proposals should consider the integration of the gender dimension in the research and innovation content.
The admissibility conditions include proposal page limits 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 are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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. Other eligible conditions are subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks and are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described 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 described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
The legal and financial set-up of the grants is subject to specific conditions for actions with PCP/PPI procurements in section H of the General Annexes and is 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: Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the Standard application form (HE RIA, IA) and Standard application form (HE CSA). Evaluation form templates will be used with the necessary adaptations, including the Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) and Standard evaluation form (HE CSA).
Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide. Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include HE MGA, Lump Sum MGA, and Framework Partnership Agreement FPA. 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: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".
Additional documents include: HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 3. Research Infrastructures, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. 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.
The budget overview for the year 2026 includes several topics: HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-01 (40,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02 (10,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-01 (10,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-02 (40,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-03 (9,900,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-04 (2,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-05 (8,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-06 (8,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-07 (10,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-SERV-01-01 (32,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 (110,000,000 EUR), and HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-02 (15,000,000 EUR). These topics are single-stage, with a planned opening date of 2026-03-10 and a deadline of 2026-06-16. The contributions and indicative number of grants vary per topic.
LEARs, Account Administrators or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into this Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile. The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.
This Horizon Europe call aims to foster the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies for European research infrastructures. It seeks to enhance their scientific competitiveness, capacity to address societal challenges, and overall efficiency through innovation in instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, and sustainable practices. The call encourages collaboration between research infrastructures, academia, and industry, promoting an innovation ecosystem that supports the growth of innovative companies and startups while prioritizing EU technological sovereignty. Ultimately, this initiative aims to integrate research infrastructures into broader innovation systems, fostering an entrepreneurial culture and contributing to EU policy objectives.
The call employs a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 10 March 2026, and the deadline for submission is 16 June 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.
The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic include: enhanced scientific competitiveness of European research infrastructures, enhanced research infrastructure capacity to address research challenges and EU policy priorities, increased greening and resilience of research infrastructures, increased efficiency of research infrastructures through digitalisation, increased collaboration of research infrastructures with universities, research organisations and industry, fostering an innovation ecosystem that provides the foundations for the development of innovative companies and startups while considering EU technological sovereignty, fostering the uptake of innovation outside the scientific research market, through co-development with industry of advanced technologies for research infrastructures, and integration of research infrastructures into local, regional, national and global innovation systems and promotion of entrepreneurial culture.
The scope of this topic is to deliver innovative scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, methods and solutions which advance the state-of-art of research infrastructures (RIs) in the EU and Associated Countries and show transformative potential in RIs operation. The related developments, which underpin the provision of improved and advanced services, should lead RIs to support new areas of research and/or a wider community of users, including industrial users. Cutting-edge technologies will also enhance the potential of RIs to contribute to addressing EU policy objectives and socio-economic challenges.
Proposals should be complementary with actions funded under topics HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01-01 and HORIZON-INFRA-2024-TECH-01-01, targeting different instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation, and solutions. The complementarity with previous actions should be clearly explained in the proposal.
Proposals should address the following aspects, as relevant: research and development of new scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, and methods for research infrastructures, their technology validation and prototyping, training of RI staff for the operation and use of these new solutions, when relevant, developing skills on technical validation to industrial standards, the innovative potential for industrial exploitation of the solutions and/or for the benefits of the society, including technology concept or validation in laboratory for use by SMEs startups or scaleups.
To minimise the research infrastructures’ environmental footprint and increase resilience e.g. with respect to energy consumption, climate-related aspects or use of critical components and materials, greening and resilience aspects should be addressed for all proposed scientific instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation, and solutions.
Developments for the specific use case of research infrastructures are expected to go beyond TRL 4. When proposed developments have the potential to lead to applications beyond the specific use case of research infrastructures, the TRL of these additional developments should go up to TRL 3-4.
Proposals should include at least two different research infrastructures as beneficiaries each of them being an ESFRI research infrastructure a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) or another research infrastructure that is an international European research organisation.
Other technological partners, including industry, SMEs, startups or scaleups should also be involved, thus promoting innovation and knowledge sharing through co-development of new technical solutions for research infrastructures with due consideration of EU technological sovereignty.
Proposals may include PCP subcontracting activities as described in part H of the General Annexes of the work programme. This option encourages the use of public procurements for the competitive development of new specific solutions, whilst opening market opportunities for industry and researchers active in the EU and Associated Countries. By establishing the procurement process in consecutive phases, the PCP activity can support the development of competing designs, prototypes, and solution testing. This ensures that investment risks do not prevent tackling specific scientific and technological issues and allows a problem to be approached from different angles and to test different solutions.
Proposals are encouraged to incorporate in the development and deployment of innovation, where applicable, principles in line with the EU’s environmental policies such as Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD), circular-by-design and others.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. However, where applicable in the proposed developments, proposals should consider the integration of the gender dimension in the research and innovation content.
The admissibility conditions include proposal page limits 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 are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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. Other eligible conditions are subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks and are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described 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 described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
The legal and financial set-up of the grants is subject to specific conditions for actions with PCP/PPI procurements in section H of the General Annexes and is 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: Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the Standard application form (HE RIA, IA) and Standard application form (HE CSA). Evaluation form templates will be used with the necessary adaptations, including the Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) and Standard evaluation form (HE CSA).
Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide. Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include HE MGA, Lump Sum MGA, and Framework Partnership Agreement FPA. 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: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".
Additional documents include: HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 3. Research Infrastructures, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. 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.
The budget overview for the year 2026 includes several topics: HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-01 (40,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02 (10,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-01 (10,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-02 (40,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-03 (9,900,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-04 (2,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-05 (8,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-06 (8,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-07 (10,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-SERV-01-01 (32,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 (110,000,000 EUR), and HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-02 (15,000,000 EUR). These topics are single-stage, with a planned opening date of 2026-03-10 and a deadline of 2026-06-16. The contributions and indicative number of grants vary per topic.
LEARs, Account Administrators or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into this Portal, as well as any user having an active public Person profile. The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.
This Horizon Europe call aims to foster the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies for European research infrastructures. It seeks to enhance their scientific competitiveness, capacity to address societal challenges, and overall efficiency through innovation in instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, and sustainable practices. The call encourages collaboration between research infrastructures, academia, and industry, promoting an innovation ecosystem that supports the growth of innovative companies and startups while prioritizing EU technological sovereignty. Ultimately, this initiative aims to integrate research infrastructures into broader innovation systems, fostering an entrepreneurial culture and contributing to EU policy objectives.
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Breakdown
Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity are quite broad and include research infrastructures, ESFRI research infrastructures, European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC), international European research organizations, industry, SMEs, startups, and scaleups. The call emphasizes the need for collaboration between these different types of entities to foster innovation and knowledge sharing. Specifically, proposals should include at least two different research infrastructures as beneficiaries, each of them being an ESFRI research infrastructure, a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), or another research infrastructure that is an international European research organisation. Other technological partners, including industry, SMEs, startups or scaleups should also be involved.
Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism used in this program is a grant, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe program. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG].
Consortium Requirement: This opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. Proposals should include at least two different research infrastructures as beneficiaries, and other technological partners, including industry, SMEs, startups or scaleups should also be involved. The participation of two nodes of the same ESFRI infrastructure or ERIC does not count as two different research infrastructures.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility for applicants includes the EU 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: This program targets the research infrastructures sector, with a focus on delivering innovative scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, methods, and solutions to advance the state-of-the-art of research infrastructures. It also targets cutting-edge technologies that enhance the potential of RIs to contribute to addressing EU policy objectives and socio-economic challenges. The program encourages the incorporation of EU environmental policies such as Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) and circular-by-design.
Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions the EU and Associated Countries as the primary geographic focus. It also acknowledges that a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries may have specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects.
Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity is beyond Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 for developments specific to research infrastructures. When proposed developments have the potential to lead to applications beyond the specific use case of research infrastructures, the TRL of these additional developments should go up to TRL 3-4. This suggests a focus on validation and prototyping, with some potential for earlier-stage research.
Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call. For the HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 topic, the budget is EUR 110,000,000, with an indicative grant range of EUR 5,000,000 to EUR 10,000,000. Other topics have different budgets and grant ranges, as detailed in the budget overview.
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 40 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 400000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 10 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 3000000 to 50000002
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 10 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 2000000 to 30000004
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-02 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 40 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 4000000 to 80000006
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-03 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 9 900 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 3000000 to 45000003
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-04 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 2 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 20000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-05 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 8 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 80000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-06 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 8 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 1000000 to 15000005
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-07 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 10 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 1000000 to 40000003
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-SERV-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 32 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 320000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 110 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 5000000 to 1000000011
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-02 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 15 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 5000000 to 75000002
Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date for the call is 10 March 2026, and the deadline for submission is 16 June 2026 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support their research and innovation activities.
Application Stages: The application process consists of 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 potential competitiveness. For example, HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 aims to award 11 grants, while some other topics aim to award only 1 or 2 grants.
Co-funding Requirement: The information provided does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, given that this is a Horizon Europe program, it is likely that co-funding may be encouraged or required, depending on the specific type of action and the applicants involved. Further details would be available in the specific call documents and work program annexes.
Summary: This Horizon Europe call, Research Infrastructures 2026 (HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01), specifically the topic "R&D for the next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation and solutions for research infrastructure upgrades," aims to foster innovation and enhance the capabilities of research infrastructures in the EU and Associated Countries. The call seeks to fund projects that deliver innovative solutions, promote collaboration between research infrastructures and industry, and contribute to the greening and resilience of these infrastructures. Eligible applicants include a consortium of at least two research infrastructures (ESFRI, ERIC, or international European research organizations) along with other technological partners like industry, SMEs, startups, and scaleups. The funding is provided through HORIZON-RIA and HORIZON-CSA grants, with a single-stage application process. The call encourages pre-commercial procurement (PCP) and the incorporation of EU environmental policies in project design. The overall goal is to enhance the scientific competitiveness of European research infrastructures, increase their capacity to address research challenges and EU policy priorities, and integrate them into local, regional, national, and global innovation systems.
Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism used in this program is a grant, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe program. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG].
Consortium Requirement: This opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. Proposals should include at least two different research infrastructures as beneficiaries, and other technological partners, including industry, SMEs, startups or scaleups should also be involved. The participation of two nodes of the same ESFRI infrastructure or ERIC does not count as two different research infrastructures.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility for applicants includes the EU 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: This program targets the research infrastructures sector, with a focus on delivering innovative scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation, methods, and solutions to advance the state-of-the-art of research infrastructures. It also targets cutting-edge technologies that enhance the potential of RIs to contribute to addressing EU policy objectives and socio-economic challenges. The program encourages the incorporation of EU environmental policies such as Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) and circular-by-design.
Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions the EU and Associated Countries as the primary geographic focus. It also acknowledges that a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries may have specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects.
Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity is beyond Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 for developments specific to research infrastructures. When proposed developments have the potential to lead to applications beyond the specific use case of research infrastructures, the TRL of these additional developments should go up to TRL 3-4. This suggests a focus on validation and prototyping, with some potential for earlier-stage research.
Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call. For the HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 topic, the budget is EUR 110,000,000, with an indicative grant range of EUR 5,000,000 to EUR 10,000,000. Other topics have different budgets and grant ranges, as detailed in the budget overview.
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 40 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 400000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-EOSC-02 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 10 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 3000000 to 50000002
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 10 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 2000000 to 30000004
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-02 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 40 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 4000000 to 80000006
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-03 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 9 900 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 3000000 to 45000003
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-04 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 2 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 20000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-05 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 8 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 80000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-06 - HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions 8 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 1000000 to 15000005
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-07 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 10 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 1000000 to 40000003
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-SERV-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 32 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 around 320000001
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 110 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 5000000 to 1000000011
HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-02 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions 15 000 000 Single-stage2026-03-10 2026-06-16 5000000 to 75000002
Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date for the call is 10 March 2026, and the deadline for submission is 16 June 2026 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support their research and innovation activities.
Application Stages: The application process consists of 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 potential competitiveness. For example, HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-01 aims to award 11 grants, while some other topics aim to award only 1 or 2 grants.
Co-funding Requirement: The information provided does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, given that this is a Horizon Europe program, it is likely that co-funding may be encouraged or required, depending on the specific type of action and the applicants involved. Further details would be available in the specific call documents and work program annexes.
Summary: This Horizon Europe call, Research Infrastructures 2026 (HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01), specifically the topic "R&D for the next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools, methods, digitalisation and solutions for research infrastructure upgrades," aims to foster innovation and enhance the capabilities of research infrastructures in the EU and Associated Countries. The call seeks to fund projects that deliver innovative solutions, promote collaboration between research infrastructures and industry, and contribute to the greening and resilience of these infrastructures. Eligible applicants include a consortium of at least two research infrastructures (ESFRI, ERIC, or international European research organizations) along with other technological partners like industry, SMEs, startups, and scaleups. The funding is provided through HORIZON-RIA and HORIZON-CSA grants, with a single-stage application process. The call encourages pre-commercial procurement (PCP) and the incorporation of EU environmental policies in project design. The overall goal is to enhance the scientific competitiveness of European research infrastructures, increase their capacity to address research challenges and EU policy priorities, and integrate them into local, regional, national, and global innovation systems.
Short Summary
Impact The funding aims to enhance the scientific competitiveness and operational capacity of European research infrastructures through the development of next-generation scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation methods, and advanced technological solutions. | Impact | The funding aims to enhance the scientific competitiveness and operational capacity of European research infrastructures through the development of next-generation scientific instrumentation, tools, digitalisation methods, and advanced technological solutions. |
Applicant Applicants should possess expertise in research infrastructure development, digitalisation, advanced technology integration, and collaboration with industry partners. | Applicant | Applicants should possess expertise in research infrastructure development, digitalisation, advanced technology integration, and collaboration with industry partners. |
Developments The funding will support projects focused on innovative scientific instrumentation, digitalisation, and advanced solutions for research infrastructure upgrades. | Developments | The funding will support projects focused on innovative scientific instrumentation, digitalisation, and advanced solutions for research infrastructure upgrades. |
Applicant Type This funding is designed for research infrastructures, including ESFRI research infrastructures, European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs), and other international European research organizations, as well as industry partners, SMEs, startups, and scaleups. | Applicant Type | This funding is designed for research infrastructures, including ESFRI research infrastructures, European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs), and other international European research organizations, as well as industry partners, SMEs, startups, and scaleups. |
Consortium A consortium of multiple applicants is mandatory, including at least two different research infrastructures as beneficiaries. | Consortium | A consortium of multiple applicants is mandatory, including at least two different research infrastructures as beneficiaries. |
Funding Amount The total budget is €110,000,000, with individual project funding ranging from €5,000,000 to €10,000,000. | Funding Amount | The total budget is €110,000,000, with individual project funding ranging from €5,000,000 to €10,000,000. |
Countries Eligible applicants must come from EU Member States and Associated Countries to Horizon Europe, promoting participation across Europe. | Countries | Eligible applicants must come from EU Member States and Associated Countries to Horizon Europe, promoting participation across Europe. |
Industry This funding targets the research infrastructure sector, focusing on technological advancements and innovative solutions for scientific research. | Industry | This funding targets the research infrastructure sector, focusing on technological advancements and innovative solutions for scientific research. |
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