RFCS-2026-01-PDP Coal Pilot and demonstration projects

RFCS-2026-01-PDP is a Research Fund for Coal and Steel call supporting coal pilot and demonstration projects that advance technologies from TRL 4-5 to TRL 7-8. The indicative budget for this topic is €2,880,000 with a funding rate of 50% and typical grant requests of €1.5–€3 millionfor projects of 36–42 months. Eligible applicants are consortia of at least two independent legal entities established in two different eligible (EU Member State or associated) countries, and each proposal must include an assessment of expected industrial, economic, social and environmental benefits in line with Article 26. Submission is single-stage via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; the call opens 17 June 2026 and the deadline is 16 September 2026 at 17:00 CET.

What it funds

Scope and objectives

Pilot and demonstration projects bridging research and innovation in the coal sector:construction, operation and development of pilot installations or industrial-scale demonstrators. Projects must address RFCS coal objectives (just transition, health and safety, and minimising environmental impacts) and include an assessment of industrial, economic, social and environmental benefits.

Expected TRL progression:Start at TRL 4-5 and aim to reach TRL 7-8 by project end. ¹

1. 1Eligible activities: pilot-scale installations and industrial demonstrations related to coal mine closure, remediation, reuse of mining waste, methane/CO2 capture and related transition technologies.
2. 2Project duration: typically 36 to 42 months (longer if duly justified).
3. 3Consortium: minimum 2 independent beneficiaries from 2 different eligible countries (beneficiaries must be legal entities).
4. 4Funding form and rate: budget-based RFCS project grants; Coal PDP funding rate 50% of eligible costs.
5. 5Project size guidance: expected requested grant amounts for coal PDP typically between €1.5 million and €3 million, but proposals requesting other amounts may be considered.

Deadline for submission:16 September 2026 (single-stage electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal). Call opening 17 June 2026. Projects must be submitted using the RFCS application templates and include required annexes and impact assessment.

Apply via the Funding & Tenders Portal topic page and follow the RFCS Call document, application form and RFCS Model Grant Agreement available on the Portal RFCS topic page.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation, templates and topic details are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page: RFCS-2026-01-PDP topic.

Call identifier:RFCS-2026. Topic: RFCS-2026-01-PDP Coal Pilot and demonstration projects. Funding programme: Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) Annual Call 2026. Call opening: 17 June 2026. Submission deadline: 16 September 2026, 17:00 CET. Submission procedure: single-stage electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Contact for enquiries: REA-RFCS@ec.europa.eu. Full call documentation and topic description available on the official topic page RFCS-2026-01-PDP Topic Page ¹.

Scope, objectives and expected impact

Objective:Support pilot and demonstration activities in the coal sector that address one or more RFCS coal research objectives set out in Council Decision 2008/376/EC and its updates, in particular Article 4 (supporting the just transition of the coal sector and regions), Article 5 (improving health and safety) and Article 6 (minimising environmental impacts of coal mines in transition). Scope: Pilot projects target construction, operation and development of installations on an appropriate scale. Demonstration projects cover construction and/or operation of industrial-scale installations. Both aim to bridge the gap between research and innovation. Expected TRL progression: projects are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 7-8 by project end. Expected impact: Each proposal must include an assessment of expected industrial, economic, social and environmental benefits in line with Article 26 of Council Decision 2008/376/EC.

Themes and example topics:Themes encompass the RFCS coal objectives without an annual priority. Typical activities and technology areas addressed include carbon dioxide capture, storage and use; capture and mitigation of methane emissions; remediation and reuse of mining wastes and fly ash; repurposing of former coal sites (including geothermal on former coal sites); water table protection and mine drainage purification; refurbishing waste heaps; protection of surface infrastructure against subsidence; non-energetic uses and production of raw materials from mining wastes; health, safety and occupational risk reduction; reskilling/upskilling of workers affected by coal phase-out; and solutions supporting the just transition of coal regions.

Eligibility and consortium requirements

Eligible applicants:legal entities (public or private bodies) carrying out RTD or substantially contributing to RTD, including undertakings, public bodies, research organisations, higher or secondary education establishments, non-profit organisations, SMEs and natural persons. Natural persons are eligible. International organisations are NOT eligible as beneficiaries. Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register and be validated by the REA Central Validation Service. Participation of associated partners, subcontractors, third parties providing in-kind contributions is possible under specified roles and limits. EU bodies (except JRC) may not be beneficiaries.

1. 1Minimum consortium composition for Pilot and Demonstration Projects: at least 2 independent applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 2 different eligible countries.
2. 2Independent means no direct or indirect control relationship between entities.
3. 3Projects must take place in eligible countries: EU Member States (including Overseas Countries and Territories) and countries associated to RFCS as listed in the call document.
4. 4Duration: Pilot and Demonstration projects normally 36 to 42 months (longer permitted if justified).
5. 5Project budgets expected: Coal PDP projects requested grant amount typically range between €1.5 million and €3 million, but other amounts may be submitted and considered.

Eligible activities and technology readiness

Activities eligible under RFCS PDP Coal:construction, operation and development of pilot installations (appropriate scale) and demonstration of industrial-scale installations. Projects must be targeted to advance TRL from 4-5 at start to TRL 7-8 at end. Projects should clearly demonstrate the bridge between research outputs and industrial application, include technical description of installations, operational plans, monitoring and performance indicators, environmental and social impact assessments and exploitation strategies.

Funding, form of support and financial rules

Funding instrument:RFCS Action Grant Budget-Based (budget-based mixed actual cost grant). Funding type: grant. Funding rate for the topic: 50% of eligible costs for Coal Pilot and Demonstration Projects RFCS-2026-01-PDP. Form of grant: budget-based mixed actual cost grant with actual costs, unit cost and flat-rate elements where applicable. Grants may not produce profit; for-profit beneficiaries must declare revenues and profits will be deducted from the final grant amount. Grants are subject to normal EU audit, reporting, certificate and legal-entity-validation rules.

Indicative funding envelope:Total estimated call budget: €40 000 000. Indicative budget for RFCS-2026-01-PDP Coal: €2 880 000. Funding distribution across the call topics is indicative and may be reallocated depending on proposals and evaluation results.

Budget by topic (indicative)

Application and evaluation

Submission:electronic only via Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. Application components: Part A (administrative data entered online), Part B (technical description uploaded as PDF using the Portal template), mandatory annexes and supporting documents (detailed budget table, list of previous projects, and other call-specified annexes). Page limits: Part B is limited to 70 pages. Proposal completeness and use of Portal templates are mandatory. Evaluators will not consider information beyond stated page limits.

1. 1Evaluation procedure: single-stage submission and one-step evaluation by an evaluation committee assisted by independent experts. Formal admissibility and eligibility check followed by evaluation against award criteria.
2. 2Award criteria and scoring: Excellence (max 5), Impact (max 5), Quality and efficiency of the implementation (max 5). Individual thresholds: 3/5 per criterion; overall threshold: 10/15. Proposals passing thresholds are considered for funding in rank order within topic and budget envelope.
3. 3Evaluation timetable (indicative): Evaluation September–November 2026, information to applicants January–February 2027, Grant Agreement signature April–June 2027.
4. 4Priority between equally scored proposals: priority given to higher Impact score, then Excellence, then Quality and efficiency; further tie-breakers based on private for-profit participation share and budget assigned to private for-profit participants.

Selection, award and contractual arrangements

If selected, successful proposals are invited to grant preparation. Legal and financial checks will be performed (legal entity validation, financial capacity, exclusion checks). Grant form: RFCS Model Grant Agreement (MGA). Mandatory deliverables: communication and dissemination plan, comprehensive project overview (month 6), public publishable report at project end. Prefinancing is normally paid after entry into force (typically 30 days), with interim payments and final payment subject to reporting and certificates depending on thresholds. Indirect costs: flat rate 35% of eligible personnel costs (category A). Detailed budget rules and eligible cost categories are set out in the MGA and the Annexes.

Key administrative, legal and compliance points

1. 1Eligibility of participants: entities must be established in eligible countries (EU Member States or RFCS-associated non-EU countries). Associated partners and third-country participants have restricted roles.
2. 2Exclusion and integrity checks: beneficiaries subject to exclusion grounds (bankruptcy, fraud, grave professional misconduct, breach of social security or tax obligations, etc.).
3. 3Ethics and data protection: highest ethical standards required; ethics issues may trigger ethics review. Personal data processing must comply with applicable EU and national rules.
4. 4Intellectual property and exploitation: background and result access rights, protection and exploitation arrangements must be described. The granting authority has a non-exclusive royalty-free right to use non-sensitive project material for communication and policy purposes.
5. 5No financial support to third parties is allowed under RFCS PDP Coal topic.

Eligible applicant types (detailed)

Based on call rules, eligible applicant types include:universities and higher education establishments, research organisations and institutes, public bodies and national/regional authorities, SMEs (including SME owners and natural person beneficiaries under defined unit-cost rules), large enterprises / industrial companies, non-profit organisations, foundations, and natural persons. International organisations are not eligible as beneficiaries. Associated partners and subcontractors (third parties) may participate in defined roles but do not count as beneficiaries for minimum consortium requirements.

Funding type

Primary financial mechanism:grant (EU Action Grant under the RFCS). The grant is budget-based mixed actual cost with actual cost categories and flat-rate indirect costs. Funding modality is not a loan, equity or procurement — it is a grant (action grant).

Consortium requirement

Requirement:consortium of multiple independent applicants. For Pilot and Demonstration projects the minimum is two independent beneficiaries from two different eligible countries. Single-beneficiary submissions are not permitted for PDP topics.

Beneficiary geographic scope

Geographic eligibility:applicants must be established in eligible countries defined in the call: EU Member States (including Overseas Countries and Territories) and countries associated to RFCS. The call document contains the precise list of associated countries and conditions for countries negotiating association; projects must relate to activities taking place in eligible countries.

Target sectors

Target sector:Coal sector (transition-related activities). Cross-cutting technologies and sectors include environment and remediation, climate mitigation (CO2 and methane capture/use/storage), geothermal energy on former coal sites, material recovery and circular economy, health and safety in mining contexts, industrial processes related to mine closure, and social/skills reskilling programmes for affected workers.

Mentioned countries

The topic text explicitly refers to EU Member States and RFCS-associated non-EU countries. No specific individual countries are required in the topic text; applicants should consult the call document for the full list of eligible associated countries and OCTs. Activities must take place in eligible countries.

Project stage and maturity

Expected project stage at start:Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4-5. Expected maturity at project end: TRL 7-8. The call is therefore targeted at late development, validation, demonstration and pre-commercial stages bridging research and industrial deployment.

Funding amount and project budget guidance

Indicative funding available for this topic:€2 880 000. Expected typical requested grant amount for coal PDP projects: between €1.5 million and €3.0 million. The call reserves the right to award different amounts and to redistribute budgets between topics depending on evaluation outcomes.

Application type and submission method

Application type:open call (part of the RFCS Annual Call 2026) with electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The submission window opened on 17 June 2026 and the single-stage deadline is 16 September 2026. Paper submissions are not accepted.

Nature of support

Beneficiaries receive monetary support in the form of a grant. The programme does not provide vouchers, loans, equity or repayable assistance under this topic. Non-financial services such as dissemination, workshops or technical assistance may be part of project activities but not as direct replacement for grant funding.

Application stages and success rates

Application stages:1 stage submission followed by evaluation and ranking; successful proposals invited to grant preparation and signature. Number of stages: 1 (submission) with subsequent grant preparation. Success rates: not specified in the call document; subject to number and quality of proposals and available budget. Applicants should expect competitive selection given limited topic budget.

Co-funding requirement

Co-funding:the grant covers a percentage of eligible costs (funding rate 50% for Coal PDP). Applicants must therefore co-fund the remaining eligible costs from their own resources, third-party contributions, or other sources. Projects must ensure a balanced budget and demonstrate sufficient own resources/financing to implement the project. Financial capacity checks may be applied depending on requested grant size and legal status.

Application templates and structure

Application structure:Part A (administrative data) filled online in the Portal Submission System; Part B (technical description) provided as PDF using the RFCS Part B template available in the Submission System. Mandatory annexes include the detailed budget table (Annex 1 to Part B) and the list of previous projects (if required). Other annexes prescribed in the call document must be uploaded in the correct template slots. Part B page limit: maximum 70 pages.

1. 1Part A: General information, participants, budget and administrative declarations entered directly in the Portal screens. Coordinator and participants must be registered and validated (PIC, LEAR roles).
2. 2Part B: Technical Description template sections: Project summary; Excellence (objectives, ambition, methodology, TRL position); Impact (pathways to impact, dissemination, exploitation and communication measures; summary and impact canvas); Quality and efficiency of the implementation (work plan, work packages, deliverables, milestones, Gantt/timetable, risk management, staff effort, subcontracting, equipment and procurement); Capacity of participants and consortium; Ethics and security; Declarations.
3. 3Annexes: Detailed budget table (mandatory), list of previous projects (mandatory if requested), CVs where applicable, certificates during grant preparation (financial statements) depending on thresholds.
4. 4Budget reporting: Annex 2 detailed budget table Excel template must be completed and uploaded. Indirect costs are charged as flat rate 35% of eligible personnel costs (category A). Costs categories include A Personnel, B Subcontracting, C Purchase costs (equipment C.2 and other C.3), and E Indirect costs.

Evaluation criteria checklist

• Excellence: clarity and consistency of objectives and planning; alignment with call themes and RFCS objectives; ambition beyond state-of-the-art; sound methodology and TRL progression.
• Impact: credible pathways to deliver expected outcomes and impacts; quantified scale/significance of contribution; dissemination, exploitation and communication plan; measures to maximise impact and uptake.
• Quality and efficiency of implementation: coherent work plan and WPs, realistic timetable, risk identification and mitigation, cost effectiveness, quality of consortium, allocation of tasks, operational capacity and relevant experience.

Practical and legal notices

Proposals must be complete, readable and respect the templates and page limits. Proposals may be requested to provide additional documents at grant preparation (legal entity validation, financial capacity documentation, bank account validation). If applicants are subject to EU restrictive measures they are not eligible to participate. Subcontracting should normally be a limited part of the action; subcontracting above 30% must be justified. Financial support to third parties is not allowed under this topic. The call document contains full rules on ethics, data protection, IPR, communication and dissemination, prefinancing guarantees, certificates and recovery rules.

Support and help:Use the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Portal FAQ and IT Helpdesk for submission issues. For call/topic questions contact REA-RFCS@ec.europa.eu. The submission session is available through the Submission System entry point linked from the topic page.

Footnotes

1. 1Call topic page with full topic text, call document and templates: ec.europa.eu

Funding Opportunity Details

This call supports pilot and demonstration projects for the coal sector under the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS), aiming to bridge the gap between research and innovation by advancing technologies from TRL 4-5 to TRL 7-8 ¹. The total indicative budget for this specific topic is €2,880,000, with a funding rate of 50% of eligible project costs ².

Key Dates:Call opening: 17 June 2026; Submission deadline: 16 September 2026 at 17:00 CET (Brussels time) ³.

Who Should Apply

Applications are open to consortia of at least 2 independent legal entities (beneficiaries) established in 2 different eligible countries, which include EU Member States and countries associated with the RFCS program ⁴. Eligible applicants include government/public bodies, academic institutions, private sector companies, and Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) ⁵.

Eligibility and Scope Highlights

Projects must align with one or more RFCS coal objectives:supporting the just transition of coal sectors/regions, improving health and safety, or minimizing environmental impacts of coal mines in transition ⁶. Pilot projects focus on constructing/operating installations at an appropriate scale, while demonstration projects cover industrial-scale installations ⁷.

Budget Expectations:Requested grant amounts are expected to range between €1.5 million and €3 million for coal projects, covering a duration of 36 to 42 months ⁸.

Technical Requirements and Evaluation

Proposals must start at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4-5 and achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project. Each proposal must include an assessment of expected industrial, economic, social, and environmental benefits as required by Article 26 of Council Decision 2008/376/EC ⁹. Evaluation is based on Excellence (5 pts), Impact (5 pts), and Quality/Efficiency of Implementation (5 pts), with a minimum pass score of 3 per criterion and 10 overall ¹⁰.

1. 1Consortium must have minimum 2 independent beneficiaries from 2 different eligible countries
2. 2Project duration: 36–42 months (extensions possible with justification)
3. 3Funding rate: 50% of eligible costs (budget-based mixed actual cost grant)
4. 4No profit rule applies: grants cannot generate a surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs
5. 5Submission via EU Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System only

For further assistance, contact REA-RFCS@ec.europa.eu or consult the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual ¹¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Official Call Document RFCS-2026, Section 2: Objectives and Scope, Page 10-11 RFCS Call Doc.
2. 2Budget Overview Table in Call Document, Section 3: Available Budget, Page 13 RFCS Call Doc.
3. 3Timetable and Deadlines, Section 4, Page 14 RFCS Call Doc.
4. 4Consortium Composition, Section 6, Page 16 RFCS Call Doc.
5. 5DevelopmentAid Grant Summary for RFCS-2026-01-PDP DevelopmentAid.
6. 6Research Objectives for Coal, Section 1, Page 8 RFCS Call Doc.
7. 7Activities that can be funded, Section 2, Page 11 RFCS Call Doc.
8. 8Project Budget Expectations, Section 6, Page 17 RFCS Call Doc.
9. 9Expected Impact, Section 2, Page 11 RFCS Call Doc.
10. 10Award Criteria, Section 9, Page 21 RFCS Call Doc.
11. 11Help Section, Section 12, Page 28 RFCS Call Doc.