Safe post-crash management of road Light Duty Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) (2ZERO Partnership)

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity titled "Safe post-crash management of road Light Duty Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) (2ZERO Partnership)" focuses on enhancing post-crash safety for light-duty battery electric vehicles. This initiative falls under topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D5-03, classified as a Horizon Innovation Action (IA) and providing funding through a Horizon Lump Sum Grant.

Eligible applicants for this funding include startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large corporations, universities, research institutes, and public-private partnerships. The call encourages collaboration, requiring proposals to be submitted by a consortium that includes partners from at least three EU or associated countries. The geographic scope of eligibility covers EU member states, EEA countries, and nations associated with Horizon Europe.

The project is aimed primarily at the transport sector, specifically focusing on the safety and sustainability of electric vehicles and battery technologies. The grant aims to address post-crash scenarios, particularly concerning the unique safety challenges posed by lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles.

The total budget allocated for the topic is €5 million, with an indicative number of one grant expected to be awarded. The application process is a single-stage open call, with the submission deadline set for September 4, 2025.

Expected project outcomes include improved vehicle designs to reduce fire hazards, advanced condition assessment tools for batteries, standardized re-cycling and repurposing procedures for batteries from crashed BEVs, and comprehensive best practices for emergency responders. The grant emphasizes developing methodologies to manage and mitigate risks associated with battery fires and to improve the safety of first responders during post-crash scenarios.

Proposals must also focus on creating accessible health and safety data from onboard monitoring systems, addressing fire extinguishing techniques specific to electric vehicles, and quantifying the impacts of BEV fire safety through statistical analysis. Additionally, collaboration with current workshops on EV fire safety is encouraged to ensure comprehensive and robust outcomes.

The grant seeks to promote the circular economy for battery resources and aims for a broader societal impact by addressing public safety concerns through science-based communications. The overarching goal of this funding is to improve the safety and sustainability of electric transport systems while enabling better management of post-crash situations involving BEVs.

The EU Funding and Tenders Portal presents a Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Call Cluster 5 Call 04-2025 (WP 2025) funding opportunity titled "Safe post-crash management of road Light Duty Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) (2ZERO Partnership)" under topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D5-03. This is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA).

The call is currently open for submission as a single-stage application. The opening date was May 6, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 4, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic budget is 5,000,000 EUR for the year 2025, and the indicative number of grants is 1.

The expected outcomes of the project are: significant improvement of vehicle designs (especially the design of the most recent battery pack and its integration into the vehicle) from the perspective of fire-hazard reduction, fire suppression, crashworthiness and post-crash handling compared with the baseline vehicle, following specific design guidelines; advanced BEV condition assessment methods and tools with a focus on the condition of the battery as the most critical sub-system, providing safety-relevant information in a standardised format useful for rescue, towing and after-treatment services, complementing the digital battery passport, ensuring the safety of workers in all these phases, minimising environmental hazards and easy to apply by practitioners towards standardised procedures; re-purposing/re-using/re-cycling of batteries from crashed BEVs facilitated by tailored interventions, high confidence in battery health condition and standardised handover protocols, thus supporting potential second-life applications of batteries from crashed BEVs; best practices in fire handling and fire suppression, rescue procedures and handling of crashed Light Duty BEVs applied all over Europe, supported by training material and instructions for ‘first responders’, such as firefighters and emergency service workers; and dispelling safety concerns of (potential) BEV users as well as policy/decision makers by science-based communication and comparative statistics.

The scope of the project focuses on the post-crash phase of road accidents, particularly concerning electric vehicle battery fires. It addresses the challenges emergency responders and others face when handling EVs post-incident, including the chemical composition of lithium-ion batteries, battery placement, and the volume of water needed for firefighting. The project aims to support the definition of standards and procedures for risk assessment and response, focusing on Light Duty Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).

Proposals should address the following aspects: vehicle health assessment tools after a crash, focusing on battery and high-voltage system condition; accessibility to health and safety information/data from on-board monitoring systems, including the development of state of safety and state of health algorithms; extrication procedures protecting crash victims and emergency service workers; fire extinguishing techniques and firefighting procedures for BEVs, considering EV-specific risks; procedures and tools for the safe handover, handling, transport, and storage of crashed BEVs; quantification of BEV fire safety impacts through comparative studies and statistical analysis; and real-life demonstration of BEV condition assessment tools, data analysis, and firefighting, rescue, and handling procedures.

The project should actively seek interaction with and make use of results from workshops on EV fire safety currently being organised under the IEA HEV Technology Collaboration Programme, and where relevant with the Sustainable Transport Forum Task Force 6. The project should take account Open Science, its practices and learning, and the project’s results will be enacted in line with FAIR principles for data. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2ZERO). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2ZERO) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

The general conditions include admissibility conditions regarding proposal page limits and layout, eligible countries, other eligible conditions, financial and operational capacity and exclusion, evaluation and award criteria, submission and evaluation processes, indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, and legal and financial set-up of the grants. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

The application and evaluation forms, model grant agreement (MGA), and additional documents are available on the Submission System and the Funding & Tenders Portal.

This funding opportunity aims to improve the safety and management of post-crash situations involving light-duty battery electric vehicles. It seeks to develop better vehicle designs, assessment tools, firefighting techniques, and standardized procedures for handling crashed BEVs. The goal is to reduce risks, improve safety for both victims and first responders, and promote the re-use and recycling of EV batteries, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and safer transportation system. The project also aims to address public concerns about EV safety through science-based communication and statistical analysis.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given the nature of Horizon Europe calls, eligible applicants typically include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other relevant organizations. The call is open for submission, suggesting a broad range of eligible entities.

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 Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. There are also HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) mentioned.

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, the emphasis on collaboration, synergies, and partner search announcements suggests that consortia are encouraged, if not required. The indicative number of grants for some topics is "2" which suggests that multiple applicants are expected.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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. This suggests that while the primary focus is on EU and associated countries, some third-country participation is possible.

Target Sector: The program targets the transport sector, specifically focusing on the safety and sustainability of road transport, electric vehicles, and battery technology. Key areas include vehicle design, fire safety, battery management, recycling, and emergency response.

Mentioned Countries: The text does not explicitly mention specific countries. However, it refers to "EU and associated countries" and "non-EU/non-Associated Countries," indicating a European focus with potential international collaboration.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be focused on innovation and demonstration, with an emphasis on developing and demonstrating technological solutions, processes, and best practices. This aligns with the "Innovation Actions" designation, suggesting projects should be beyond the initial research phase and closer to real-world application.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary by topic, ranging from EUR 1,600,000 to EUR 22,500,000. The "Indicative number of grants" column suggests how many projects are expected to be funded under each topic, and the "Contributions" column suggests the average amount of funding per project.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by "Open For Submission" and a single-stage deadline model.

Nature of Support: The 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 cannot be determined from the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement. However, Horizon Europe projects often require some level of co-funding, which may be detailed in the specific call documents.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under Cluster 5 and the 2ZERO Partnership, focuses on enhancing the safety and sustainability of Light Duty Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), particularly in post-crash scenarios. The call aims to improve vehicle designs, develop advanced battery assessment tools, promote battery repurposing and recycling, establish best practices for emergency response, and communicate the safety of BEVs to the public. The call is structured around several topics, each with a specific budget and expected number of grants, ranging from Innovation Actions (IA) to Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). Eligible applicants typically include universities, research institutes, SMEs, and large enterprises from the EU and associated countries, with potential participation from non-EU countries. The funding is provided as lump sum grants, and the application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline of September 4, 2025. Projects are expected to collaborate with existing initiatives and adhere to Open Science and FAIR data principles. The overall goal is to address the unique challenges posed by electric vehicle battery fires and improve post-crash management to ensure the safety of both victims and first responders, while also promoting the circularity of battery resources.