Secretariat of the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance

The funding opportunity outlined is a call for proposals under the Digital Europe Programme, specifically aimed at establishing the Secretariat of the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA) through the DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-ECAVA topic. This initiative is classified as a DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA) with a budget of €1,000,000 allocated from the 2025 budget year. The call is designed to bring together a range of stakeholders from the European automotive sector, including Original Equipment Manufacturers, suppliers, technology providers, startups, academia, and research organizations.

The primary objective of the grant is to support the operational setup and ongoing functions of the ECAVA, which includes organizing meetings, managing administrative processes, developing strategic roadmaps, maintaining a website, and disseminating outcomes. The Secretariat's role is crucial for fostering a collaborative environment aimed at accelerating technological advancements in connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.

Eligible applicants can consist of various stakeholders within the automotive ecosystem, and while no specific countries are mentioned, it is expected that participants will be from EU member states or associated countries. The grant will follow a single-stage application process, with submissions accepted from November 4, 2025, to March 3, 2026. The grant is open to competitive proposals, with only one grant expected to be awarded, indicating a potentially low success rate.

Successful applicants will receive funding in the form of a grant to cover eligible costs associated with managing the ECAVA’s secretariat activities. The grant aims to enhance the competitiveness and innovation leadership of the European automotive sector while accelerating its digital transformation in the face of emerging challenges and technological competition. Overall, this initiative represents a strategic effort to pool resources and align the efforts of key players in the automotive industry to develop next-generation vehicle technologies.

This is a call for proposals under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), specifically the AI Continent (DIGITAL-2026-AI-09) call. The topic is DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-ECAVA: Secretariat of the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance. It is a DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA) with a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG] type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA).

The call is forthcoming and follows a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 04 November 2025, and the deadline for submission is 03 March 2026 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome of this call is to establish a Secretariat of the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA) that supports the successful operation of the ECAVA, assisting the European Commission and the ECAVA’s members in making the Alliance a sustainable stakeholder platform. The Secretariat is expected to deliver the following outcomes: Development and promotion of the ECAVA’s Strategic roadmap, organisation of the annual ECAVA General Assembly and Forum, as well as of the meetings of working groups and Steering Committee, in close collaboration with the European Commission, and promotion of the Alliance’s outcomes, including through the operation of a website and by creating and publishing relevant communication content.

The objective of the action is to reinforce the competitiveness and innovation leadership of the European automotive sector and accelerate its digital transformation. As part of the Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive Sector, the action will support the objectives and activities of the announced ECAVA by acting as its Secretariat. The purpose of the ECAVA is to provide a discussion and advisory forum to coordinate and accelerate technological developments and investments in software-defined, AI-powered, connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. It will bring together a critical mass of Original Equipment Manufacturers, automotive suppliers, technology and tool providers, start-ups, academia, research and technology organisations, as well as relevant industrial associations active in the sector. The Secretariat will contribute to the success of the ECAVA by allowing it to function smoothly and effectively.

The scope of the action involves the Secretariat supporting the effective set-up, functioning, and day-to-day work of the ECAVA. It should function in an agile and efficient way, with clear processes and roles and a capacity to adapt to evolving circumstances. It will work with the members and participants of the Alliance and with the European Commission. The tasks of the Secretariat will notably include: supporting the organisation and work of its General Assembly, working groups, Steering Committee, Alliance Forum and other meetings, including by editing the documents produced, supporting the administrative processes of the ECAVA, notably by assisting the European Commission in the management of applications, disseminating outcomes of the Alliance, notably through the creation and maintenance of a website, and building a dynamic ecosystem, supporting the members of the Alliance in the development and update the ECAVA’s yearly roadmap, and providing the needed expertise, for instance legal expertise on competition rules. The Secretariat will work in close collaboration with the action on the “Collaboration Platform for the European connected and automated vehicle of the future”. While the Secretariat will focus on facilitating the organisation and processes of the Alliance, the Collaboration Platform will focus on coordinating joint developments in the area, driving the alignment on common technology platforms, and supporting the incubation, integration and maintenance of joint developments. The Secretariat shall agree on working arrangements with the Collaboration Platform.

The conditions for this call include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout are described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries are described in section 6 of the call document.
3. Other Eligible Conditions are described in section 6 of the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in section 7 of the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in section 9 of the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement are described in section 4 of the call document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include: Call document, application form templates (Standard application form (DEP) available in the Submission System), Ownership control declaration, Model Grant Agreements (MGA) (DEP MGA), DEP Work Programmes, DEP Regulation 2021/964, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Guidance Classification on information in DIGITAL projects, Guidelines on How to Complete Your Ethics Self-Assessment, 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 2025 includes several topics. The DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-ECAVA topic has a budget of 1,000,000 EUR and aims to award 1 grant. The opening date is 2025-11-04 and the deadline is 2026-03-03. Other topics include: DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-AUTOMOTIVE (3,500,000 EUR, 1 grant), DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-DS-HEALTH-STORAGE (17,500,000 EUR, 1 grant), DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-DS-HEALTH-TOOL (5,000,000 EUR, 1 grant), DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-GENAI-PA (1,800,000 EUR, 1 grant), DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-SOLUTIONS-CANCER-STEP (14,400,000 EUR, 1 grant), and DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-VIRTUAL-TESTBEDS-STEP (17,000,000 EUR, 2 grants). All topics follow a single-stage submission process with the same opening and deadline dates.

There are 3 partner search announcements available. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics after logging into the Portal.

The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header. There are currently no topic Q&As available.

For support, applicants are advised to read all provisions carefully before preparing their application. For help related to this call, applicants can contact the provided email address or URL. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, IT Helpdesk, and Online Manual.

In summary, this Digital Europe Programme call seeks to establish a Secretariat for the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA). The Secretariat will play a crucial role in coordinating and supporting the activities of the ECAVA, which aims to foster technological advancements and investments in connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. The call is open to a wide range of stakeholders, including OEMs, suppliers, technology providers, start-ups, academia, and research organisations. The selected project will receive 1,000,000 EUR in funding and will be responsible for developing a strategic roadmap, organising meetings and events, disseminating information, and providing expertise to the ECAVA members. The call aims to reinforce the competitiveness and innovation leadership of the European automotive sector and accelerate its digital transformation.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call aims to bring together a critical mass of Original Equipment Manufacturers, automotive suppliers, technology and tool providers, start-ups, academia, research and technology organisations, as well as relevant industrial associations active in the sector.

Funding Type: The funding type is a DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA) with a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG].

Consortium Requirement: The text mentions bringing together a critical mass of various types of organizations, suggesting a consortium is preferred, although not explicitly stated.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given that it is an EU funding opportunity under the Digital Europe Programme, it is highly likely that the eligibility is focused on EU member states and potentially associated countries. Further details would be found in section 6 of the call document.

Target Sector: The target sector is the European automotive sector, specifically focusing on connected and autonomous vehicle technologies, software-defined vehicles, and AI-powered systems.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on the European Automotive Sector.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on supporting the operation of the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA), which implies an operational or implementation stage rather than early-stage research or idea development.

Funding Amount: The budget for the DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-ECAVA topic is EUR 1,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call for proposals.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support the activities of the ECAVA secretariat.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants for the DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-ECAVA topic is 1. This suggests a low success rate, although the exact rate would depend on the number of applications received.

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

Summary:

This funding opportunity, under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) and the AI Continent (DIGITAL-2026-AI-09) call, aims to reinforce the competitiveness and innovation leadership of the European automotive sector and accelerate its digital transformation. Specifically, it seeks to fund the Secretariat of the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA). The ECAVA serves as a discussion and advisory forum to coordinate and accelerate technological developments and investments in software-defined, AI-powered, connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.

The selected applicant will act as the Secretariat for the ECAVA, supporting its effective set-up, functioning, and day-to-day work. This includes organizing meetings, supporting administrative processes, disseminating outcomes, supporting the development of roadmaps, and providing legal expertise. The Secretariat will also collaborate with the "Collaboration Platform for the European connected and automated vehicle of the future."

Eligible applicants include Original Equipment Manufacturers, automotive suppliers, technology and tool providers, start-ups, academia, research and technology organizations, and relevant industrial associations active in the automotive sector. The funding amount for this specific topic (DIGITAL-2026-AI-09-ECAVA) is EUR 1,000,000, and only one grant will be awarded. The application process is single-stage, with a planned opening date of November 4, 2025, and a deadline of March 3, 2026. The funding type is a DIGITAL Coordination and Support Action (DIGITAL-CSA) with a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG].