Shipyards of the future (ZEWT Partnership)

The Horizon Europe call titled "Shipyards of the Future (ZEWT Partnership)" falls under the HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-12 reference. It is an Innovation Action with a focus on enhancing the European shipbuilding industry towards zero-emission maritime transport. The call opens on December 18, 2025, with a submission deadline of April 14, 2026. It has a total funding budget of €21 million, intended to support two grants of €10.5 million each. The funding operates as a lump sum grant, meaning fixed amounts are provided rather than reimbursement based on incurred costs.

Eligible applicants include a wide variety of organizations such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), larger shipyards, equipment manufacturers, research institutions, and consortia of multiple organizations across the value chain. Special emphasis is placed on collaboration between different types of applicants, including social partners and civil society organizations, particularly for skills development initiatives. Geographic eligibility is limited to participants established in EU or EEA countries.

The focus of the call is on the maritime shipbuilding and retrofitting sector, specifically aimed at fostering innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness. It encourages projects that implement advanced manufacturing processes, including automation, digitalization, and circular economy strategies. Successful proposals must demonstrate the deployment and physical testing of new technologies within real-world shipyard environments across at least three EU/EEA shipyards.

A consortium approach is required, reflecting the complex challenges of shipyard modernization and emphasizing integration among various stakeholders. The expected project stage is at the demonstration and validation level, with projects needing to show practical application and potential for scaling up.

Though specific success rates are not detailed, historical context suggests that the competition may be moderate, with potential success rates ranging typically between 10-15%. Co-funding provisions are mentioned, whereby beneficiaries are expected to contribute a portion of the total project costs.

Ultimately, this initiative aims to improve the European shipbuilding industry's capabilities while aligning with EU climate goals by enhancing competitiveness, promoting sustainable practices, and fostering technological advancements within the maritime domain. Projects must align with the Zero Emission Waterborne Transport (ZEWT) Partnership’s objectives and will be assessed on the basis of innovation, impact, and consortium quality.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-12, titled "Shipyards of the future (ZEWT Partnership)". It falls under the MOBILITY (HORIZON-CL5-2026-05) call and is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA). The Model Grant Agreement is a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. It is a forthcoming, single-stage call with a planned opening date of 18 December 2025 and a deadline of 14 April 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of this call are: a strengthened European value chain cooperation and integration between equipment manufacturers and large, medium, and small-scale shipyards resulting in enhanced European competitiveness; demonstration of improved shipyard manufacturing processes in small and medium-size shipyards, capable of building waterborne vessels in the EU/EEA; reduced complexity to perform future retrofits of vessels and enabling the later inclusion of several emissions saving technologies and solutions; higher capability and efficiency of European shipyards and equipment manufacturers to meet the increasing need to convert the shipping fleet towards zero-emission and biodiversity friendly maritime transport; and making the shipbuilding and retrofitting industry better prepared for building and replicating low-to-zero emission ships.

The scope of this call addresses the increasing pressure on the European shipbuilding industry from international players and the need to improve its competitiveness through innovation and technological advancements. It builds upon previous projects like MARI-4YARD, RESURGAM, FIBRE4YARDS, SMARTYards, PENELOPE, and SEUS, which developed solutions on materials, processes, AI, and skills, including an integrated software platform. The call aims to increase ambition and demonstrate these solutions in medium and small-size shipyards. It also recognizes the location of shipyards in sensitive natural areas and the opportunity to reduce their impact on biodiversity. The topic aims to improve efficiency and sustainability of European ship newbuilding and retrofitting processes, to improve the use of resources and circularity, to develop necessary skills and improve working conditions. It requires considering all relevant innovations such as robotics, automation, digitalization and AI in the context of shipbuilding to enhance EU/EEA -focused value chains. The purpose is to increase the competitiveness of the European shipbuilding sector with a view to further replicating and utilizing results, including in potential applications to the Innovation Fund.

Proposals are expected to address the following aspects: deployment and integration of innovative technologies and systems in small and medium-size EU and EEA shipyards to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of newbuild, repair and retrofit processes and process chains. Pilot applications should consider all aspects of the shipbuilding process (including technological, business-related and organizational aspects), equipment, and ship design, potentially including: automation and robotics in shipbuilding processes; advanced digitalization in design and production; innovations in retrofitting and predictive maintenance of shipbuilding assets; circular economy in all relevant processes (construction, repairs, retrofitting and dismantling). Pilot applications should also consider systems interoperability and integration with existing shipyard infrastructure, tools and equipment. Explore advanced ways of digital collaboration (co-simulation, sharing digital data) while considering cyber security, to improve synergies within value chains, including equipment manufacturers, shipyards, ship designers and shipowners. Testing and physical demonstration of the developed technologies in real life shipyard ecosystem and as much as possible in relation with full scale ship building, including benchmarking of existing practices and consideration of environmental impacts and potential safety improvements for workers. Demonstrations should take place in at least three EU/EEA shipyards. Develop biodiversity friendly strategies, integrating nature-based solutions on site, promoting circularity and sustainability of processes. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be presented, associating social partners and civil society where relevant. Propose measures to solidify the current strengths of smaller and medium-sized shipyards across Europe, with a focus on increasing competitiveness and growth, reinforcing and growing European shipyards and improving environmental performance. For exploitation purposes, proposals should: develop business plans and rollout strategies, including measures to reduce knowledge and technology leakage outside of Europe; identify clear target groups (vessel types, segments and processes) and their current state, deficiencies and improvement needs, and make a clear exploitation strategy on how to roll out the results to end-users.

Proposals are expected to explain the contribution of their objectives, results, IP management and exploitation strategy to the EU added value creation and strategic autonomy throughout the supply and value chain, including competitiveness of the EU waterborne industry, enhancement of the EU’s R&I capacity, technological know-how capabilities and human capital, and resilience of the EU industrial and manufacturing base. Proposals are encouraged to include synergies with shipyards, equipment manufacturers and providers, including start-ups and SMEs, located and/or manufacturing in the EU and EEA. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on results to the European Partnership ‘Zero Emission Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

The general conditions include: Admissibility Conditions regarding proposal page limit and layout (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 (described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide); Other Eligible Conditions (including the use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS for projects using satellite data, restrictions on entities controlled by China, and restrictions for the protection of European communication networks); Financial and operational capacity and exclusion (described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes); Evaluation and award criteria, scoring and thresholds (described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes); Submission and evaluation processes (described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual); Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement (described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes); and Legal and financial set-up of the grants (including potential objections to transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the end of the action, eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021, and provisions described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes). Specific conditions indicate "Not applicable."

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information includes: Application form templates (available in the Submission System, Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)); Evaluation form templates (will be used with the necessary adaptations, Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)); Guidance (HE Programme Guide); Model Grant Agreements (MGA) (Lump Sum MGA); Call-specific instructions (Detailed budget table (HE LS), Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"); and Additional documents (HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility, 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, Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement).

The budget overview for 2026 includes: HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-01 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of 68,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 2 grants; HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-02 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of 16,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 1 grant; HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-07 - HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 10,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 2 grants; HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-11 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of 21,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 2 grants; HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-12 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of 21,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 2 grants; and HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-13 - HORIZON-CSA with a budget of 2,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 1 grant.

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Support information includes: carefully reading all provisions before application preparation; using the Online Manual as a guide; consulting the Horizon Europe Programme Guide; using the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ; contacting the Research Enquiry Service; contacting National Contact Points (NCPs); contacting the Enterprise Europe Network; contacting the IT Helpdesk; using the European IPR Helpdesk; contacting CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk; consulting the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment; and using Partner Search to find a partner organisation.

In summary, this Horizon Europe Innovation Action call aims to bolster the European shipbuilding industry's competitiveness by integrating advanced technologies like robotics, AI, and digitalization into small and medium-sized shipyards. It emphasizes sustainability, circular economy practices, biodiversity protection, and skills development. The call encourages collaboration between shipyards, equipment manufacturers, and SMEs within the EU/EEA, with a focus on demonstrating these innovations in real-world shipyard settings. The ultimate goal is to prepare the European shipbuilding industry for building zero-emission and biodiversity-friendly ships, contributing to the objectives of the Zero Emission Waterborne Transport partnership and the Innovation Fund. Funding will be provided as a lump sum, and projects are expected to report on their progress and results to the ZEWT partnership.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include shipyards, equipment manufacturers, providers, start-ups, SMEs, research organizations, and other relevant entities located and/or manufacturing in the EU and EEA. The call encourages synergies between these different types of applicants to strengthen the European value chain. Social partners and civil society are also mentioned in the context of skills development strategies.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity encourages synergies, cooperation and integration between equipment manufacturers and large, medium, and small-scale shipyards, which suggests that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred, if not explicitly required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is primarily focused on entities located and/or manufacturing in the EU and EEA (European Economic Area). While non-EU/non-Associated Countries may have specific provisions for funding, the core focus is on strengthening the European shipbuilding industry.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is the shipbuilding industry, with a focus on improving efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness in newbuilding and retrofitting processes. This includes related areas such as waterborne transport, maritime transport, robotics, automation, digitalization, artificial intelligence, circular economy, advanced materials, skills development, and biodiversity.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions the EU (European Union) and EEA (European Economic Area). 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. China is mentioned as an entity that, if controlling an entity established in an eligible country, would make that entity ineligible.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at the demonstration and pilot application stage, with an emphasis on testing and physical demonstration of developed technologies in real-life shipyard ecosystems. The call also targets innovation actions, suggesting a need for projects that can deploy and integrate innovative technologies and systems.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call:
HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-01: EUR 68,000,000 (approximately EUR 34,000,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-02: EUR 16,000,000 (approximately EUR 16,000,000 per grant, 1 grant)
HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-07: EUR 10,000,000 (approximately EUR 5,000,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-11: EUR 21,000,000 (approximately EUR 10,500,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-12: EUR 21,000,000 (approximately EUR 10,500,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-13: EUR 2,000,000 (approximately EUR 2,000,000 per grant, 1 grant)

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: 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 can be inferred from the budget overview, which provides the indicative number of grants for each topic. For example, HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-01 has an indicative number of 2 grants for a budget of EUR 68,000,000, while HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-02 has 1 grant for EUR 16,000,000. The actual success rate will depend on the number of proposals received.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state a co-funding requirement. However, Horizon Europe grants often involve some level of co-funding, which may be detailed in the specific call documents and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, under the MOBILITY pillar, aims to bolster the European shipbuilding industry by fostering innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness. The call encourages collaborative projects involving shipyards, equipment manufacturers, and SMEs from the EU and EEA to deploy advanced technologies like robotics, AI, and digitalization in shipbuilding and retrofitting processes. The projects should focus on improving efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and developing skills within the sector. The call also emphasizes the importance of biodiversity-friendly strategies and the integration of nature-based solutions in shipyard operations. Successful projects are expected to contribute to the EU's strategic autonomy, enhance its R&I capacity, and strengthen the resilience of its industrial base. Funding is provided as lump sum grants, and the application process is a single-stage submission. The call implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT), requiring projects to report on results to the partnership.