Smart Security / Security Services

The HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-01 grant, part of the EU's Horizon Europe program, aims to advance smart security and security services for 6G networks under the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU). The total funding available for this grant is 8,000,000 EUR, focusing on research and innovation actions in the field of secure 6G architecture and services. The application period is set from May 22, 2025, to September 18, 2025.

Eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large companies, and public-private partnerships, primarily from EU member states, Associated Countries, OECD countries, and Mercosur countries. However, entities deemed high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment or those established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine are ineligible. The funding mechanism operates as a grant with a funding rate of 100% for non-profits and 90% for for-profit organizations. A consortium of multiple stakeholders, embodying diverse expertise, is encouraged for proposal submissions.

The grant targets multiple sectors, particularly ICT, telecommunications, and cybersecurity, with emphasis on vertical industries like health, transportation, and manufacturing. Projects are expected to address low to medium technology readiness levels, focusing on R&D, validation, and demonstration phases, while examining the integration of security services into 6G networks.

Successful projects are anticipated to ensure technology resilience, dependability, and adherence to EU regulations such as GDPR and the Cyber Security Act. They are encouraged to create technologies for continuous security evaluations, develop user-centric security solutions, and contribute to standardization efforts at the international level.

The application process is straightforward with a single-stage submission required, and success rates are not explicitly stated, but typically range from 10–39% in Horizon Europe calls. Co-funding is required for for-profit entities, while non-profits can apply without co-funding. Gender equality plans are required from certain applicant types.

In summary, this grant provides an opportunity for collaborative projects aimed at enhancing the security and reliability of 6G networks, ultimately supporting the EU's strategic interests in digital security and contributing to the establishment of European leadership in global 6G security standards.

The EU's Horizon Europe program is offering funding for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) under the HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01 call, specifically targeting Smart Security and Security Services within the 6G framework. The call, titled HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-01, has a budget of 8,000,000 EUR and aims to award one grant. The submission process is single-stage, opening on May 22, 2025, and closing on September 18, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of the funded projects include: Technologies that ensure resilience, openness, transparency, and dependability, aligning with EU regulations like GDPR, the Cyber Security Act, and the AI Act, across a service continuum supporting complex, human-centric multimodal communications, including entangled devices. Technologies that provide secure, privacy-preserving, and trustworthy services within a programmable platform for the complete service lifecycle, accessible by multiple stakeholders, including vertical industries, in dynamic scenarios considering interdependencies and cascade effects. Zero-touch security deployment solutions for virtualized and distributed environments, accounting for varying computational capabilities and security requirements. Algorithms, software, and hardware implementations suitable for Proof of Concept (PoC) and trials. Dissemination of solutions for international consensus building and standardization activities, leading to impactful contributions to international standards.

The scope of the call focuses on several complementary areas, allowing applicants to select one or more: Building secure 6G architecture by integrating Security Services and Security attributes. This includes frameworks for full lifecycle service integration across multiple stakeholders, security evaluation, exposition of Security attributes, holistic composition of services in multi-provider environments, and user-centric monitoring/reporting. Secure services and security Services, such as user-centric security, advanced security schemes for 6G APIs, intent-based security, security policies extraction, and seamless integration of Managed Security Service Providers into the 6G architecture. Security evaluation, including continuous security assessment throughout the system lifecycle (from development, including Safe code, DevSecOps, to running phases), standardized metrics for evaluating security quality, design of certification frameworks, secure coding practices, vulnerability management, and secure deployment and update procedures.

Admissibility conditions require proposals to adhere to General Annex A of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2025, with a page limit of 70 pages for RIAs under Stream B and C. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with additional restrictions under Article 22(5) of the Horizon Europe Regulation, limiting participation in Stream B and C to legal entities from Member States, Associated Countries, OECD, and Mercosur countries. Entities controlled by non-eligible countries may participate if they provide guarantees, assessed positively by their country of establishment, ensuring their participation does not negatively impact the Union’s strategic interests, assets, autonomy, or security. High-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment are ineligible. Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine are also ineligible, with limited exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Other eligible conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Gender equality plans are required for public bodies, research organizations, and higher education establishments, as per Part B of the General Annexes. Additional gender issues should be addressed where research results may differ across gender populations. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are detailed in General Annex C.

Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D, with additional criteria assessing contributions to SME objectives and IKOP objectives. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement follows General Annex F, with amendments prioritizing SME participation and IKOP levels in ranking proposals. Legal and financial aspects are governed by General Annex G, requiring selected projects to cooperate in the SNS Programme through a collaboration agreement. AI/ML training datasets created under Stream B topics must be made available through a common, openly accessible repository. General Annex H is not applicable to this call.

A call-specific application form is required and will be available in the Submission System. Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreements. Additional documents such as the SNS R&I Work Programme 2025 and the Horizon Europe Main Work Programmes are also provided.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal offers various support resources, including a JU SNS FAQ, an SNS Brokerage Platform, an Online Manual, and access to National Contact Points and the Enterprise Europe Network.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call seeks to fund research and innovation projects that enhance the security and trustworthiness of 6G networks. It emphasizes the development of technologies that support EU regulatory compliance, ensure privacy, and promote international standardization. The call is open to a range of organizations within eligible countries, with a focus on projects that include SMEs and contribute to broader European strategic interests in digital security and autonomy. The application process involves a single-stage submission, with detailed guidelines and support resources available through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

The EU is looking to fund projects that will make 6G networks more secure, reliable, and aligned with European values and regulations. They want to see new technologies and frameworks that can be used to protect user data, ensure the trustworthiness of services, and promote European leadership in 6G security standards. This is a call for research projects that can help shape the future of secure communications in Europe and beyond.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity include legal entities such as startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and other organizations that can contribute to the research and innovation actions. Specifically, for proposals under Stream B and Stream C, eligible applicants are legal entities established in Member States, Associated Countries, OECD countries, and Mercosur countries. However, entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment (or entities fully or partially owned or controlled by a high-risk supplier) are not eligible. Furthermore, legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine are also ineligible, with limited exceptions on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG], for HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-JU-RIA).

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the nature of Research and Innovation Actions typically implies that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred, if not required, to bring together diverse expertise and resources. Partner search announcements are available to facilitate the formation of consortia.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility for applicants includes: Member States of the European Union, Associated Countries, OECD countries, and Mercosur countries. Restrictions apply to entities controlled by non-eligible countries and entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment. Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine are generally ineligible.

Target Sector: The program targets the Smart Security and Security Services sector, specifically focusing on building secure 6G architecture, secure services, security evaluation, and related areas. It also addresses the digital, industry, and space sectors. The program aims to support technologies that enhance resilience, openness, transparency, and dependability in accordance with EU regulations like GDPR, the Cyber Security Act, and the AI Act.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity details explicitly mention: Member States of the European Union, Associated Countries, OECD countries, Mercosur countries, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity is research and innovation actions, implying projects in the research, development, validation, and demonstration stages. The call aims to consolidate existing results and develop algorithms, software, and hardware implementations for proof-of-concept and trial systems.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary by topic, with indicative contributions ranging from €3,000,000 to €15,000,000. Specific amounts for each topic are: HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-01: €15,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-02: €9,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-02: €21,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-01: €8,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-02: €8,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-01: €8,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-02: €8,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-05: €12,000,000, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-C-01: €15,000,000.

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 grants to support their research and innovation actions.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight. For example, HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-01 aims to award around 5 grants, while several other topics aim to award only 1 grant.

Co-funding Requirement: The details do not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement. As a Horizon Europe action grant, co-funding may be implicitly expected, but the specific requirements would be detailed in the grant agreement.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01, focuses on Smart Security and Security Services within the broader context of 6G technology. It seeks to fund Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) that consolidate existing results and develop new solutions for secure, resilient, and trustworthy 6G architectures and services. The call is structured into different streams (B and C) and topics, each with a specific budget and expected outcomes. Eligible applicants include a range of legal entities from EU Member States, Associated Countries, OECD countries, and Mercosur countries, with certain restrictions on entities from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and those deemed high-risk suppliers of communication equipment. The application process is a single-stage open call, requiring applicants to submit a full proposal. The funding is provided as a grant, and selected projects will be expected to contribute to standardization efforts and cooperate within the SNS Programme. The call aims to address key challenges in 6G security, including building secure architectures, developing secure services, and establishing robust security evaluation frameworks, all while adhering to EU regulations and promoting European strategic autonomy.