SOFT Innovation Prize 2026

The SOFT Innovation Prize 2026, managed under the Euratom Research and Training Programme, seeks to acknowledge and reward significant advancements in magnetic confinement fusion research aimed at commercial viability. This competitive award is open to researchers, research teams, and industrial participants eligible under the Euratom programme, as well as participants from ITER partner countries and third countries with bilateral fusion agreements, explicitly excluding Russia. The total prize budget amounts to €100,000, with awards distributed as follows: €50,000 for the first prize, €30,000 for the second, and €20,000 for the third.

Applications do not require a consortium, allowing for both individuals and teams to apply, accommodating contributions from those in countries involved in ITER and compliant with specified agreements with Euratom. The programme encourages innovations relating to nuclear fusion technology, particularly those exhibiting market potential or recognized by industry.

The application process is a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for March 3, 2026. Each applicant must submit a proposal not exceeding 20 pages, that includes a technical description of the innovation, evaluation of its market potential, and a detailed assessment of the state of the art in the field. The submission will undergo a thorough evaluation process focusing on originality, technical excellence, and potential economic impact.

The anticipated success rate is low, likely below 10%, given only three prizes will be awarded, marking the competition as high among applicants. Notably, there is no co-funding requirement for the prize.

The prizes will be showcased at the 2026 Symposium on Fusion Technology, enhancing the visibility of the winners and promoting further interest and investment in fusion technologies. The call for applications opens on June 3, 2025, culminating in an evaluation period from March to June 2026, with results announced at the SOFT Conference in late 2026. The initiative aims to promote gender balance within the nuclear sector, actively encouraging applications from women in research and technology.

The European Commission is offering the SOFT Innovation Prize 2026 to reward excellence in innovation within fusion research. This prize aims to highlight the quality of researchers and industries involved in fusion technology. The contest is associated with the Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT) in 2026, following successful editions in 2022 and 2024.

There are no specific categories for this prize. The contest is open to any physics or technology innovation developed in magnetic confinement fusion research with market potential or uptake by industry.

The specific rules of the contest will be published in 2025 by the European Commission.

The complete application for the SOFT Innovation Prize should include: a technical description of the innovation, a state-of-the-art assessment, and an account of the market potential.

Essential award criteria include: Originality and replicability, Technical excellence, and Economic impact and exploitation of the innovation.

Eligibility criteria: The contest is open to researchers, research teams, or industrial participants eligible for funding under the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025. This includes those working for a national program in an ITER partner country or a third country with a bilateral fusion cooperation agreement with Euratom, and industrial participants in ITER, excluding Russia. Applicants must obtain permission from the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) owner and provide supporting documentation.

Expected results: The prize will showcase innovations in fusion research, increase visibility for researchers and industries, and stimulate a stronger innovation and entrepreneurial culture in fusion research. The Commission encourages applications from women to promote gender balance.

Prize amounts: 1st Prize: EUR 50,000, 2nd Prize: EUR 30,000, 3rd Prize: EUR 20,000.

Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout are described in section 5 of the Rules of Contest and Part B of the Application Form, limited to 20 pages.

Eligible Countries are described in section 6 of the Rules of Contest.

Other Eligible Conditions are described in section 6 of the Rules of Contest.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in sections 6 and 7 of the Rules of Contest.

Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in sections 8 and 11 of the Rules of Contest and the Online Manual.

Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in sections 8 and 9 of the Rules of Contest. The award criteria are Originality and replicability, Technical excellence, and Economic impact and exploitation of the innovation.

Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation is described in section 4 of the Rules of Contest. The call opens on 03 June 2025, with a submission deadline of 03 March 2026 at 17:00:00 Brussels time. Evaluation will occur from March to June 2026, and information on results will be available in September-October 2026 at the SOFT Conference 2026.

Legal and financial set-up is described in section 10 of the Rules of Contest.

Call documents and annexes include the Rules of Contest of the SOFT Innovation Prize 2026, with annexes and application forms available in the Submission System.

Additional documents include: Euratom Work Programme 2023-2025, Euratom Research Programme Regulation 2021/765, HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695, HE and Euratom Work Programme on Horizontal Expenditure 2023-2024, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The total budget for the EURATOM-2026-SOFT-PRIZE is EUR 100,000. The call follows a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date is 03 June 2025, and the deadline is 03 March 2026. Three grants are expected to be awarded.

LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

For help, contact RTD-FUSION@ec.europa.eu. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, IT Helpdesk, and Online Manual.

In summary, the European Commission is offering the SOFT Innovation Prize 2026 to recognize and reward outstanding innovations in fusion research. This contest is open to researchers, research teams, and industrial participants involved in magnetic confinement fusion research. The prize aims to promote the valorization of fusion research and foster an entrepreneurial culture in the field. The application process involves submitting a technical description, a state-of-the-art assessment, and an account of the market potential of the innovation. The winners will be selected based on originality, technical excellence, and economic impact. The total prize money is EUR 100,000, distributed among the top three innovations. The call is expected to open in June 2025, with a deadline in March 2026, and the winners will be announced at the SOFT Conference in September-October 2026.

Eligible Applicant Types: The contest is open to researchers, research teams, or industrial participants eligible for funding under the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025, to researchers or research teams working for a national programme in an ITER partner country or in any third country that has a bilateral fusion cooperation agreement with Euratom in force and to industrial participants participating in the ITER.

Funding Type: Award. Specifically, it is a prize.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity is open to single applicants as well as research teams. Therefore, both single and consortium applications are possible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The opportunity is open to applicants eligible for funding under the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025, researchers or research teams working for a national programme in an ITER partner country, any third country that has a bilateral fusion cooperation agreement with Euratom in force, and industrial participants participating in the ITER. Russia is excluded.

Target Sector: The program targets the fusion research sector, specifically innovations in physics and technology related to magnetic confinement fusion research.

Mentioned Countries: Russia is explicitly mentioned as an exception, being excluded from eligibility. ITER partner countries and any third country that has a bilateral fusion cooperation agreement with Euratom are mentioned as eligible regions.

Project Stage: The opportunity targets innovations that have market potential or have already been taken up or recognized by industry for further development. This suggests a focus on projects in the development, validation, demonstration, commercialization, or scale-up stages.

Funding Amount: The prize amounts are: 1st Prize: EUR 50,000, 2nd Prize: EUR 30,000, 3rd Prize: EUR 20,000. The total budget for the prizes is EUR 100,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of prize awards.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is 3. The success rate cannot be determined from the provided information.

Co-funding Requirement: There is no mention of a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

The SOFT Innovation Prize 2026 is an award offered by the European Commission under the Euratom Research and Training Programme. It aims to highlight and reward excellence in innovation within fusion research, recognizing the quality of researchers and industries involved. The contest is open to researchers, research teams, and industrial participants who are eligible under the Euratom program, work in ITER partner countries, have bilateral fusion cooperation agreements with Euratom, or participate in ITER. Russia is excluded.

The prize is awarded for physics or technology innovations developed in magnetic confinement fusion research that have market potential or have been adopted by industry. There are no specific categories, allowing applicants to submit innovations from any relevant area.

The application should include a technical description of the innovation, a state-of-the-art assessment, and an overview of the market potential. The award criteria include originality and replicability, technical excellence, and economic impact and exploitation of the innovation.

The total prize budget is EUR 100,000, with awards of EUR 50,000, EUR 30,000, and EUR 20,000 for the top three innovations. The call opens on June 3, 2025, and the deadline for submission is March 3, 2026. The evaluation will take place between March and June 2026, and the award information will be announced at the SOFT Conference in September-October 2026. The application process is single-stage, and the proposal page limit is 20 pages. The European Commission encourages applications from women to promote gender balance in the nuclear field.