Sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing, towards a climate neutral aviation

This summary details an upcoming Horizon Europe grant opportunity titled "Sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing, towards a climate neutral aviation," identified as HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-08. This call falls under the Horizon Research and Innovation Actions category, utilizing a lump sum grant funding mechanism. The expected opening date for applications is December 15, 2026, with a submission deadline on April 14, 2027. The total funding available is €5 million, expected to support two projects, each receiving a minimum contribution of €2.5 million.

The focus of the grant is on advancing additive manufacturing technologies and promoting sustainable aircraft design principles aimed at achieving climate neutrality in aviation. Notable areas of emphasis include the development of high-performance aircraft components through advanced manufacturing techniques, particularly in recycling and circular economy strategies.

Eligible applicants for this funding opportunity include universities, research institutions, large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and non-profit organizations. The project must involve participation within a consortium, reflecting the collaborative nature of Horizon Europe initiatives, which prioritize partnerships across academia and industry.

Geographically, the funding is available to entities from EU member states and associated countries, while non-EU participants may have limited access under specific conditions. The project scope targets several sectors, notably aviation, advanced manufacturing technologies, materials science, renewable technologies, and digitalization efforts relevant to climate action.

The application process requires a single-stage submission with complete proposals. The resulting projects should provide tangible advancements in technologies for sustainable aircraft manufacturing, ultimately aimed at fostering a greener aviation sector by improving the lifecycle management of aircraft components and materials recovery.

The funding method simplifies financial management through predetermined lump sums, which eliminates the need for detailed cost reporting while ensuring accountability. Although co-funding is not mandatory, applicants are encouraged to seek additional funding collaborations to enhance project feasibility.

Overall, this initiative signifies a strategic investment in the aviation industry's competitiveness and sustainability, reflecting the EU's commitment to achieving climate neutrality through innovative technological solutions and advanced manufacturing methodologies.

This is a description of the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Call MOBILITY (HORIZON-CL5-2027-03), specifically focusing on the topic "Sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing, towards a climate neutral aviation" with topic ID HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-08. This call is for HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and uses the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement (MGA). It is a forthcoming call with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 15 December 2026, and the deadline for submission is 14 April 2027 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic are:
1. Additive manufacturing, including high-performance polymers, composites, and metals, offering significantly improved performance compared to the state-of-the-art. This includes the entire process from design and manufacturing to characterization, testing, and certification.
2. Sustainable aircraft circular design and manufacturing processes of individual high-value components, further developing the innovation pipeline from system demonstration to deployment stage in the EU and Associated Countries.

The scope of this topic is focused on:
Additive design and manufacturing of aircraft and engine structural components, which are considered key to EU competitiveness. The topic addresses the challenges in additive design and manufacturing of metal, high-performance/value polymer, and composite parts, such as residual stresses, non-equilibrium phase transformations, joining, defects, and reproducibility. Proposals should build on previous research efforts (e.g., H2020-SUSTAINair) and EREA’s Future Sky initiatives on circular aviation, focusing on real, challenging, and competitive industrial use cases for circular design of individual components, joining technologies, improved maintenance and repair technologies to extend aircraft lifetime, and improved recovery of high-quality recycling materials. The topic also emphasizes real-time condition monitoring and inspection methods for engines and safety-critical systems to improve repairability by determining an optimized degradation status, enabling smart repairs on-wing and on-site to reduce or postpone material- and energy-intense overhauls or replacements.

The general conditions for this call include:
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout are 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.
2. Eligible Countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions are available for non-EU/non-Associated Countries.
3. Other Eligible Conditions: Projects using satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and/or related timing data and services must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the end of the action, as set out in Annex 5. Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. This is further described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions for this call are "Not applicable".

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information:
Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the Standard application form (HE RIA, IA). Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including the Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA). Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is the Lump Sum MGA. Call-specific instructions include a Detailed budget table (HE LS) and guidance on "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".

Additional documents include:
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 the call in the year 2027 includes several topics:
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-03 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of EUR 24,000,000, contributions ranging from EUR 5,000,000 to EUR 7,000,000, and an indicative number of 4 grants.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-04 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of EUR 13,500,000, contributions around EUR 13,500,000, and an indicative number of 1 grant.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-05 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of EUR 16,000,000, contributions around EUR 8,000,000, and an indicative number of 2 grants.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-06 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of EUR 8,000,000, contributions around EUR 8,000,000, and an indicative number of 1 grant.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-08 - HORIZON-RIA with a budget of EUR 5,000,000, contributions around EUR 2,500,000, and an indicative number of 2 grants.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-14 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of EUR 6,500,000, contributions around EUR 6,500,000, and an indicative number of 1 grant.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-15 - HORIZON-CSA with a budget of EUR 2,000,000, contributions around EUR 2,000,000, and an indicative number of 1 grant.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-16 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of EUR 15,000,000, contributions around EUR 7,500,000, and an indicative number of 2 grants.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-17 - HORIZON-RIA with a budget of EUR 14,000,000, contributions around EUR 7,000,000, and an indicative number of 2 grants.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-18 - HORIZON-IA with a budget of EUR 20,000,000, contributions around EUR 10,000,000, and an indicative number of 2 grants.
HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-20 - HORIZON-RIA with a budget of EUR 7,000,000, contributions around EUR 3,500,000, and an indicative number of 2 grants.

There are partner search announcements available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

For support, applicants are advised to read all provisions carefully before preparing their application and to consult the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk, and the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment. Partner Search tools are also available.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to foster innovation in sustainable aviation by promoting additive manufacturing and circular design principles. It seeks to address key challenges in the production, maintenance, and recycling of aircraft components, contributing to a climate-neutral aviation sector. The call encourages collaborative projects that involve research organizations and industry partners to develop and implement advanced technologies and processes for more efficient, sustainable, and resilient aircraft manufacturing and operation. Funding will be provided as lump sums, and applicants should carefully review all guidelines and conditions to ensure their proposals align with the call's objectives and requirements.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe calls, eligible applicants typically include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other organizations involved in research and innovation activities. The mention of LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative) also suggests that any legal entity can apply if they meet the criteria.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, as indicated by the type of MGA (Model Grant Agreement) being HORIZON-AG-LS. There are also HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA).

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, the presence of a "Partner Search" function suggests that consortia are common and potentially encouraged, but it is not possible to determine if it is mandatory.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The text mentions that non-EU/non-Associated Countries may have specific provisions for funding their participants, referencing the Horizon Europe Programme Guide for more information. This indicates that the primary geographic eligibility is focused on EU and associated countries, with potential opportunities for third-country participation under specific conditions.

Target Sector: The program targets the mobility sector, specifically focusing on sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing, towards a climate-neutral aviation. This includes additive design and manufacturing of aircraft and engine structural components, high-performance polymers, composites, and metals. It also addresses challenges related to residual stresses, non-equilibrium phase transformations, joining, defects, and reproducibility in additive manufacturing.

Mentioned Countries: The text refers to "EU and Associated Countries" and "non-EU/non-Associated Countries ('third-countries')". No specific countries are named, but the geographic scope includes the European Union, countries associated with the Horizon Europe program, and potentially other third countries under specific funding provisions.

Project Stage: The project stage varies depending on the specific topic. The presence of both Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Innovation Actions (IA) suggests that the program supports projects from the research and development stage through to demonstration and potentially early commercialization. The reference to "developing the innovation pipeline from system demonstration to deployment stage" indicates a focus on projects that are relatively mature.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary significantly depending on the specific topic. Based on the "Budget overview" section, the funding ranges from €2,000,000 for Coordination and Support Actions to €24,000,000 for Innovation Actions. Individual contributions range from around €2,500,000 to around €13,500,000, with some topics specifying a range (e.g., €5,000,000 to €7,000,000).

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, as indicated by the "Deadline model: single-stage" information.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the text. The "Indicative number of grants" provides some insight, but without knowing the expected number of applications, it is impossible to estimate the success rate.

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 conditions or work program annexes.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, under the MOBILITY pillar, focuses on "Sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing, towards a climate-neutral aviation." It aims to advance additive manufacturing technologies for aircraft components, promote circular design principles, and improve maintenance and repair techniques to extend aircraft lifetime and enhance material recovery. The call includes various funding instruments, such as Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), with budgets ranging from €2,000,000 to €24,000,000 per topic. The geographic scope primarily targets EU and associated countries, with potential opportunities for third-country participation. The application process is a single-stage submission, and funding is provided as a lump sum grant. Applicants are encouraged to form consortia and can use the partner search function to find collaborators. The call seeks to contribute to both additive manufacturing advancements and sustainable aircraft design and manufacturing processes, fostering innovation and competitiveness in the European aviation industry.