System innovation experimentation for Industry 5.0 (IA)

The grant opportunity, designated HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-65, aims to advance human-centric, sustainable industrial transformation through system innovation experimentation under the Horizon Europe program. It promotes the transition to Industry 5.0 by encouraging projects that integrate innovative methodologies and technologies within European Regional Innovation Valleys and other regions.

Eligible applicants include research institutes, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises, and public-private partnerships, emphasizing collaboration among quadruple or quintuple helix stakeholders, which include industry, academia, government, and civil society. The primary funding type is a grant, structured as a lump sum, specifically under an Innovation Action, which covers prototyping, testing, and scaling activities.

Proposals must involve a consortium of at least three independent entities from various EU member states or associated countries, and the geographic eligibility predominantly targets EU member states while also encouraging participation from widening countries to bridge innovation gaps. The grant focuses on sectors like advanced manufacturing and digital technologies, particularly emphasizing human-centric technologies, sustainable production, and smart materials.

Projects are expected to reach the validation and demonstration stages, designing experiments and prototypes that showcase systematic innovations. The funding amount is estimated between 1 million and 5 million euros per project, with a total budget of 3 million euros for this specific call.

The application process is a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for September 23, 2025. Applicants are encouraged to develop exploitation strategies and collaborate with related initiatives, leveraging synergies across European, national, and regional programs.

Successful projects will need to address systemic innovation challenges, focus on skills development, and propose new methodologies to enhance the adoption and impact of Industry 5.0 within regional industrial ecosystems. The call aims to foster competitiveness and resilience in EU industries by promoting effective collaboration, integrating human-centric technologies, and addressing existing skills gaps.

The EU Funding and Tenders Portal provides information on a Horizon Europe call focused on "System innovation experimentation for Industry 5.0". The call, designated as HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-65, aims to foster the economic and environmental resilience of industrial ecosystems and enhance the sustainable competitiveness of EU industries through Industry 5.0 innovations.

The call seeks proposals that elaborate on an Industry 5.0-driven methodology framework via system innovation experimentation within European Regional Innovation Valleys and other regions. These proposals should support the deployment of Industry 5.0 innovations or methods at the regional/local industrial ecosystem level. Key objectives include offering innovative approaches to accelerate industrial transformation, tackling challenges like skills gaps, attracting talent, and experimenting with incentives for long-term Industry 5.0 transformation.

Projects should build upon the results of the "Community of Practice on Industry 5.0" and other relevant Horizon Europe-funded initiatives. Expertise in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), particularly in systems thinking and complexity science, is crucial. Proposals should detail processes for identifying transformative innovation challenges, formulating objectives to address systemic issues, and achieving Industry 5.0 goals, with a focus on attracting skilled employees and creating learning ecosystems.

Transdisciplinary research and innovation activities are expected, including:

1. Identifying and testing new Industry 5.0 methods and measures for organizational transformation, learning organization implementation, and system innovation. This involves:
 * Identifying systemic innovations, including advanced technologies (human-centric, ecological, bio-inspired), business models, new work processes, organizational models, governance, and social innovations.
 * Assessing skills needs and learning areas for the workforce.
 * Identifying incentives and leverage points for organizations' evolution to Industry 5.0.
 * Identifying successful methodologies to promote Industry 5.0 paradigm change and skills upgrade.

2. Developing and testing new methodologies through sandboxes, open innovation approaches, and participatory processes for systemic transformation. These sandboxes should involve quadruple or quintuple helix stakeholders at the regional/local level.

3. Developing tools and measures to build evidence and promote the impact of Industry 5.0 methods, such as:
 * Digital or AI-enabled tools for rapid information conversion and orchestration to support decision-making.
 * Peer learning across ecosystems to improve organizational learning capacity and innovation capacity.
 * Actions catalysing leadership for Industry 5.0 paradigm change.

Proposals must include an exploitation strategy and should seek collaboration with existing Industry 5.0 projects and initiatives like Regional Innovation Valleys and New European Bauhaus. Synergies with other European, national, and regional initiatives, such as Digital Innovation Hubs and European Partnerships (e.g., Made in Europe, Process4Planet, AI, Data and Robotics Partnership, EIT KICs), are also encouraged.

The Commission suggests a typical project duration of 36 months. Eligible costs will be reimbursed based on lump sum contributions. Financial support to third parties is allowed, with a maximum of EUR 60,000 per third party.

The call is a single-stage submission process, with the deadline for submissions on September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The opening date for submissions is May 22, 2025. The total budget allocated to the HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01 call is substantial, covering various topics related to digital, human-centric, materials, and twin transition aspects of industry. Specifically, the budget for HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-65 is 3,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 1 grant to be awarded.

The general conditions for participation are detailed in Annexes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Applicants should consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual for detailed guidance.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to drive the transformation of European industries towards Industry 5.0 by funding projects that experiment with innovative methodologies, address skills gaps, and promote the adoption of human-centric and sustainable technologies. It encourages collaboration among stakeholders and the development of tools to measure and promote the impact of Industry 5.0 initiatives at the regional and local levels. The funding mechanism is based on lump sum contributions, and successful projects are expected to demonstrate successful incentives for systemic transformation and contribute to the revitalization of industries.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe funding and the call for proposals, eligible applicants are likely to include a range of entities such as universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other relevant organizations involved in research and innovation activities within the scope of Industry 5.0. The call also mentions the need for expertise in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), suggesting that SSH-related organizations are also eligible.

Funding Type: The primary funding 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), HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND).

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the call encourages collaboration and synergy with other projects and initiatives, implying that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred or even required. The involvement of quadruple or quintuple helix stakeholders at regional/local level is also mentioned, further suggesting the need for a consortium approach.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility primarily focuses on European Regional Innovation Valleys and other regions within the EU. However, the mention of non-EU/non-Associated Countries with specific funding provisions suggests that some participation from outside the EU may be possible, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets the industry sector, specifically focusing on the transformation towards Industry 5.0. This includes innovations in human-centric technologies, organizational learning models, skills upgrading, and the adoption of clean technologies. It also touches on digital technologies, advanced materials, AI, data, robotics, and the twin transition (digital and green).

Mentioned Countries: The text does not explicitly mention specific countries. However, it refers to European Regional Innovation Valleys and non-EU/non-Associated Countries, implying a focus on the European Union and associated countries, with some potential for participation from other countries under specific provisions.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity ranges from development and experimentation to demonstration and implementation. The call emphasizes system innovation experimentation, testing new methodologies, and demonstrating the implementation of Industry 5.0 innovations, suggesting projects should be at the development, validation, or demonstration stage.

Funding Amount: The funding range varies depending on the type of action. HORIZON-RIA actions have budgets around 6 million EUR with 5 grants, HORIZON-CSA actions have budgets around 3 million EUR with 1 grant, HORIZON-IA actions have budgets around 3 million EUR with 1 grant. Other actions have budgets that vary from 500,000 EUR to 90,000,000 EUR.

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, specifically lump sum grants. There is also provision for financial support to third parties, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned. However, the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential success rate, which would likely be below 10% given the high competition for Horizon Europe funding.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state a co-funding requirement for most actions. However, HORIZON-COFUND actions by definition require co-funding.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call focuses on promoting the transformation of industries towards Industry 5.0, which emphasizes human-centric, sustainable, and resilient industrial ecosystems. The call invites proposals for system innovation experimentation in European regions, aiming to address challenges such as skills gaps, talent attraction, and the adoption of clean technologies. The funding is provided through lump sum grants, with varying budget ranges depending on the type of action (RIA, CSA, IA, COFUND). Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations involved in research and innovation, with a preference for collaborative projects involving quadruple or quintuple helix stakeholders. The call aims to foster the development and implementation of Industry 5.0 enabling conditions, processes, and methods at the regional and local levels, ultimately contributing to the competitiveness and resilience of EU industries. The call is a single-stage submission process, with a deadline of September 23, 2025.