Industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable and scalable tandem technologies (EUPI-PV Partnership)
Horizon Europe · Grant topic
Summary
A Polish company can use this call for R&D.
Funds companies, startups and research organisations developing industrial processes and equipment for reliable, scalable tandem photovoltaic technologies.
- Who can apply
- Companies can lead: SME, large company, startup, research org, university.
- Amount
- €9.5M per projectTotal budget €28,500,000
- Deadline
- 01 Dec 2027 01:00 CETin 403 days
- Status
- Forthcomingopens 4 Aug 2027
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.
Description
Expected Outcome:
The REPowerEU plan and the EU Solar Energy Strategy introduced targets for the deployment of solar PV amounting to 600 GWac by 2030. Complying with these targets will be crucial for the European Union to reach its climate targets and free itself from import dependency on fossil fuels and the costs this imposes on Europe’s competitiveness in terms of high energy prices. The Solar Strategy also introduces a target, which has been enshrined into the Net-Zero Industry Act, to re-consolidate the European solar manufacturing sector and scale up European manufacturing capacity across the entire value chain to at least 40% of the EU’s annual deployment needs, or 30 GW of annual capacity by 2030. Innovation is particularly important in the solar PV sector, which is characterised by a short technology cycle, where new technologies become mainstream in only a few years. Novel tandem technologies offer therefore the opportunity for innovative spin-offs or start-ups and scale-ups to manufacture and put on the market competitive and efficient PV products, strengthening the resilience of the EU PV value chain and thus reducing excessive dependencies and increasing security.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
• Increase the potential for commercialisation of tandem PV technologies creating a competitive technological know-how for the European PV industrial base;
• Contribute to the objectives of the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance;
• Support the execution of the solar energy joint research and innovation agenda.
Scope:
Proposals are expected to:
• Demonstrate tandem technologies with similar lifetimes to Si and higher efficiencies (beyond the Si limits);
• Demonstrate interface and thin-film large scale engineering;
• Demonstrate production processes and equipment ready for large scale deployment.
Whenever the expected exploitation of project results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results must include a strategy for such exploitation. Proposals will present a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results which should include a strong business case and sound exploitation strategy. The exploitation plan should include preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan) indicating the possible funding sources to be potentially used (in particular the Innovation Fund).
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.
Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.
Who can apply, in detail
- Applicant types
- SME, Large company, Startup, Research org, University
- Purpose
- Research and innovation
- R&D relevance
- 3 of 3
- Poland eligible
- Yes
- Country limit
- —
- Region
- Any
- Consortium
- Unclear
- Readiness level (TRL)
- —
- Topics
- Tandem photovoltaics
- Solar cell manufacturing
- Scalable production processes
- Photovoltaic manufacturing equipment
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026
Conditions
Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.
- Consortium required
- Yes
Unless the exact topic-specific conditions provide otherwise, this action requires three independent beneficiary legal entities established in three different countries: at least one in an EU Member State and at least two others in different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Affiliated entities do not count toward the minimum. Topic-specific required organisation types, applicant restrictions, and exceptions recorded elsewhere in this packet remain applicable; this baseline does not replace them.
- Other condition
- The Work Programme specifies Innovation Action as the action type for this topic.
- Other condition
- Entities established in eligible countries but directly/indirectly controlled by China (or China-established legal entities) cannot participate where this topic invokes the critical-technology restriction.
- Other condition
- Tandem PV technologies can strengthen a competitive European PV industry, contribute to the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance, and support the solar energy research and innovation agenda.
- Other condition
- Technology Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – Readiness Level see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.
- Other condition
- Work Programme call table lists an indicative EU contribution of around EUR 9,500,000 per project and an indicative 3 project(s) expected to be funded. The amount and count are indicative, not guarantees or hard recipient caps.
- Other condition
- The granting authority may, up to four years after action end, object to results ownership transfer or exclusive licensing under the specific Annex 5 provision.
- Other condition
- Demonstrate tandem PV technologies with lifetimes similar to silicon and efficiencies beyond silicon limits; demonstrate interface and thin-film large-scale engineering; demonstrate production processes and equipment ready for large-scale deployment. When exploitation entails creating/manufacturing/marketing a product or providing a service, the exploitation and dissemination plan must include an exploitation strategy with a business case and plans for scalability, commercialisation, deployment, possible funding sources (in particular Innovation Fund). EUPI-PV monitoring/reporting is expected.
- Technology readiness level at end, maximumExpected end-of-project target upper endpoint, not a hard maximum
- 7 TRL level
Work Programme wording is “expected to achieve”; activities may start at any TRL. This is an expected target range, not a prohibited higher result.
- Technology readiness level at end, minimumExpected end-of-project target lower endpoint, not a mandatory minimum at project end
- 6 TRL level
Work Programme wording is “expected to achieve”; activities may start at any TRL. The endpoints are not hard grant eligibility thresholds.
Amounts and costs
- Indicative budget
- €28,500,000
Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.
- Eligible cost limit
- 25 percent flat rate of eligible direct costs, subject to the base exclusions in conditions
Horizon Europe General Annex G describes a 25% indirect-cost flat rate on eligible direct costs, excluding eligible direct subcontracting costs, financial support to third parties, and any unit costs or lump sums that include indirect costs. For HORIZON-AG actual-cost grants this is a cost-calculation rule, not a grant-rate increase. For HORIZON-AG-LS it informs the underlying eligible-cost estimate only; it is not an additional payment on top of the fixed lump sum. The topic indicative allocation and per-project contribution are distinct from this cost rate.
- Funding intensity, maximum
- 70 percent of eligible costs (general Innovation Action maximum for non-profit status not established)
The exact Work Programme labels this topic an Innovation Action. General Annex G sets a 70% maximum for legal entities other than non-profit entities; the separate nonprofit maximum is represented in its own typed fact. This is an action-type maximum, not a guarantee or the topic-level indicative EU contribution; the final rate is fixed in the grant agreement. For the lump-sum topics, the rate is already applied in the lump-sum methodology and is not an extra multiplier.
- Funding intensity, maximum
- 100 percent of eligible costs (up to; nonprofit legal entities only)
Only for a non-profit legal entity, the general Innovation Action maximum may be up to 100%; this is not automatic or a salary entitlement, and final funding parameters are fixed in the grant agreement. For the lump-sum topics, the percentage is embedded in the lump-sum amount methodology and is not an extra multiplier.
- Expected contribution per projectCommission-estimated EU contribution per project for this exact topic
- €9,500,000
The Work Programme says this amount would allow outcomes to be addressed appropriately but expressly does not preclude proposals requesting other amounts. It is not a minimum, maximum or award promise.
- Topic allocationExact Work Programme topic allocation, not per-project funding
- €28,500,000
The call table marks the budget indicative and subject to availability of Union appropriations; it is not a guaranteed grant or per-beneficiary amount.
Personnel and services
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
These are eligible personnel-cost categories when the source terms are met; the call does not identify vacancies, salary amounts, project headcount, or hiring decisions. MGA A.2/A.3 requires assignment to the action, employee-like working conditions, result ownership by the beneficiary unless otherwise agreed, and a rate based on actual incurred costs not significantly different from similar employee tasks.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
These are eligible personnel-cost categories when the source terms are met; the call does not identify vacancies, salary amounts, project headcount, or hiring decisions. MGA A.1 covers personnel working for the beneficiary under an employment contract or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action; salary components follow Article 6.2 A.1.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
These are eligible personnel-cost categories when the source terms are met; the call does not identify vacancies, salary amounts, project headcount, or hiring decisions. Only SME owners not receiving a salary or natural-person beneficiaries not receiving a salary are covered; declared as Annex 2a unit costs, subject to general eligibility conditions.
Source documents
Call facts
- Opens
- 4 Aug 2027
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Programme
- Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
- Call
- HORIZON-CL5-2027-07 · ENERGY
- Types of action
- HORIZON Innovation Actions
- Source
- ec.europa.eu
- Checked
- 24 Oct 2026
- Portal updated
- 7 Oct 2026
- Review status
- Partial review
- Reviewed
- 23 Oct 2026
This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.