Testing and optimising models of co-creation of advanced research infrastructure technologies
Horizon Europe · Grant topic
An independent quality check has put this review on hold. The structured terms below are kept as history and are not cleared; read the official documents.
Summary
A Polish company can use this call for R&D.
Funds co-development of advanced research infrastructure technologies and tests collaboration models supporting research performance and deep-tech innovation.
- Who can apply
- Companies can lead: research org, university, SME, large company, startup, other.
- Amount
- €10M – €15M per projectTotal budget €30,000,000
- Deadline
- 15 Jun 2027 02:00 CESTin 234 days
- Status
- Forthcomingopens 9 Mar 2027
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.
Description
Expected Outcome:
The objective of this topic is strengthening the European research infrastructure landscape as a pillar of Europe’s innovation-based competitiveness and reinforcing its role in the overarching policy priority of making Europe the top region for deep-tech startups and scaleups. Project results are expected to contribute to several of the following expected outcomes:
• Enhanced scientific and technological competitiveness of European research infrastructures, through the co-development of innovative technologies and solutions that improve the performance of RI services, addressing common needs across different types of research infrastructures, where applicable.
• Increased cooperation and coordination between European research infrastructures, and between them and other public and private research performing organisations, in order to create a coherent and supportive ecosystem for deep-tech innovation in Europe.
• A strengthened role of research infrastructures as centres of gravity for deep-tech innovation ecosystems.
• Strengthened EU innovation capacity and technological sovereignty.
Scope:
The topic focuses on supporting research infrastructures in developing and implementing innovative technologies and solutions improving the performance of their scientific services, while fostering cooperation with other research organisations, industry, and start-ups and scaleups to maximise the spillover effects of new RI technologies. Proposals should address all of the following aspects:
• Co-creation of advanced technologies that address research infrastructures needs, considering resource efficiency and environmental impacts as well as technological sovereignty.
• Development of partnerships and collaborations between research infrastructures and different types of research performing organisations including industry, to co-create technological solutions and promote their uptake and exploitation outside of the science market.
• Shared understanding of the commercial potential of innovative technologies, and support from RI technology transfer teams as early as necessary.
Developments for the specific use case of research infrastructures are expected to go beyond TRL 4. When proposed developments have the potential to lead to applications beyond the specific use case of research infrastructures, the TRL of these additional developments should go up to TRL 3-4. Proposers should clearly describe which TRL will be reached at the end of the project for each proposed development.
Projects are expected to share experiences about co-creation models with the project funded under HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-DEV-05, area 3.
Proposals may include PCP[1] subcontracting activities as described in part H of the General Annexes of the work programme. This option encourages the use of public procurements for the competitive development of new specific solutions, whilst opening market opportunities for industry and researchers active in the EU and Associated Countries. By establishing the procurement process in consecutive phases, the PCP activity can support the development of competing designs, prototypes, and solution testing. This ensures that investment risks do not prevent tackling specific scientific and technological issues and allows a problem to be approached from different angles and to test different solutions.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
[1] 'Pre-commercial procurement' is defined as procurement of R&D services involving risk-benefit sharing under market conditions and competitive development in phases. PCP focuses on the R&D phase before wide commercialisation. 'Risk-benefit sharing under market conditions' refers to the PCP approach in which procurers share with suppliers at market price the risks and the benefits related to the IPR resulting from the R&D. 'Competitive development in phases' refers to the competitive approach to buy the R&D from several competing R&D providers in parallel and to compare and identify the best value for money solutions on the market to address the PCP challenge. To reduce the investment risk for the procurer, reward the most competitive solutions and facilitate the participation of smaller innovative companies, the R&D is also split into phases (solution design, prototyping, original development and validation / testing of the first products), with the number of competing R&D providers being reduced after each phase.
Who can apply, in detail
- Applicant types
- Research org, University, SME, Large company, Startup, Other
- Purpose
- Research and innovation
- R&D relevance
- 3 of 3
- Poland eligible
- Yes
- Country limit
- —
- Region
- Any
- Consortium
- Unclear
- Readiness level (TRL)
- —
- Topics
- Research infrastructure technologies
- Technology co-development
- Deep-tech innovation
- Infrastructure services
- Public-private research collaboration
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.
- Applicant restriction
- Chinese public universities administered or supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) cannot participate in any action under this work programme. This is an all-action participant restriction, separate from country funding eligibility. This RIA falls outside the listed RIA destination exceptions, so China-established entities are generally ineligible in any capacity, subject only to justified case-by-case exceptions; this does not relax any more restrictive own-topic EU/Associated Country/control condition.
- Applicant restriction
- General AnnexB restrictive measures, excluded participant cases and funding-country rules apply. China-established entities are generally ineligible for this RIA (TECHtopic); that RIA-specific prohibition is not recast as a blanket CSA/co-fund prohibition.
- Application restriction
- Call2027 adopts General AnnexesA–G for admissibility, eligibility, capacity/exclusion, award criteria, documents, procedure and legal/financial setup, subject to own-topic exceptions.
- Application restriction
- Planned opening9March2027, deadline15June2027 at17:00 Brussels local time. The Director-General may shift opening by up to1month and delay deadlines by up to2months. No current application acceptance is asserted.
- Application restriction
- Describe expected endTRL for each development. Integration of sex/gender analysis into R&Icontent is not mandatory for this topic; this does not waive general equality/ethics obligations.
- Consortium required
- Yes
- Eligible project scope
- Co-create technologies addressing RIneeds, considering resource/environmental impacts and sovereignty; build partnerships with research organisations, industry/start-ups/scale-ups to exploit outside science markets; address commercial potential with early RItechnology-transfer-team support.
- Expected number of grants (planning estimate)Captured SEDIA planning estimate for exact topic HORIZON-INFRA-2027-TECH-01-01
- 2 count
Expected funded-project/grant count in the exact provider topic budgetOverview. Indicative planning metadata, not guaranteed awards, maximum accepted projects, staffing or consortium size. It does not replace any differently expressed work-programme planning range.
- Other condition
- Own-topic overview plans an indicative 2 project(s) expected to be funded. This is planning data, not consortium size or staffing headcount.
- Other condition
- PCP subcontracting is optional. If used, the specifically adopted General AnnexH conditions apply, including phased competitive R&D, supplier/beneficiary separation, market consultation, location/IPR requirements and at least60days tender opening. This RIA is not itself reclassified as a PCPaction.
- Other condition
- Project start/duration are fixed in the grant agreement; no numerical project or staff duration is inferred from the allocation.
- Partner requirement
- Each required RI beneficiary must be an ESFRI infrastructure, ERIC or another RI that is an international European research organisation; identify the beneficiary and operated RI explicitly. For non-ERIC/non-international ESFRILandmarks use the host legal entity in the lead country; for ESFRIProjects without legal entity use a lead-country legal entity.
- Partner requirement
- At least three independent beneficiary legal entities in three countries, with at least one in a MemberState and two others in different Member/AssociatedCountries, unless the specific exceptions apply. In addition, include at least two different qualifying research infrastructures as beneficiaries.
- Technology readiness level at end, maximumAdditional developments for applications beyond the specific RI use case
- 4 TRL
Expected target range up toTRL3–4 for these additional applications; not a universal project limit or entry threshold.
- Technology readiness level at end, minimumDevelopments for the specific RI use case
- 5 TRL
Expected end-development target: beyond4 on an integer TRLscale means5orhigher. Not a hard eligibility entry threshold.
Amounts and costs
- Indicative budget
- €30,000,000
Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.
- Funding per beneficiary, maximumFinancial support to third parties for collaborative R&I innovation ecosystems
- €500,000
Grants only, under own-topic exception. Not a cap on the main project/beneficiary grant.
- Eligible cost
- Personnel, subcontracting and purchase categories are available under General AnnexG subject to the actual grant and cost-eligibility model. This does not advertise jobs or prescribe salary, FTE or employment contracts.
- Funding intensity, maximum
- 100 percent of eligible costs
General RIA maximum; own-topic setup has no explicit lump-sum exception in the reviewed section. Final actual grant/model applies.
- Indirect cost flat rateGeneralAnnexG indirect costs for this Horizon action/grant methodology
- 25 percent of the named eligible-direct-cost base
Base: total eligible direct costs excluding subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs/lump sums already including indirect costs. Apply only within the relevant grant/budget methodology; for lump sums this contributes to amount-setting, not an extra actual-cost payment or wage rate.
- Expected project funding, up to
- €15,000,000
Indicative expected project contribution; different requested amounts may be selected, so this is not a hard limit.
- Expected project funding, from
- €10,000,000
Indicative expected project contribution; different requested amounts may be selected, so this is not a hard limit.
- Topic allocation
- €30,000,000
Indicative total topic budget; not an individual grant cap or remaining balance.
Source documents
Call facts
- Opens
- 9 Mar 2027
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Programme
- Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
- Call
- HORIZON-INFRA-2027-01 · Research Infrastructures 2027
- Types of action
- HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
- Keywords
- ESFRI
- Source
- ec.europa.eu
- Checked
- 23 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.