What is cascade funding?

Cascade funding (also called financial support to third parties) is money the European Commission gives to an EU-funded project, which the project then passes on to startups, SMEs, researchers or other organisations through its own open calls. You apply to the project, not to the Commission, and the project's own call rules apply.

Each call sets its own eligibility in its call document: usually organisations established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country, often startups and SMEs. Check the call's eligibility section and the official guide before you apply.

Do I need a consortium?

Most cascade calls accept single applicants, which makes them one of the easiest ways into EU funding. Some calls ask for small teams; the call document says which.

How large are the grants?

Typically tens of thousands of euros per applicant and rarely more than €200,000, because the EU rules for financial support to third parties keep amounts per recipient modest. The exact maximum is in each call.

Can I combine it with other EU funding?

Yes, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. Many startups use a cascade grant to build evidence before applying to larger programmes such as the EIC Accelerator.

RAMP Joint Transnational Call 2026 (EU cascade funding)

On this page · 7 sections→

01The project
02Consortium
03Similar calls
04Cascade funding FAQ
05Call scope
06Eligibility & conditions
07Official source

The project running this call: RAMP

Raw Materials Partnership for the Green and Digital Transition

The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act) sets ambitious benchmarks for raw-material extraction, processing and recycling by 2030. Acknowledging the alignment of this act with research and innovation priorities, the proposed Raw Materials Partnership (RAMP) will contribute to a sustainable supply and efficient use of raw materials to support Europe’s green and digital transition. This new partnership will greatly expand earlier efforts by incorporating a much broader research and innovation scope and implementing many more partnership-level activities to support the uptake of scientific and technical advances and effective policy making. Funding volumes that are over five times as high as in earlier efforts highlight an ambition level commensurate with that of the CRM Act. RAMP will pursue the following three objectives: 1) Build an international multi-stakeholder research and…

EU contribution

€90.0M

Total cost

€300M

Runs

1 Nov 2025 to 30 Jun 2037

Programme

Horizon Europe

Funded under the EU call HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64. Official project record ↗

Who runs it: the consortium

20 organisations in the project. The coordinator usually manages the open call and its evaluation.

Verket for Innovationssystem · SwedenCoordinator
Associacao Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovacao Industrial Embrapii · BrazilPartner
Autoritatea Nationala Pentru Cercetare · RomaniaPartner
Science Fund Joint Stock Company · KazakhstanPartner
Ministrstvo Za Visoko Solstvo, Znanost In Inovacije · SloveniaPartner
Research Management & Logistics Limited · Ireland · SMEPartner
Ministerstvo Zivotniho Prostredi · Czech RepublicPartner
Ministero Dell'Universita e Della Ricerca · ItalyPartner
Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo · ChilePartner
Pole de Recherche et D'Innovation en Materiaux Avances au Quebec (Prima Quebec) · CanadaPartner
Agentia Nationala Pentru Cercetare Si Dezvoltare · MoldovaPartner
Agencia Estatal de Investigacion · SpainPartner
National Technological Innovation Authority · IsraelPartner
Conselho Nacional das Fundacoes de Estaduais de Amparo A Pesquisa · BrazilPartner
Fonds Innoveren en Ondernemen · BelgiumPartner
Technologicka Agentura Ceske Republiky · Czech RepublicPartner
Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos · BrazilPartner
European Technology Platform On Sustainable Mineral Resources · BelgiumPartner
Innovationsfonden · DenmarkPartner
Centrum Vedecko Technickych Informacii Slovenskej Republiky · SlovakiaPartner

Similar open calls from EU projects

Other cascade calls on related topics that you can apply to now.

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What is cascade funding?: Cascade funding (also called financial support to third parties) is money the European Commission gives to an EU-funded project, which the project then passes on to startups, SMEs, researchers or other organisations through its own open calls. You apply to the project, not to the Commission, and the project's own call rules apply.
Who can apply?: Each call sets its own eligibility in its call document: usually organisations established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country, often startups and SMEs. Check the call's eligibility section and the official guide before you apply.
Do I need a consortium?: Most cascade calls accept single applicants, which makes them one of the easiest ways into EU funding. Some calls ask for small teams; the call document says which.
How large are the grants?: Typically tens of thousands of euros per applicant and rarely more than €200,000, because the EU rules for financial support to third parties keep amounts per recipient modest. The exact maximum is in each call.
Can I combine it with other EU funding?: Yes, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. Many startups use a cascade grant to build evidence before applying to larger programmes such as the EIC Accelerator.

Cascade funding in the glossary · All open cascade calls

What this call funds

Two-stage transnational call. Pre-proposals must be submitted by the date indicated as “call deadline” and undergo central and national/regional eligibility checks. Pre-proposals which meet eligibility requirements are evaluated centrally by a panel of independent international experts. Shortlisted consortia are invited to submit full proposals by the date indicated as “call deadline 2” (invitation only), which are again checked for eligibility and evaluated by independent international experts. Proposals may be subject to review by an independent ethics advisory board, whose assessment can lead to a veto on funding ethically non‑compliant projects. Final funding decisions are taken by the participating national/regional funders according to their own procedures.

Eligibility & conditions+

RAMP Joint Transnational Call 2026 supports transnational research and innovation projects across the raw materials value chain for the green and digital transition. More information, call documents, templates and submission guidance are available on the RAMP call website: https://ramprawmaterials.eu/call/ramp-joint-call-2026

Latest amendments (2 June 2026):

Addition of new call partner countries/regions (South Africa, Portugal Central Region)
Minor editorial corrections

Official source

Confirm the current call documents and submission conditions with the funding authority.

View on EU portal ↗

Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal · synced 2026-11-09

On this page · 7 sections→

01The project
02Consortium
03Similar calls
04Cascade funding FAQ
05Call scope
06Eligibility & conditions
07Official source

The project running this call: RAMP

Raw Materials Partnership for the Green and Digital Transition

EU contribution

€90.0M

Total cost

€300M

Runs

1 Nov 2025 to 30 Jun 2037

Programme

Horizon Europe

Funded under the EU call HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64. Official project record ↗

Who runs it: the consortium

20 organisations in the project. The coordinator usually manages the open call and its evaluation.

Verket for Innovationssystem · SwedenCoordinator
Associacao Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovacao Industrial Embrapii · BrazilPartner
Autoritatea Nationala Pentru Cercetare · RomaniaPartner
Science Fund Joint Stock Company · KazakhstanPartner
Ministrstvo Za Visoko Solstvo, Znanost In Inovacije · SloveniaPartner
Research Management & Logistics Limited · Ireland · SMEPartner
Ministerstvo Zivotniho Prostredi · Czech RepublicPartner
Ministero Dell'Universita e Della Ricerca · ItalyPartner
Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo · ChilePartner
Pole de Recherche et D'Innovation en Materiaux Avances au Quebec (Prima Quebec) · CanadaPartner
Agentia Nationala Pentru Cercetare Si Dezvoltare · MoldovaPartner
Agencia Estatal de Investigacion · SpainPartner
National Technological Innovation Authority · IsraelPartner
Conselho Nacional das Fundacoes de Estaduais de Amparo A Pesquisa · BrazilPartner
Fonds Innoveren en Ondernemen · BelgiumPartner
Technologicka Agentura Ceske Republiky · Czech RepublicPartner
Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos · BrazilPartner
European Technology Platform On Sustainable Mineral Resources · BelgiumPartner
Innovationsfonden · DenmarkPartner
Centrum Vedecko Technickych Informacii Slovenskej Republiky · SlovakiaPartner

Similar open calls from EU projects

Other cascade calls on related topics that you can apply to now.

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What is cascade funding?: Cascade funding (also called financial support to third parties) is money the European Commission gives to an EU-funded project, which the project then passes on to startups, SMEs, researchers or other organisations through its own open calls. You apply to the project, not to the Commission, and the project's own call rules apply.
Who can apply?: Each call sets its own eligibility in its call document: usually organisations established in an EU member state or a Horizon Europe associated country, often startups and SMEs. Check the call's eligibility section and the official guide before you apply.
Do I need a consortium?: Most cascade calls accept single applicants, which makes them one of the easiest ways into EU funding. Some calls ask for small teams; the call document says which.
How large are the grants?: Typically tens of thousands of euros per applicant and rarely more than €200,000, because the EU rules for financial support to third parties keep amounts per recipient modest. The exact maximum is in each call.
Can I combine it with other EU funding?: Yes, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. Many startups use a cascade grant to build evidence before applying to larger programmes such as the EIC Accelerator.

Cascade funding in the glossary · All open cascade calls

What this call funds

Eligibility & conditions+

Latest amendments (2 June 2026):

Addition of new call partner countries/regions (South Africa, Portugal Central Region)
Minor editorial corrections

Official source

Confirm the current call documents and submission conditions with the funding authority.

View on EU portal ↗

Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal · synced 2026-11-09

RAMP Joint Transnational Call 2026

The project running this call: RAMP

Who runs it: the consortium

Similar open calls from EU projects

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What this call funds

Official source

Track this call and plan your application.

RAMP Joint Transnational Call 2026

The project running this call: RAMP

Who runs it: the consortium

Similar open calls from EU projects

Cascade funding: what to know before you apply

What this call funds

Official source

Track this call and plan your application.