What this call funds
Expected Outcome
Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Steer a European agenda to catalyse the development of a full software defined and hardware-enabled vehicle AD stack “built in Europe”, from onboard-compute architecture up to software in-vehicle up to the cloud.
- Establish structured intersectoral linkages between software, AI/data, hardware and deployment actors, ensuring that architectural decisions in the European AD stack are aligned across computing platforms, AI models, validation frameworks and real-world deployment environments.
- Promote a European R&I roadmap establishing pathways for the accelerated development of a European AI-powered AD stack, notably in close liaison with the relevant ECAVA Working Groups and relevant OSS initiatives.
- Ensure the engagement of key stakeholders across the Automotive value chain (including relevant OSS initiatives) toward an open-source software autonomous driving stack, including required industrial partners (such as OEMs, suppliers, tool-providers), and innovative R&I stakeholders (RTOs, universities, start-ups. If useful, already existing OSS AD stack initiatives together with the reference stacks (as S-CORE) from the Digital vehicle platform initiative playing an important role.
- Promote the cross-pollination of a collaborative ecosystem and testing infrastructure for an Open Source (OS) AD SW stack among industry, Member States, road operators and the EU in line with the Chips Act and AI Act.
- Support coordination of relevant actions on automotive hardware and software in the Chips JU the CCAM, and flagship actions in Member States partnership towards a European AD stack and ensure coherence and complementarity of newly emerging actions.
Eligibility & conditions+
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible countries
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligibility Conditions
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in the Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026 and in the Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Call Details
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Guidance
HE Programme Guide
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
HE MGA
Call-specific instructions
Appendix 7 to the Work Programme - Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) - 2026
Information on financial support to third parties (HE)
Additional documents:
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal · synced 2026-07-07