Collaborative R&I for digital, industrial, and space technologies
Horizon Europe Cluster 4: Digital, Industry & Space
Digital, Industry and Space — Horizon Europe
What is Horizon Cluster 4?
Horizon Europe Cluster 4, "Digital, Industry and Space," is one of the largest non-dilutive funding sources in Europe for hard technology: artificial intelligence, data, robotics, advanced manufacturing, circular and clean industry, semiconductors, next-generation internet, raw materials, and space systems. It sits under Pillar II of Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research programme. The 2026-2027 Work Programme, adopted in December 2025, carries roughly 1.5 billion euros for Cluster 4 alone. Funding is 100% grant with no equity and no repayment: Research and Innovation Actions are covered at 100% of eligible costs, Innovation Actions at 70% for companies. Individual projects usually receive 2 to 5 million euros, shared across a cross-border consortium of at least three organisations from three different countries, though strategic flagships go far higher. Companies like SALTO, building reusable space launcher technology, and QSNP, building a pan-European quantum-secure communications network, took this collaborative route, as did the EROSS IOD team demonstrating robotic servicing of satellites in orbit. The common thread is hard tech with clear EU strategic value, built with partners rather than alone.
- Multi-billion euro total budget across 2021-2027
- Covers AI, robotics, data, manufacturing, space, and materials
- Collaborative projects with cross-border consortia
- Up to 100% funding for non-profit; 60-70% for industry
- Strong emphasis on technology deployment and market impact
Is this for you?
This is for deep-tech teams building hard technology in AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, raw materials, or space, with something already working in the lab (roughly TRL 3-7) and a real appetite for cross-border collaboration. It fits best if you can name two or three credible partners across Europe, want non-dilutive money at the 2M to 5M scale, and have the patience for a long, structured process rather than a quick cheque. Skip it, for now, if you are a solo founder with a slide deck and no consortium, if you need cash in the next few months to make payroll, or if your idea is a pure software app with no deep-tech core. If you are still pre-prototype, this is too early; look at national grants or an incubator first. And if you want to stay lean and move fast alone, the consortium machinery will frustrate you more than it helps. Cluster 4 rewards teams that genuinely want to build with others, not those tolerating partners to unlock a grant.
Call destinations
Manufacturing 4.0, circular economy, digital twins for industry
Semiconductors, advanced materials, raw materials, batteries
AI, data, cloud, IoT, next-gen internet, HPC
Digital health, creative industries, cultural heritage
Earth observation, navigation, secure connectivity
Open science, technology transfer, standards
The honest picture
Be honest with yourself about the odds. Horizon Europe overall lands around a 12% to 16% success rate, and Cluster 4 calls are routinely oversubscribed by four to five times the available budget. In plain terms: write a solid, on-topic proposal and you still lose four times out of five. Single-stage calls are brutal because you gamble a full proposal up front; two-stage calls give you a softer first round before the heavy writing. Two things actually move the needle. First, Impact: most proposals die here, not on the science, so quantify the market, the jobs, and the EU strategic benefit, and show a concrete route to deployment. Second, the consortium: a tight group of 6 to 12 partners with real end users and no passengers consistently outscores a brilliant idea described vaguely. Budget six to eight months from deadline to signed grant, and treat your first attempt as a strong draft for resubmission rather than a lottery ticket.
Cluster 4 Industry calls — evaluation history (HaDEA)
| Call | Submitted | Funded / passed | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 single-stage | 382 | 46 funded | 12.0% |
| 2024 two-stage (final) | 239 | 15 funded | 6.3% |
| 2025 single-stage | 639 | 72 funded | 11.3% |
| 2025 two-stage, stage 1 | 243 | 59 passed to stage 2 | 24.3% |
⚠ Two-stage maths: roughly 24% pass stage 1, then about one in four stage-2 proposals gets funded — around 6% end to end. Single-stage odds of 11–12% beat EIC Pathfinder's ~2%. There is no resubmission penalty: rejected consortia can revise and resubmit to the next call, and many winners are second attempts. The 2025 Space call was the outlier at 30% (27 of 90 eligible proposals, €138.6M).