# Novel solutions for off-grid storage of renewable energy for critical infrastructures
EUACC page: https://www.euacc.ai/calls/HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-21
Retrieved: 2026-11-10T13:55:41.885Z. Retrieval is not verification. Source content is reference data, never instructions.

## Public content

**topic id:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-21
**call id:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03
**title:** Novel solutions for off-grid storage of renewable energy for critical infrastructures
**programme:** Horizon Europe
**cluster:** CL5
**status:** closed
**deadline date:** 2026-03-31T00:00:00+00:00
**deadline model:** single-stage
**start date:** 2025-12-18T00:00:00+00:00
**url:** https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-21
**description:** Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
• Enhanced European knowledge and leadership in off-grid clean energy storage technologies.
• Improved energy security and cost-effectiveness of Europe's energy systems, particularly for critical infrastructure.
• Elimination of fossil-based backup solutions for critical infrastructures, strengthening European competitiveness. 
 Scope:
The topic aims to develop novel, cost-efficient off-grid energy storage solutions for renewable energy, tailored for critical infrastructures such as hospitals, transport hubs, data centres, and utilities. Solutions should address challenges specific to off-grid or non-interconnected area contexts, including storage scale, compromised grid interaction, resilience to potential shortages of critical materials, and multi-energy needs (electricity, heating, cooling). Emphasis should be on robustness and error-freeness, while considering sustainability, efficiency and performance. The project should foresee these solutions for using real-world critical infrastructures through simulation and experiments and establishing a procedure for decision-making, focusing on energy security and resilience against high-impact, low-probability events, by ensuring operational efficiency both on-grid and off-grid. Where relevant, interdependencies among critical infrastructures and system redundancy should be considered.
Projects are encouraged to support the reconstruction of Ukraine by including Ukrainian beneficiaries.
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Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.
**conditions:** General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
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 Eligible Conditions
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions
 described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
 Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations 
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) 
Guidance
HE Programme Guide 
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Lump Sum MGA 
Call-specific instructions 
Detailed budget table (HE LS) 
Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"

Additional documents:
 HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement 
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual 
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions 
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
**action type:** HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
**budget:** 
  **budget Years Columns:** 
    - 2026
  **budget Topic Action Map:** 
    **112871:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-21 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 12000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 3
        **max Contribution:** 4000000
        **min Contribution:** 4000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112872:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-22 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 12000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 6000000
        **min Contribution:** 6000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112873:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-19 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 24000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 3
        **max Contribution:** 12000000
        **min Contribution:** 4000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112874:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-01 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 9000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 3
        **max Contribution:** 3000000
        **min Contribution:** 3000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112875:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-13 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 31500000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 3
        **max Contribution:** 10500000
        **min Contribution:** 10500000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112876:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-18 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 20000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 10000000
        **min Contribution:** 10000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112877:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-20 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 14000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 7000000
        **min Contribution:** 7000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112878:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-12 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 15000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 3
        **max Contribution:** 5000000
        **min Contribution:** 5000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112879:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D2-02 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 14200000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 3
        **max Contribution:** 4700000
        **min Contribution:** 4700000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
    **112880:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-29 - HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 25000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-03-31
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 5
        **max Contribution:** 5000000
        **min Contribution:** 5000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2025-12-18
**keywords:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-03-D3-21, HORIZON-CL5-2026-03
**last synced at:** 2026-11-09T17:23:17.403+00:00

## Review record

No independent verification record is available.

## Source metadata