# Safety of renewable low and zero-carbon waterborne fuels in port areas: risk assessment, regulatory framework, and guidelines for safe bunkering, handling and storage (ZEWT partnership)
EUACC page: https://www.euacc.ai/calls/HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-13
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## Public content

**topic id:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-13
**call id:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-05
**title:** Safety of renewable low and zero-carbon waterborne fuels in port areas: risk assessment, regulatory framework, and guidelines for safe bunkering, handling and storage (ZEWT partnership)
**programme:** Horizon Europe
**cluster:** CL5
**status:** closed
**deadline date:** 2026-04-16T00:00:00+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-CL5-2026-05-D5-13
**description:** Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: 
 • A comprehensive risk assessment of the introduction of renewable low and zero-carbon waterborne fuels, in maritime and inland port areas.
• Improve knowledge on the risks posed by the introduction of renewable low zero-carbon fuels.
• A review of existing regulations, standards, and guidelines, for all EU Member States, with recommendations for updates, harmonisation or new regulations as needed.
• Define operational improvements required to enhance safety in storage, handling and bunkering of renewable low and zero-carbon fuels. 
• Development of a strategy for skills development for port personnel and stakeholders involved in the handling, storage, and bunkering of renewable low and zero-carbon fuels, ensuring safe and efficient operations. 
 Scope:
The rapid transition to low and zero-carbon solutions in maritime and inland waterborne transport requires port authorities and stakeholders to swiftly adapt to supply large quantities of renewable low and zero-carbon fuels and electricity. However, this shift poses new safety challenges, particularly in port areas where multiple bunkering operations, import/export terminals, and fuel handling and storage activities coexist. The close location of most ports to cities and inhabited areas raises issues of safety on two fronts: the space deficit due to the difficulty of enlarging the port areas in these locations, (leading to e.g. the storage of various fuels in close proximity), and the broader danger to these inhabited areas due to their proximity to the ports and by extension the storage of these fuels. To ensure a safe and efficient energy transition, it is crucial to assess and mitigate the risks associated with the introduction of renewable low and zero-carbon fuels in port areas. As not all ports will be able to store every type of clean fuel in the port or neighbouring area, safety of transport and distribution within the port area (including anchorage) should also be analysed.
Existing EU legislation regarding specifically the safety of port workers is limited. The Directive on the safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers (2001/96/EC) sets out the EU requirements which increase safety procedures for bulk carriers loading and unloading their solid cargo in EU ports. Further instruments such as the Directive on port State control (2009/16/EC) and the Directive on the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector (2009/18/EC, recently amended), while related to safety in the maritime sector, do not apply to the safety of port workers specifically. Broader instruments such as the EU Occupational Safety and Health Framework Directive (89/391/EEC) and the Directive on the Minimum Safety and Health Requirements for the Use of Work Equipment by Workers at Work (2009/104/EC), while applicable to port workers due to their general character, miss the intricacies needed to address the specific risks of workers in this sector. This issue is further exacerbated by the fact that port workers are being exposed to new risks due to the rising use of renewable low and zero-carbon fuels in the maritime sector and the need for safe bunkering and storage of these fuels in port areas.
Given the above it is important to have a clear picture of the current status regarding the storage and bunkering of fuels across EU ports, identify existing and applicable legislation, map gaps and potential risks and make appropriate recommendations for follow-up actions.
Proposals are expected to address all the following aspects: 
 • Conduct a comprehensive review of the risks associated with the introduction of renewable low and zero-carbon fuels within (inland and sea) the port areas, including distribution, simultaneous bunkering operations, import/export terminals, handling and storage of fuels. 
• Analyse gaps in existing regulations, standards, and guidelines relevant to the safe handling and storage of renewable low and zero-carbon fuels, in maritime and inland TEN-T ports.
• Identify safety risks not adequately addressed by current rules and risk assessments, including Hazard Identification (HAZID) and Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA) taking into account - inter-alia - gas dispersion, fire/explosion impacts and their probabilities using F-N curves.
• Develop guidelines and recommendations to ensure safe operations (considering environmental and health aspects) per fuel type in port areas, considering varying port sizes, services (including technical-nautical vessels), locations, and geographies, especially for ports located in populated areas including establishing safety zones. International rules, standards and guidelines should be taken into consideration (especially from the IMO and the IHPA where relevant). Relevant environmental Plans required by EU or national legislation such as Air Quality Plans should be considered. 
• Develop standard risk assessment criteria for groups of ports with similar characteristics, operational and weather conditions by researching and establishing standard criteria for risk assessments in port planning and development. This includes defining safety-by-design procedures for new port infrastructures and bunkering operations.
• Engage with relevant stakeholders, including port authorities, terminal operators, shipping companies, trade unions and regulatory bodies, to ensure the practicality and effectiveness of the developed guidelines and recommendations.
• Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be presented, associating social partners and civil society where relevant. This strategy should include the design and implementation of comprehensive training modules tailored to various roles within port operations, focusing on the specific safety protocols and procedures associated with renewable low and zero-carbon fuels.
• Propose certification and continuous professional development pathways to maintain high safety standards and adapt to evolving technologies and regulations. 
 This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on results to the European Partnership ‘Zero Emission Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.
**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).

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
 Not applicable.

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 CSA) 
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations 
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA) 
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 Coordination and Support Actions
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          - 2026-04-16
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**keywords:** HORIZON-CL5-2026-05-D5-13, HORIZON-CL5-2026-05
**last synced at:** 2026-11-09T17:23:17.403+00:00

## Review record

No independent verification record is available.

## Source metadata