Horizon Europe Cluster 4: Digital, Industry & Space

Any legal entity can take part: companies of any size, universities, research institutes, and public bodies. Most calls require a consortium of at least three independent organisations from three different EU member states or Horizon-associated countries. SMEs and startups usually join a larger consortium rather than applying alone, which is the realistic route for a founder.

Cluster 4 is 100% grant money with no equity taken and no loan to repay. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) are funded at 100% of eligible costs and Innovation Actions (IA) at 70% for companies (100% for non-profits). Individual projects typically receive between roughly €2 million and €5 million, shared across the whole consortium, with very large topics going higher.

For almost all Cluster 4 topics, yes. The standard rule is a minimum of three independent legal entities based in three different EU or associated countries, and the coordinator must be in an EU member state. A typical winning consortium has 6 to 12 partners mixing industry, research, and end users, so a single startup cannot win on its own.

The 2026-2027 Work Programme was adopted on 11 December 2025 and opened five major calls in early 2026. As of June 2026, three upcoming deadlines remain open: the Space call (HORIZON-CL4-2026-03, €90.97 million across 8 topics) closes 3 September 2026; the Clean Industrial Deal call (HORIZON-CID-2026-01, €125 million) closes 15 September 2026; and Stage 2 of the Industry two-stage call (HORIZON-CL4-2026-02, €98 million, 3 topics) closes 13 October 2026. The large Industry single-stage call (HORIZON-CL4-2026-01, €319 million, 15 topics, April 21), both Digital calls (HORIZON-CL4-2026-04 at €221.8 million and HORIZON-CL4-2026-05 at €85.5 million, both April 15), and Stage 1 of the Industry two-stage call (March 17) are now closed for 2026.

It is highly competitive. Horizon Europe overall runs around a 12% to 16% success rate, with calls oversubscribed by roughly 4 to 5 times the available budget. Single-stage calls demand a complete, polished proposal up front, while two-stage calls let you pass a shorter first round (a higher hit rate) before submitting the full proposal.

Budget on €2 million to €5 million across a consortium, plan for time. The Commission aims to inform you of the outcome within about 5 months of the deadline, followed by roughly 3 months of grant agreement preparation, so the standard time-to-grant target is around 8 months. Pre-financing (often 60% to 80% of the EU contribution) is usually paid shortly after the grant is signed.

Pick a topic and read the call text literally, because each topic has specific expected outcomes you must hit. Proposals are scored on Excellence, Impact, and Implementation, each out of 5, and Impact is where most applications fail, so quantify the market, jobs, and EU strategic benefit. A credible consortium with clear roles, a realistic work plan, and a genuine path to deployment beats a stronger idea that is vaguely described.