Loading page...
Log inCreate account
Loading page...
Grants set by each topic
Large research and innovation projects commonly receive several million euros.Multi-million-euro collaborative grants for climate, clean energy and mobility R&I. €394.5M open across two calls (8 October and 1 December 2026); first 2027 calls open 17 November 2026
AI-generated cover illustration. Programme details are sourced separately below.
Recorded editorial check · 25 days ago (1 Oct 2026)
Horizon Europe Cluster 5 funds collaborative research and innovation in climate, energy and mobility. Relevant technologies include energy systems and grids, storage, clean generation, buildings, industrial energy use, transport and connected mobility. Applicants select a precise topic and assemble the required consortium; most collaborative RIA and IA topics require at least three independent entities in three different eligible countries, including one EU Member State. Research and Innovation Actions normally cover eligible costs at 100%; Innovation Actions normally cover companies at 70%, with the usual non-profit exception. The batteries and mobility round that closed on 8 October 2026 is no longer open. The current HORIZON-CL5-2026-11 energy call closes on 1 December 2026 and offers €131.5M across five topics covering geothermal energy, biofuel combined heat and power, renewable-fuels procurement, AI-ready energy datasets and photovoltaic systems. Topic envelopes and expected project contributions differ; in particular, procurement and AI-data projects have specific buyer, data-access and technology-readiness conditions. The first selected 2027 climate and energy rounds are scheduled to open on 17 November 2026 with a 4 March 2027 deadline.
The numbers are sobering.
At least one of the three consortium members must be established in an EU member state; the other two can be in associated countries. Most funded consortia are far larger than the legal minimum — winning bids typically bundle industry, research institutes and end-users across many countries.
Sharpens the science that the entire green transition leans on: next-generation climate monitoring, sharper climate-risk assessment, climate economics, and even tackling climate disinformation. The 2026 climate-sciences call (HORIZON-CL5-2026-07) ran roughly €82 million across five topics.
Research and innovation actions on climate modelling, monitoring and risk assessment
The horizontal destination, dominated in 2026-2027 by batteries: recycling, sustainable material processing and integrated lithium-battery production. CL5-2026-09 (closed 15 Sep 2026) and CL5-2026-10 (closed 8 Oct 2026) both carry major battery topics, including a €100M battery topic in CL5-2026-10.
Batteries, advanced materials and other cross-cutting enabling technologies
The largest single 2026 call (HORIZON-CL5-2026-03, around €176.7 million over 10 topics, closed) sits here. HORIZON-CL5-2026-11 (open, €131.5M, deadline 1 December 2026) adds five further energy-supply topics: renewable fuels pre-commercial procurement (€40M), bioenergy demonstration (€13.5M), geothermal resource assessment (€18M), innovative PV applications (€30M), and AI foundation models in energy (€30M).
Renewables, grids, storage, carbon capture and storage, bioenergy, geothermal, PV and AI for energy
The demand side of the energy system: smart building performance, deep building renovation, carbon-lifecycle tools and industrial heat. Per-topic budgets cluster in the €15.75-28 million range.
Energy efficiency in buildings and industry, and demand-side flexibility
Decarbonising the vehicles themselves across road, air and water: heavy-duty battery-electric trucks, energy-efficient EVs, aviation, ports and shipyards, and zero-carbon waterborne fuels. The 2026 transport call (HORIZON-CL5-2026-05) ran around €138 million over six topics (closed).
Zero- and low-emission vehicles, aircraft and vessels
The systems layer: connected, cooperative and automated mobility (CCAM) demonstrations, multimodal freight and passenger transport, and road safety. HORIZON-CL5-2026-10 (closed 8 Oct 2026, €263M) has eight topics here, including a large CCAM demonstrators topic and a generative AI for smarter CCAM topic.
Connected and automated mobility, multimodal logistics and road safety
This describes the stated cohort and evaluation stage, rather than the outcome of a future application.
| Call | Deadline | Budget | Evaluated | Funded | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL5-2024-D3-01 (energy supply, 17 topics) | 16 Jan 2024 | €246M | 252 | 43 | ~17% |
| CL5-2024-D2-01 (cross-sectoral climate solutions) | 18 Apr 2024 | €92M | 117 | 19 | ~16% |
| CL5-2024-D4-01 (efficient energy use) | 18 Apr 2024 | €36M | 92 | 7 | ~8% |
Rates computed from CINEA's published call-closure counts (proposals evaluated vs projects selected); the Commission publishes no consolidated Cluster 5 success rate. Unlike the EIC Accelerator, collaborative Horizon calls have no resubmission cap — a rejected consortium can rework and re-apply to a later matching topic.
Standard Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Innovation Actions (IA) in Cluster 5 need at least three independent legal entities: one established in an EU Member State plus two others, each in a different Member State or associated country. The trap in the fine print: affiliated entities do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not count towards this minimum. Three subsidiaries of one group, or two partners plus an affiliate, fails eligibility outright. Only Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) can be submitted by a single entity.
The UK has been an associated country since 1 January 2024 and participates in Cluster 5 on equal terms, including as coordinator. Switzerland's position changed recently: the EU Programmes Agreement signed on 10 November 2025 associates it retroactively from 1 January 2025, so Swiss universities, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and corporates are again directly fundable and may coordinate consortia in the 2026–2027 calls. Partners who drafted budgets assuming Swiss self-funding should rework them.
The adopted 2026–2027 Work Programme bars legal entities established in China from both RIAs and IAs under the batteries destination (e.g. the BATT4EU topics in calls HORIZON-CL5-2026-09 and -10). Stricter still: under the General Annex B 'restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas', an entity registered in an eligible country but directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a Chinese legal entity is also ineligible — your EU-incorporated subsidiary does not launder the cap table. Chinese universities supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are excluded across the entire Work Programme.
Any non-public coordinator requesting €500,000 or more triggers a financial capacity check during grant preparation, based on audited accounts, balance sheet and profit-and-loss documents uploaded to the Participant Register. Evaluators also weigh dependency on EU funding and past deficits. A weak result can mean pre-financing paid in instalments or withheld entirely, a demand for joint-and-several liability of affiliated entities, forced replacement of the partner — or rejection of the whole proposal. Thinly capitalised startups should let a sturdier partner coordinate.
The evaluation result letter explicitly does not commit the Commission to fund you. Between invitation to grant preparation and signature sit legal entity validation, the financial capacity check, and the exclusion-grounds screen (EU administrative sanctions, insolvency, unpaid taxes and social security, professional misconduct). Separately, every proposal must include an ethics self-assessment; projects raising ethics issues undergo a formal ethics review that must clear before funding is authorised, and its conditions become binding deliverables in the grant agreement.
Cluster 5 projects must focus exclusively on civil applications. And a recurring topic-level condition: any project using satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation or timing data must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (the EU's own systems); commercial alternatives may only supplement them. Mobility and energy-infrastructure proposals built around third-country GNSS (global navigation satellite system) data alone are non-compliant.
The five 2026-11 topics cover renewable-fuel procurement, biofuel CHP, geothermal resource assessment, PV system design and AI training data. Each has its own target outcomes and expected contribution.
The AI foundation-model data topic targets TRL 7–8 by project end and expects access to large relevant datasets at submission. Include the actual data holders and usable access arrangements in the consortium plan.
Your project should sit at TRL 3–8 when you apply. The eligible band is highlighted below.
Cluster 5 money is a pure grant: no dilution, no repayment. It is paid to the consortium coordinator, who redistributes it under the consortium agreement you sign among yourselves. On top of direct costs, every partner gets a flat 25% of direct costs for overheads — no receipts needed for that slice.
Read the topic's action type before budgeting. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA — lower-maturity research) reimburse 100% of eligible costs for all partners. Innovation Actions (IA — pilots and demonstrators closer to market) reimburse for-profit companies only 70%: you finance the remaining 30% yourself, while university and non-profit partners in the same project still get 100%.
A pre-financing payment lands shortly after the grant starts, but 5–8% of the maximum grant is diverted into the Mutual Insurance Mechanism — the programme's collective default fund — and only returned at project end. Interim payments follow each approved periodic report; the final slice is held back until the last report clears.
A growing number of topics use lump-sum grants: the budget is agreed per work package up front and paid when the work package is delivered, with no financial cost statements and no cost audits. Check the topic page — it tells you which model applies; you cannot choose.
These are indicative project contributions from the work programme. Consortium budgets, procurement expenditure and company revenue are different quantities.
Submitted on time through the Portal, complete, within page limits, consortium meets eligibility (normally 3 independent entities from 3 EU or Associated Countries, at least one in a Member State, for RIA and IA).
Who: Granting authority staff
Each expert reads the proposal alone, scores Excellence, Impact and Implementation from 0 to 5 (half points allowed) and writes an individual evaluation report. Proposals are judged as submitted; experts may not suggest fixes.
Who: Normally at least 3 independent external experts
The experts agree common comments and scores, moderated by agency staff. Becomes the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR).
Who: Same experts plus a moderator
The evaluation committee checks consistency across proposals, applies tie-break rules and ranks proposals above threshold per topic or budget envelope. No interviews or hearings for standard cluster topics.
Who: Evaluation committee of independent experts
Invitation to grant preparation, reserve list or rejection, with the ESR.
Who: Granting authority
Legal entity validation, financial capacity check, lump sum budget adjustments if any. An invitation is not a funding commitment.
Who: Coordinator and agency
0 to 5 per criterion, half points allowed. 0 fails or cannot be assessed; 1 poor; 2 fair (significant weaknesses); 3 good (a number of shortcomings); 4 very good (a small number of shortcomings); 5 excellent (any shortcomings are minor). Maximum 15.
Clear, pertinent objectives that go beyond the state of the art; a sound methodology including concepts, models, assumptions, interdisciplinarity, the gender dimension in R&I content and open science practices. Expectations scale with TRL: lower-TRL RIAs are judged differently from high-TRL IAs.
Credible pathways to the expected outcomes and impacts written in the topic text; suitable, good-quality measures to maximise them through the dissemination and exploitation plan, including communication. The exploitation plan is mandatory for full proposals.
An effective work plan with risk assessment and effort per work package that fits the tasks; capacity and role of each participant and a consortium that together has the needed expertise. For lump sum topics, the detailed budget table is checked for over or under estimation.
Checked against the call documents, evaluation forms and redress rules on 18 October 2026. Horizon Europe WP 2026-2027, Part 15 General Annexes (Annexes A, D, E, F) · HE RIA/IA Part B template V5.1, 22 Jan 2026 · HE RIA/IA evaluation form V4.0, 12 Nov 2025 · F&T Online Manual: Evaluation and evaluation results · F&T Online Manual: Complaints about proposal rejection · Horizon Europe Programme Guide V5.1, 15 Sep 2025
Batteries and energy topics (incl. BATT4EU partnership); submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Batteries and mobility, incl. the €100m CCAM flagship pilot topic and next-generation lithium battery production.
17:00:00 Brussels time, hard cut-off; the responsible Director-General may delay deadlines by up to two months, never advance them.
Same day, stage-2 full proposals fall due for the two-stage calls CL5-2026-06 and -08 (stage-2 for CL5-2026-04 follows on 20 Oct 2026).
Final 2026 round; the call opens 4 Aug 2026. The first 2027 calls open from 17 Nov 2026.
Horizon Europe standard: outcome around 5 months from the deadline (around 3 months after a first-stage deadline). For the 8 Oct round that means roughly March 2027.
Legal entity validation, financial capacity check (coordinators requesting ≥€500,000), exclusion screening and any ethics review conditions — an invitation here is not yet a funding commitment.
Signature targeted around 8 months from the deadline (~June 2027 for the October round). Pre-financing follows: normally 160% of the average EU funding per reporting period, minus the 5–8% levied for the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Most Cluster 5 grants are managed by CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. Your consortium gets an assigned project officer who approves reports, monitors deliverables and convenes periodic project reviews — a working relationship, not a one-off cheque.
You sign a grant agreement with the EU and a consortium agreement among partners. The consortium agreement governs who gets what money, who owns what intellectual property and what happens when a partner underdelivers — negotiate it as seriously as the grant itself.
Each reporting period ends with a combined technical and financial report submitted via the Funding & Tenders portal, plus the deliverables promised in your work plan. Interim payments are released only after the report is approved — slow reporting means slow cash.
In actual-cost grants, any beneficiary claiming over €430,000 in actual costs must submit a certificate on the financial statements from an independent auditor, and the Commission can audit your books for years after final payment. Lump-sum grants escape the cost audits but not the technical scrutiny.
Horizon Europe requires immediate open access to peer-reviewed publications and a data management plan following FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable). Budget real hours for this — it is a contractual obligation, not a nicety.
GREENET is the official network of Cluster 5 National Contact Points (19 partner organisations across the EU and associated countries). It runs the standing GREENET Partner Search Tool on b2match, which stays live for the whole programme through December 2027, plus the annual brokerage event tied to the Commission's Cluster 5 Info Day. Register your organisation and post a partner-search profile there rather than cold-emailing labs.
The Commission's Cluster 5 Info Day for the 2026 calls ran online on 15 January 2026, with the GREENET virtual brokerage event around it (pitching sessions plus pre-booked bilateral meetings). These events are where most consortia for a given year's calls actually crystallise; if you miss the window, the standing partner-search tool is the fallback but momentum is harder to find. Watch the Cluster 5 NCP portal for the next cycle's dates and book bilaterals before the meeting-request deadline.
NCPs (e.g. Enterprise Ireland for IE, RVO for NL, NCP Flanders, NCP Brussels) give no-cost guidance on eligibility, finding the right topic, and forming a consortium, and many offer to read a near-final draft and flag weaknesses before you submit. GREENET also publishes a short quick-start guide for newcomers and per-topic factsheets. There is no reason to submit a first-ever Cluster 5 proposal without having your national NCP look at it.
Several Cluster 5 calls are two-stage: Stage 1 is a short submission judged on idea strength, scope fit and consortium credibility, and only a small subset is invited to the full Stage 2. Documented stage-1 pass rates vary widely by topic (one batteries topic invited ~8% of submissions; a critical-elements topic invited ~31%), so check the topic's success odds, and at Stage 2 deliver a genuine qualitative step-change addressing the Stage-1 feedback rather than just more pages.
HORIZON-CL5-2026-11-D3-23 addresses energy-sector data sharing for AI foundation models. Assess data-owner participation and access before proposing a generic AI product.
The renewable-fuels PCP topic funds a procurement consortium. A technology supplier may instead participate through the later competitive R&D procurements; it is not automatically a direct grant applicant.
Live from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Builds an interactive toolbox that fuses natural and social science to help Europe make better climate- and biodiversity-aware land-use decisions.
Gives citizens the tools and knowledge base to form renewable energy communities and trade as active players in the power market.
Develops open-access tools for siting and designing offshore wind farms across their whole lifecycle, tested in the North Sea.
Creates a shared framework and digital tools to speed up the design and validation of software-defined electric vehicles.
Uses gamified learning, AI and digital twins to make energy-saving behaviour accessible and human-centred for consumers.
Coaches a portfolio of ten renewable-energy technology developers to ready their projects for the EU Innovation Fund.
No. Standard collaborative topics require a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from three different EU or Associated Countries, with at least one in an EU member state. For single-company funding, look at the EIC Accelerator instead.
A Research and Innovation Action (RIA) funds earlier-stage research and is reimbursed at 100% of eligible costs. An Innovation Action (IA) funds closer-to-market demonstration and is reimbursed at 70% (100% for non-profit entities).
Per-project amounts are specified in the individual topic conditions. An overall call budget covers multiple awards and is not the amount a company can request.
No. The €1.644 billion figure is climate-related expenditure, not a currently open call budget. Use the funding and schedule sections for individual calls.
The Commission does not publish a single official Cluster-5-only figure, but Pillar 2 collaborative success rates typically sit in the 10–20% range, with the programme-wide average near approximately 12% as of 2026 evaluations. Two-stage topics improve your odds at the concept-note stage, but the cumulative chance from concept to grant stays modest.
For some topics you first submit a short concept note. Only proposals that pass stage 1 are invited to write the full 40-page proposal for stage 2 — saving wasted effort if your idea will not clear the first cut.
Yes — entities from Horizon Europe Associated Countries participate on equal terms with EU entities, and some topics also allow third-country participants (though they may not always be funded). Check each topic’s eligibility conditions.
1 December 2026 for new applications to CL5-2026-11. The 20 October second-stage cut-off is only for previously invited consortia.
Potentially: the currently open 2026-11-D3-23 topic concerns data sharing for energy AI foundation models. The fit depends on the topic’s outcomes, data access and consortium. General software growth capital is outside this route.
Official-source review of current calls, decision facts, selected topic budgets, application artefacts and access restrictions. Existing rich material is preserved where not superseded; this is not a full re-verification of every historical statement. Follow-up reconciliation of normalized root metadata and the Cluster 4 hero facts against this scoped research; unsupported generic numeric ranges and totals are intentionally null.
Research updated: 2026-10-12
Official call documents take precedence. A listed reference is not necessarily indexed in full by the AI.
Read the complete text reference →
GrantTopic-specific project grants
View programme →
CollaborativeTopic-specific project grants
View programme →
GrantUp to 60% of relevant costs
View programme →
BlendedGrant below €2.5M + up to €10M equity
View programme →
Platform / Seal€10M–30M equity per company
View programme →Choose your AI and follow the walkthrough. Your free EUACC account connects the two.
Illustrated walkthrough
https://www.euacc.ai/api/mcpWorks on every Claude plan, including Free (one custom connector). On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds it.
On a phone, add it at claude.ai in your browser. It then shows up in the Claude app the next time you sign in.
Use EUACC to explore “Horizon cluster5” (https://www.euacc.ai/programmes/horizon-cluster5). Does this programme fit my startup, and what should I check before applying? Cite the available sources and flag missing or outdated information.