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Overview
Cluster 5 is the climate, energy and mobility engine of Horizon Europe's second pillar — the part of the programme that funds large, cross-border research consortia rather than single companies. It pays for collaborative projects across nine themes: climate science, energy supply, energy systems and grids, buildings and industry, communities and cities, transport competitiveness, clean and accessible mobility, smart mobility, and energy storage. Grants are paid as Research and Innovation Actions (RIA — earlier-stage research, funded at 100% of eligible costs) and Innovation Actions (IA — closer-to-market demonstration, funded at 70%, or 100% for non-profits). The European Commission adopted the 2026-2027 work programme on 11 December 2025; of the funding it directs to Cluster 5, an estimated €1.644 billion is classed as climate-related expenditure — the single largest climate share of any Horizon Europe cluster. The spring 2026 calls (€466.7 million) closed in March-April 2026 and are under evaluation. Right now two calls worth €486 million are open: €223 million for energy and batteries (HORIZON-CL5-2026-09, deadline 15 September 2026) and €263 million for transport and mobility including a €100 million battery topic (HORIZON-CL5-2026-10, deadline 8 October 2026). The 2027 calls open between November and December 2026, with deadlines in March-April 2027. To apply you need a consortium: at least three independent organisations from three different EU or Associated Countries, with at least one based in an EU member state. This is not founder money; it is institutional money for universities, research institutes, large industry and SMEs working together on hard, multi-year problems.
Is this for you?
Success rates — the honest picture
Roughly 1 in 5 applications gets funded. A sharp, evidence-backed proposal is what separates the funded from the rejected.
Eligibility
- 1Applications must come from a consortium of at least three independent legal entities, each established in a different EU Member State or Associated Country, with at least one based in an EU Member State.
- 2Eligible participants span universities, research and technology organisations, large industry, SMEs, public authorities, cities and NGOs — this is collaborative institutional funding, not single-company money.
- 3Legal entities from Horizon Europe Associated Countries participate on equal terms with EU entities, unless a specific topic restricts participation.
- 4RIA grants reimburse 100% of eligible costs; IA grants reimburse 70% of eligible costs, rising to 100% for non-profit legal entities; CSA grants reimburse 100%.
- 5Each Cluster 5 topic sets its own expected outcomes, required activities and (where relevant) Technology Readiness Level, defined in the topic text on the Funding & Tenders portal — that text is the binding eligibility source.
How to Apply
- 1
Find the relevant HORIZON-CL5-2026 topic on the EU Funding & Tenders portal and read the full topic text — it defines the binding scope, action type, budget and deadline.
- 2
Build a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from three different EU/Associated Countries (one in an EU member state), choosing partners that are genuinely complementary rather than assembled for the grant.
- 3
Register every partner on the portal: each needs an EU Login account and a Participant Identification Code (PIC) via the Participant Register.
- 4
Write directly to the three evaluation criteria — Excellence, Impact, and Quality & Efficiency of Implementation — putting your strongest effort into a concrete, evidence-backed Impact section.
- 5
Submit through the portal's electronic submission system before the cut-off at 17:00 Brussels time; for two-stage topics submit the short concept note first and the full proposal only if you pass stage 1.
- 6
After submission, independent experts evaluate; funded proposals move into grant agreement preparation, with roughly five to eight months from deadline to signed grant.
Typical Budget Breakdown
2026 Deadlines
Key Features
Frequently Asked Questions
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).
It depends on the topic. Two Cluster 5 calls worth €486 million are open right now — €223 million for energy and batteries and €263 million for transport and mobility — with individual topic budgets from a few million euros up to €100 million; per-project grants are set in each topic's text and large demonstrations commonly run to several million euros.
No. The €1.644 billion is Cluster 5's estimated climate-related expenditure for 2026-2027 — a climate-tracking figure, and the largest climate share of any Horizon Europe cluster. The money actually open in the current calls is €486 million (deadlines 15 September and 8 October 2026); the spring 2026 calls (€466.7 million) closed in March-April 2026.
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. 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.
The nearest cut-off is 15 September 2026 (17:00 Brussels) for the open energy-and-batteries call (HORIZON-CL5-2026-09), followed by 8 October 2026 for the transport-and-mobility call (HORIZON-CL5-2026-10) and the stage-2 deadlines of two two-stage calls, then 20 October 2026 for the third. The 2027 calls open between November and December 2026.
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View programme →AI-powered EU funding guidance
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