Low cost high thrust propulsion for European strategic space launchers – technologies maturation including ground system tests
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Cost reduction and improving flexibility of European launch systems are the main challenges in order to foster European industry competitiveness on the global market.
The propulsion systems represent a significant part of launch system costs. It is necessary to mature new or optimised low cost effective (lower number of parts, better operability), high performance (high thrust to weight ratio, high specific impulse) and green propulsion concepts, technologies and propellants for high thrust engines.
Detailed Call Description
The activities should address:
- Maturation of enabling technologies, building blocks, tools and processes including maintenance/overhaul and safety, up to TRL5/6 and subsystem tests including prototyping and integrated ground tests at subsystems level by 2025;
- Demonstration of the above technologies by subsystems and engine on-ground demonstration tests by 2026 to reach TRL 7.
The proposed activities must support Europe’s non-dependence objective and include the assessment of costs reduction investigations and test results towards the overarching objective mentioned in the expected outcomes.
The activities will address one or several of the following areas:
- low-cost propulsion,
- throttlability,
- HMS – Health Monitoring Systems,
- controllers taking advantage of AI,
- reduced number of parts with extensive application of Additive manufacturing, or new composite technologies,
- maintenance/overhaul,
- associated fluidics.
The activities should include as many as technologies possible in each area to maximise the number of matured technologies to be submitted to integrated tests at subsystem level and integration of subsystem (all technologies together) for engine firing tests by 2026.
Proposals should provide all IPR dependencies and dependencies with other on-going activities, and detail the implementation, the reporting and the organisational as well as steering measures that will be taken to ensure that the proposed activities can be implemented and can achieve all the expected outcomes within the project schedule and budget.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
EU Contribution: €20,00 million
Thematic Categories
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Space
Eligibility for Participation
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
Eligibility For Participation Notes
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).
Participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the United Kingdom to participate is conditional upon the following: (i) the United Kingdom is associated to Horizon Europe, and (ii) the United Kingdom’s equivalent space calls are published and open to the EU entities on a reciprocal basis.”
Entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a noneligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security. The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place to ensure that:
a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that restrains or restricts its ability to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure, facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to to sensitive information relating to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible country in which the legal entity is established.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou Street, 1075 Nicosia
T.Th. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
+357 22205000
Email: support@research.org.cy
Dr Angelos Ntantos
Scientific Officer
Telephone: 35722205033
Email: antantos@research.org.cy
Dr Ioannis Theodorou
Scientific Officer
Telephone: 35722205038
Email: itheodorou@research.org.cy
(Publish Date: 10/01/2023-for internal use only)
EU Contact Point
Εuropean Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/research-and-innovation_en#contact