Maturing of a European industrial ecosystem for security-certified terrestrial QKD technologies and systems

Closed

Code: 38006 | Identifier Code: DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-01 | Programme name: 15593 | Start submission calls: 15/07/2025 | End submission calls: 16/10/2025

To stimulate the maturing and the transition to security certified (common criteria) of compact and efficient European components and systems for quantum key distribution and quantum secure networks, ready for integration into telecom networks, and compliant with security requirements (e.g. protection profile).

Contribute to the development of a European industrial quantum communication ecosystem, including a thriving SME sector.

Incentive Scheme for the recruitment of unemployed people over the age 50

Opened

Code: 38000 | Programme name: 2799 | Start submission calls: 05/09/2025 | End submission calls: 05/09/2026

The Scheme aims to encourage employers to hire unemployed persons over the age of 50, on the date of recruitment, who are registered with the Public Employment Service (PES). The Scheme is part of the active employment policies promoted by the Government and contributes to the effort to combat poverty and social exclusion, particularly with regard to the active integration of vulnerable population groups into the labor market. From 5/9/2025 until the budget is exhausted or the Plan is announced as terminated.

Support standardisation for the EuroQCI (CSA)

Closed

Code: 38001 | Identifier Code: DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-03 | Programme name: 15593 | Start submission calls: 15/07/2025 | End submission calls: 16/10/2025

To implement appropriate necessary standardisation activities to efficiently support an operational EuroQCI infrastructure with dedicated QKD and quantum cryptography services.

While the available QKD products have now been made available by industry for a market of early adopters and innovators, there is the need to intensify standardization efforts at all levels, from QKD components, systems and applications to network capabilities and components for future quantum networks, to enable integration of quantum devices into wider complex systems, to build a solid industrial base and anticipate foreseeable work on components for future quantum networks and future certification.

Enhanced Learning Strategies for General Purpose AI: Advancing GenAI4EU (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37995 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-07 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

Large-scale AI models excel at tasks like language processing, image generation, and complex games, but they still struggle with real-world adaptability, robust reasoning (logic, math, multi-step planning), and recognizing their own limits—often producing errors outside their knowledge domains. To move beyond pattern recognition, the goal is to build more robust, adaptive General-Purpose AI by combining self-supervised learning with complementary strategies: hybrid learning (symbolic reasoning + knowledge representation), active learning, reinforcement learning, relational learning, continual learning, evolutionary learning, and physics-based learning. Together, these approaches aim to create GPAI systems with enhanced capabilities that can tackle complex, real-world challenges.

Soft Robotics for Advanced physical capabilities (IA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37992 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-05 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

Soft robotics represents an important avenue to advance robotics, particularly for enhancing safety and physical interaction. Its potential lies in creating systems with intrinsic and functional safety, capable of securely interacting with humans across various scenarios. By using compliant designs, these systems overcome the limitations of rigid robotic systems, such as limited adaptability and reduced safety around humans. Novel design methods, the use of smart materials, deformable physical architectures, and bioinspired approaches are key to improving robotic performance. However, significant challenges remain in learning, modelling, simulation, control, actuation, sensing, and the integration of soft electronics.

To address this, proposals should focus on exploiting novel materials and design methods for non-rigid structures, along with advanced control techniques for soft robotic systems.

Assessment methodologies for General Purpose AI capabilities and risks (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37990 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-04 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to the development of increasingly sophisticated general-purpose AI (GPAI) models and systems. These models, such as large language models and multimodal AI systems, demonstrate remarkable capabilities across a wide range of tasks. However, assessing the capabilities of these models remains a significant challenge. Traditional evaluation methods often fail to capture the full spectrum of abilities exhibited by GPAI models and systems. Therefore, there is a pressing need for the development of new assessment frameworks, methodologies and tools that can comprehensively evaluate these models in terms of their trustworthy and ethical behaviour and operation, ensuring their reliability, fairness, and alignment with human values.

Advanced sensor technologies and multimodal sensor integration for multiple application domains (IA) (Photonics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37987 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The scope of this topic focuses on the advancement and application of photonic sensor technologies and their integration into multimodal systems. Proposals are expected to address the development of sensor technologies and their validation through trials in realistic use cases. This includes exploring multi-modal sensor capabilities, as well as employing sensor fusion and machine learning approaches for the analysis of sensor data.

Software Engineering for AI and generative AI (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37985 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DATA-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The latest developments in AI are demanding computation infrastructures designed to maximize the number of FLOPS. Europe has a window of opportunity to leverage open source and ensure that the European industry is at the cutting edge of these new processing infrastructures. The current methods and tools to develop and efficiently deliver AI pipelines and complex generative AI applications present several shortcomings.

Current identified challenges include the continuous management of data pipelines, novel testing methods (e.g. differential testing or improved performance testing), optimized deployment strategies (in terms of using energy efficient resources or the best performant), management of dependencies with a diverse set of types of hardware, algorithm bias and discrimination against certain groups, determined by characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, age or disability, as well as the maintenance of the effectiveness of AI applications, notably generative AI ones. The explainability of AI models is another crucial challenge that must be also tackled at the software engineering level, possibly in synergy with explainability methods at the machine learning stage. Also, large language models and foundational models require the development and operation of complex system architectures that need to handle data processing at large scale, continuous training of models and inference. Furthermore, AI pipelines and generative AI application also strongly suffer from poor protection against learning dataset poisoning, as well as prompt poisoning; software engineering methods and tools providing support to protect against those attacks are thus direly required. This presents novel challenges for developers that will need to be addressed with the development of new methods, mechanisms and tools covering the above, including neuromorphic computing, but not limited to.

Empowering AI/generative AI along the Cognitive Computing continuum (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37983 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DATA-02 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The Cloud to Edge Continuum needs to provide seamless and trustworthy integration of diverse computing and data environments spanning from core cloud to edge to IoT and support the enormous data, processing needs, and new resource types brought by next generation AI technologies.

Different types of AI processes pose different requirements that compute infrastructures need to meet to execute them. The state-of-the-art in generative AI and large language models is heavily reliant on high-performance processing and very large AI models. Cutting-edge hardware accelerators that power these processing systems are scarce on the market and only available in highly specialised, high-performance infrastructures in certain cloud and HPC environments at considerable costs. At the same time, the requirement to gather, process, and transmit massive amounts of data to the central data processing environment remains a barrier for many AI applications. All these factors urge the emergence of efficient tools and mechanisms to empower the distribution of AI training and inference processes throughout the computing continuum.

Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for conformable, flexible or stretchable electronics (RIA) (Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe partnership)

Closed

Code: 37980 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-MATERIALS-47 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The concept of “ubiquitous electronics” can be a unique opportunity for the EU, opening up new avenues for e.g., wearable electronics, e-textile, e-skin, wellbeing solutions and Internet of wearable things (IoWT), which represent strategic markets for the EU. Innovative and advanced materials (IAMs) can enable new technologies and the much-needed paradigm of an electronic device that can adapt to any substrate. Despite the progress made in this field, current devices are made up of a limited proportion of flexible, conformable, and stretchable components, mainly sensors, while the rest of the circuit remains rigid, limiting this technology shift.

The overall objective is to discover Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs), including 2DMs, with improved properties in terms of flexibility, conformability and stretchability that can enable novel flexible electronic applications, with a focus on environmentally friendly technologies with reduced carbon footprint processing.

Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for photonics, enabling low-power and ultra-broadband performance for telecommunication (RIA) (Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe partnership)

Closed

Code: 37974 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-MATERIALS-46 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

IAMs can be the ideal candidate for several applications in photonics and optoelectronics. These include ultrafast integrated photonic circuits, with modulators, waveguides, detectors, emitters and switches, which play a crucial role in the ongoing quest to increase the speed of data transmission in telecommunications networks. In addition, they find utility in high-frequency transmitter modulators and receiver demodulators, which are essential for advancing wireless telecommunications technologies. They can also serve as integral components in optical interconnects for data centers, high-performance computing (HPCs), and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) computing systems.

GenAI for Africa

Closed

Code: 37972 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-HUMAN-08 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

International cooperation in semiconductors (CSA)

Closed

Code: 37970 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-19 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The CSA on semiconductors and semiconductor-based photonics will support the European Commission and Member States by mapping global supply chains and industrial strengths, identifying opportunities for cooperation, and defining key research areas beneficial for Europe. It will analyse risks to EU technological leadership and economic security, including issues like overproduction, export controls, and non-market practices. The action will also promote standardisation, joint events, researcher mobility, and prepare comparative analyses of international cooperation modalities.

GenAI4EU central Hub (CSA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37967 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-18 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

This horizontal Coordination and Support Action for GenAI4EU will develop a strong and visible European GenAI ecosystem of developers and users, aiming to strengthen the coordination, impact and visibility of the GenAI4EU initiative across diverse sectors. This CSA should be prepared, managed and coordinated by the key stakeholders in this field, in particular those active in developing local GenAI communities, tech transfer, attracting investment, and making the European GenAI stakeholders visible.

Serving as a hub for collaboration, this project seeks to streamline efforts in developing high-impact GenAI-based applications while fostering cooperation among various GenAI stakeholders, from startups, academia and large user industries, including large IT suppliers and integrators.

It will support all the Horizon Europe Pillar 2 clusters, in addressing their policy needs through the implementation of the GenAI4EU initiative, in particular in supporting mechanisms to pool efficiently and make sufficient data of high quality available (in particular from the European Data Spaces, but exploiting other sources of data as appropriate), and facilitate collaboration with the AI Factories.

The proposed project is expected to involve close collaboration and coordination among the projects implementing GenAI4EU, developing a strong community. It should also help them to maximise their impact and increase their visibility.

Specific support for the Virtual Worlds Partnership and the Web 4.0 initiative (CSA) (Virtual Worlds Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37965 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-17 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The launch of the co-programmed European Partnership for Virtual Worlds aims to build a strong industrial and end-user ecosystem in the EU, engaging society and providing access to funding, expertise, and technology across the virtual worlds value chain. The Coordination and Support Action (CSA) will be led by key stakeholders and is expected to deliver Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas (SRIAs) for both Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0, ensuring they are open, interoperable, sustainable, inclusive, and aligned with EU values. It will establish a European Virtual Worlds Partnership, strengthen links across EU and national initiatives, promote awareness and outreach, and support standardisation. Ultimately, it seeks to create a competitive ecosystem where European companies play a leading role in developing, deploying, and adopting safe, ethical, and trustworthy Virtual Worlds.

Drive the evolution of the internet towards open and interoperable Web 4.0 and Virtual Worlds: building blocks in priority areas (RIA) (Virtual Worlds Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37962 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-16 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

The aim of this topic is to advance the evolution of the internet towards open and interoperable Web 4.0 enabling Virtual Worlds, ensuring seamless user experience navigating across platforms by increasing the take up of digital commons technologies and other Open Source solutions in Europe. The action will thus leverage the strong and active community of European Open Source innovators that can contribute to relevant digital commons to deliver on key features of virtual worlds.

This topic will support early demonstrations for Web 4.0 and its architectural framework, through the use of key building blocks where there is sufficient level of maturity and critical mass of commons contributors (such as in the context of the Next Generation Internet initiative).

The envisaged Web 4.0 shall be powered by open and decentralised technologies enabling interoperability between platforms and networks and freedom of choice for the users. It should be developed through Open Source / digital commons and tackle security, scalability and sustainability at the core of the technological developments.

Applicants should define the mechanisms for contributing to and aligning with the strategic roadmap for research and innovation and the architectural Framework as it becomes available from the specific separate support action HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-17: Specific support for the Virtual Worlds Partnership and the Web 4.0 initiative (CSA).

Applicants should devise appropriate mechanisms for cooperating with the other projects under this action to ensure that they work in a coherent way towards the vision of an open, interoperable Web 4.0

GenAI4EU: Generative AI for Virtual Worlds: Advanced technologies for better performance and hyper personalised and immersive experience (IA) (AI/Data/Robotics & Virtual Worlds Partnerships)

Closed

Code: 37959 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-15 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

Generative AI, at the edge and integrated in devices, will bring better performance, a more personalised and a more immersive experience for an inclusive and wider adoption of Virtual Worlds. Small and frugal AI models would enable faster inference contributing to lower latency while improving security and privacy by processing data closer to the user, preserving EU Values. Smart digital assistants will accompany users throughout their journey within Virtual Worlds, bringing new innovative communication modalities, advancing collaborative intelligence and decision-making AI capabilities.

Core technologies for virtual worlds (RIA) (Virtual Worlds and Photonics Partnerships)

Closed

Code: 37956 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-14 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

Virtual worlds will impact the way people live, work, create and share content, the way public administrations interact with citizens as well as the way businesses operate, innovate, produce and interact with customers.

Multimodal interaction and immersion are key dimensions of Virtual Worlds and will be supported by innovative optics and photonics technologies to achieve the full potential of Virtual Worlds core technologies.

A broader adoption of Virtual Worlds will need better and more realistic immersion and interaction, mixing modalities, sensors and actuators for an ever-improved user experience: touch, smell, haptics, etc will be better stimulated, bringing users closer to real-world sensations, serving Virtual Worlds.

Many challenges remain to be addressed to realize optics and photonics technical solutions that offer high-performance, excellent visual quality, high-quality user experience, and sustainable services and devices, for head-mounted displays (HMD), autostereoscopic displays or sensing devices.

Coupled with display and sensing technologies, algorithms and metrics should be considered to exploit the underlying light (transportation) models given the utilized modality and address e.g. scene representation, content generation, compression, transmission, content reconstruction, content-to-display adaptation, or rendering. Moreover, the quality of integration, both from a user and technological perspective, will be essential for a broad adoption of Virtual Worlds.

Challenge-Driven GenAI4EU Booster (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)

Closed

Code: 37953 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-DIGITAL-EMERGING-09 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Digital, Industry & Space (Cluster 4)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 10/06/2025 | End submission calls: 02/10/2025

This initiative seeks to boost Europe’s developer community and accelerate the adoption of trustworthy Generative AI in three strategic sectors crucial for competitiveness: aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. In pharmaceuticals, GenAI can revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly generating target-specific molecules, reducing development time from years to seconds, and helping to prevent health crises such as COVID-19. In aerospace, it can optimise aircraft design, streamline manufacturing, predict maintenance needs through sensor data, improve route planning, and enhance pilot training with realistic simulations. In telecommunications, it enables the creation of intelligent and automated networks with applications in network management, optimisation, healing, slicing, predictive maintenance, and mapping. Proposals must focus exclusively on one sector, design and implement a multi-stage competition around industry-driven challenges, and provide participating companies with technical guidance, business mentoring, and access to data. Strategic industry players should be core partners, ensuring the work is relevant and impactful. While the outcomes will be pre-competitive, each proposal must include a draft exploitation plan, with the consortium responsible for guiding the competitions and supporting participants in developing powerful, industry-ready solutions.

Game-changing innovations for European launch solutions

Closed

Code: 37954 | Identifier Code: PPPA-2025-LAUNCHERS-INNOVATIONS | Programme name: 2280 | Start submission calls: 13/05/2025 | End submission calls: 07/10/2025

This is a topic for an EU prize in the field of access to space under the EU Space Programme.

When adopting the 2024 Union Budget, the Council and the European Parliament decided to finance a preparatory action, within the meaning of point b) of Article 58(2) of the Financial Regulation and entitled “Game-changing innovation for European launch solutions”.

The European Commission adopted a Decision on 4 April 2024, including this preparatory action, on “the Work Programme for 2024 and on the financing for the implementation of certain pilot projects and preparatory actions relating to the Union Space Programme and Horizon Europe for the year 2024”.

Access to space is an indispensable element of the space ecosystem, without which there is no Union space policy, which supports many political priorities.

The general policy objective is to support the development of game-changing innovations that have the potential to revolutionise the future of access to space and improve the competitiveness of the European space industry.