Closed

Digital solutions for autonomy for space transportation systems, design and simulation tools - Digital enablers and building blocks

HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

Basic Information

Identifier
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-12
Programme
SPACE-HADEA
Programme Period
2021 - 2027
Status
Closed (31094503)
Opening Date
May 22, 2025
Deadline
September 25, 2025
Deadline Model
single-stage
Budget
€10,000,000
Min Grant Amount
€10,000,000
Max Grant Amount
€10,000,000
Expected Number of Grants
1
Keywords
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-12HORIZON-CL4-2025-02

Description

Expected Outcome:

The topic encompasses actions within the scope of the co-programmed European Partnership on Globally Competitive Space Systems (‘Space Partnership’) in the areas of satellite communication (SatCom), Earth Observation (EO) and New Commercial Space Transportation Solutions and is part of cohesive activities in the domain of digital developments under the grand heading of “digitalisation for commercial space solutions”.

Under the area of Access to Space related to New Space Transportation Solutions, this topic focusses on the Low to Mid TRL level building blocks for key technologies required to strengthen competitiveness in this domain. Areas for launch service improvement are e.g., health monitoring systems, enabling real time subsystem monitoring through all mission phases, high speed sensor networks for on board real-time data feeds, smart avionics, functional building blocks for autonomy, enhanced ground-board high-data rate communication and high-speed on-board computer, as well as Artificial Intelligence algorithms to process high volumes of data.

Project results are expected to contribute to one or several of the following expected outcomes:

  • Improved space transportation systems and launcher sustainability, reduced costs and operational constraints as well as enhanced system monitoring and autonomy;
  • Technology developments for New Space Transportation Solutions, including addressing software and digital tools;
  • Models for mission, system design and optimisation, able to integrate life cycle analysis, engineering and environmental models for optimisation of development through manufacturing and mission implementation.

This will contribute to developing, deploying global space-based services applications and data and contribute to fostering the EU's space sector competitiveness, as stated in the expected impact of this destination.

Scope:

To tackle the above-mentioned expected outcomes, the following R&I is expected to be addressed:

  • the maturation of eco-design software tools enhancing reconfigurability in orbit
  • the maturation of disruptive/game changing technologies related to digitalisation

Proposals are expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs and research institutions) and consider opportunities to quickly turn technological innovation into commercial use in space.

Proposals under this topic should explore synergies and be complementary to already funded actions in the context of technology development at component level. In particular, it is expected that projects make use of existing European technologies and/or building blocks at component level contributing to European non-dependence and strengthen competitiveness, and this should be clearly presented in the proposal. Furthermore, proposed activities should be complementary to H2020 and Horizon Europe funded projects, national activities and activities funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Globally Competitive Space Systems’ (GCSS). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on results to the European Partnership ‘Globally Competitive Space Systems’ (GCSS) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

In this topic, the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed only if relevant in relation to the objectives of the research effort.

Destination & Scope

 

Eligibility & Conditions

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions

In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely it is important to avoid a situation of technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Norway, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Proposals including entities established in countries outside the scope specified in the call/topic/action will be ineligible.

For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees positively assessed 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 retrains 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 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.

]]

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).

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):

Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System

Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)

Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations 

Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) 

Guidance

HE Programme Guide 

Model Grant Agreements (MGA)

Lump Sum MGA 

Call-specific instructions 

Detailed budget table (HE LS) 

Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"

Declaration of ownership and control

A compulsory questionnaire on the declaration of ownership and control is to be filled by all project participants as part of the application. All declarations must be assembled by the coordinator and uploaded in a single file in the portal submission system. For additional information on the assessment of ownership and control process and on the guarantees please consult the draft guidance for participation in restricted calls.

Additional documents:

Support & Resources

Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.

Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.

Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.

Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.

National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).

Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.

IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.

European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.

CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.

The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.

Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.

Latest Updates

Last Changed: September 26, 2025

The call HORIZON-CL4-2025-02 closed on the 25/09/2025.

93 proposals have been submitted.

 

The breakdown per topic is:

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-11: 7 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-12: 9 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-13: 3 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-21: 5 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-22: 3 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-23: 3 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-24: 11 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-31: 20 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-32: 7 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-41: 2 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-42: 2 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-43: 2 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-44: 1 proposal

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-45: 4 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-46: 5 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-71: 1 proposal

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-72: 3 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-73: 2 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-74: 2 proposals

·HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-81: 1 proposal

 

Evaluation results are expected to be communicated at the latest on 25 February 2026.



Last Changed: June 12, 2025

Please note that due to a technical issue, during the first days of publication of this call, the topic page did not display the description of the corresponding destination. This problem is now solved. In addition to the information published in the topic page, you can always find a full description of the destination 5 “Open strategic autonomy in developing, deploying and using global space-based infrastructures, services, applications and data” that is relevant for the call in the Work Programme 2025 part for “Digital, Industry and Space”. Please select from the work programme the destination relevant to your topic and take into account the description and expected impacts of that destination for the preparation of your proposal.

Last Changed: May 22, 2025
The submission session is now available for: HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-12, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-44, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-13, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-43, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-46, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-21, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-71, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-32, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-24, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-22, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-31, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-41, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-81, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-11, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-23, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-74, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-72, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-42, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-73, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-45
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