Closed

Control And Operation Tools For A Res-based Energy System

HORIZON Innovation Actions

Basic Information

Identifier
HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-17
Programme
Cluster 5 Call 02-2025 (WP 2025)
Programme Period
2021 - 2027
Status
Closed (31094503)
Opening Date
May 6, 2025
Deadline
September 3, 2025
Deadline Model
single-stage
Budget
€5,000,000
Min Grant Amount
€5,000,000
Max Grant Amount
€5,000,000
Expected Number of Grants
1
Keywords
HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-17HORIZON-CL5-2025-02

Description

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:

  • Improved preparedness of the electricity system to support the EU's binding target for 2030 of minimum 42.5% renewables in gross final energy consumption, with the aspiration to reach 45%;
  • Grid operators employ improved tools for forecasting energy generation from renewable sources and energy demand;
  • Grid operators employ innovative energy management systems and technologies for smart grids to operate efficiently the integration of RES at various voltage levels;
  • Transmission and distribution system operators develop better capacity for exploiting system flexibility and accessing services for demand response and energy storage;
  • System operators develop structured mechanisms to cooperate with energy suppliers and service providers when required by grid conditions;
  • Transmission and distribution system operators cooperate and develop mechanisms to reduce system risks associated with increased fluctuating generation.
Scope:

Projects are expected to:

  • Design and test innovative technologies, processes, and control mechanisms for the seamless integration of massive volumes of renewable energy sources (RES) at distribution and transmission levels. The solutions are expected to incorporate both hardware and software aspects;
  • Address network constraints and increase flexibility capabilities of grids, through advanced operation and control mechanisms and tools, for improving the overall grid performance and the efficiency of RES uptake;
  • Ensure effective coordination between transmission and distribution levels of the electricity grids, for the integration of massive volumes of RES at multiple voltage levels, maintaining grid stability and overall preparing for a RES-based energy system.

The demonstration, test and validation of the activities should be carried out in at least two pilots in different EU Member States and Associated Countries.

Proposals should demonstrate a clear understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating renewable energy sources into the existing energy system. Building on this, they should demonstrate a comprehensive approach for developing and testing advanced technologies and control mechanisms that can effectively address these challenges, while capitalising on solutions for digitalising the energy system.

In addition, projects should propose a set of best practices and recommendations on the effective uptake of increased shares of renewables. This should be suitable for a level of renewables in the electricity system that would allow reaching the EU's binding renewable target for 2030 of minimum of 42.5% (with the aspiration to reach 45%).

Projects are expected to include at least two electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) and four distribution system operators (DSOs), which could be distributed among the pilots of a particular project.

Additionally, collaboration is encouraged with the following entities:

  • at least three suppliers of energy from renewable sources, out of which at least two should supply energy from non-dispatchable energy sources. The supply covered by the project should include both wind and solar energy sources;
  • at least two providers of energy services for the grids (e.g., aggregation of energy supply and/or energy demand, energy storage).

This collaboration (minimum number of entities) is sought per project in total and does not necessarily apply per each pilot in particular.

Selected projects are expected to contribute to the BRIDGE initiative[1] and actively participate in its activities.

[1] https://bridge-smart-grid-storage-systems-digital-projects.ec.europa.eu/

Destination & Scope

This Destination includes activities targeting a sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply. In line with the scope of cluster 5, this includes activities in the areas of renewable energy; energy system, grids and storage; as well as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).

This Destination contributes directly to the Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic OrientationsGreen transition’, ‘Digital transition’ and ‘A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe’.

In line with the Strategic Plan, the overall expected impact of this Destination is to contribute to the ‘Ensuring more sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply through solutions for smart energy systems based on renewable energy solutions’.

This destination contributes to the activities of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and its implementation working groups.

The main impacts to be generated by topics under this Destination are:

Renewable energy

  1. Energy producers have access to competitive European renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies and deploy them to enhance the EU’s energy security. This will contribute to the 2030 “Fit for 55” targets (in particular, at least 42.5% renewable energy share and aiming for 45% in the EU energy consumption, 5.5% advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin share in EU fuel consumption). It will also contribute to the indicative target of at least 5% innovative renewable energy technology for the newly installed renewable energy capacity. By 2050, climate neutrality in the energy sector will be achieved in a sustainable way in environmental (e.g., biodiversity, multiple uses of land and water, natural resources, pollution) and socioeconomic terms, and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
  2. Technology providers have access to European, reliable, sustainable, and affordable value chains of renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies.
  3. Economic sectors benefit from better integration of renewable energy and renewable fuel-based solutions that are among others cost-effective, efficient, flexible, reliable, and sustainable. Such integration is facilitated by digital technologies and by renewable energy technologies that provide network stability and reliability.
  4. European researchers benefit from a stronger community and from a reinforced scientific basis on renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies, also through international collaborations.
  5. European industries benefit from a reinforced export potential of renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies, also through international collaborations.
  6. European industries become frontrunners and maintain technological leadership in innovative renewable energy technologies in line with the energy union strategy.
  7. European citizens, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, have access to an energy market that is affordable, fair and equitable, more resilient, uses all different types of local renewable energy resources, and is less dependent on fossil fuels. Local communities benefit from a more decentralised and secure energy system and from multiple uses of land and water. Less citizens experience fuel and energy poverty.
  8. Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) implementation working groups on solar photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies, renewable fuels and bioenergy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and ocean energy benefit from a reinforced scientific basis and collaboration on renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies towards meeting the ambitious targets of the European Green Deal.

Energy systems, grids & storage

R&I actions will support the just digital and green transformation of the energy system through advanced solutions for accelerating the energy systems integration and decarbonisation. The developed clean, sustainable solutions will contribute to making the energy system and supply more reliable, resilient, and secure. The solutions will contribute to increase flexibility and grid hosting capacity for renewables through optimising cross sector integration and grid scale storage. They will enhance the competitiveness of the European value chain, reduce pressure on resources (also by making technologies ‘circular by design’) and decrease dependencies.

Innovative and cost-effective energy storage (integration) solutions are developed, that provide flexibility to the energy system, reduce total cost of grid operation and enhancement and that minimise the use of critical raw materials and ensure, to the best extent possible, their reuse and recycling, are key elements of the energy system.

Carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR)

  1. Accelerated development of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) as a CO2 emission mitigation option in electricity generation, in industry applications and carbon dioxide removal technologies (including conversion of CO2 to energy products).
  2. Reduced EU’s dependency on imported fossil fuels and increased energy security, reduced energy system’s vulnerability to the impacts of the changing climate.

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

The following exceptions apply: subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

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

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

Frequently Asked Questions About Control And Operation Tools For A Res-based Energy System

Cluster 5 Call 02-2025 (WP 2025) (2021 - 2027).
Per-award amount: €5,000,000. Total programme budget: €5,000,000. Expected awards: 1.
Deadline: September 3, 2025. Deadline model: single-stage.
This call is open to applicants in Europe.
Eligible organisation types (inferred): SMEs.
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.
General Annexes HE Programme Guide HE Framework Programme 2021/695 HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement   Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual   Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions   Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
You can contact the organisers at [email protected].

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: January 27, 2026

EVALUATION results

Published: 06.05.2025

Deadline: 03.09.2025

Available budget: EUR 274 million

The results of the evaluation for each topic are as follows:



HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-03

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-06

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-08

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-10

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-11

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-12

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-03

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-04

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-06

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-11

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-16

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-17

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-21

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-25

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-26

HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-27

Number of proposals submitted (including proposals transferred from or to other calls)

16

1

38

1

20

0

17

19

23

2

18

12

2

7

12

14

1

30

Number of inadmissible proposals

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

Number of ineligible proposals

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

Number of above-threshold proposals

8

1

13

1

19

0

4

12

7

2

10

6

2

3

11

11

1

9

Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals (EUR million)

75,22

3

64,06

69

9,53

0

42,11

48,54

48,32

18,08

59,08

26,94

2

29,01

76,46

54,46

5

62,31

Number of proposals retained for funding

2

1

2

1

14

0

2

3

4

2

3

1

1

2

2

2

1

2

Number of proposals in the reserve list

2

0

2

0

2

0

2

2

2

0

2

2

1

1

2

2

0

2

Funding threshold

14

14,5

13,5

12

10,5

-

14

14,5

14

11,5

13

15

14

12

15

15

13

15

Ranking distribution

Number of proposals with scores lower or equal to 15 and higher or equal to 14

3

1

1

0

2

0

2

3

4

0

2

3

1

1

5

6

0

6

Number of proposals with scores lower than 14 and higher or equal to 13

4

0

8

0

2

0

1

3

0

1

1

1

1

0

3

4

1

2

Number of proposals with scores lower than 13 and higher or equal to 10

7

0

16

1

15

0

6

6

9

1

10

2

0

3

3

2

0

11



Summary of observer report:

This observer report assesses the evaluation process for the Horizon Europe call HORIZON-CL5-2025-02, which covered 18 topics and involved 34 expert panels. The evaluation was highly complex but managed with professionalism, transparency, and efficiency. Key strengths included thorough planning, effective coordination, high-quality briefing materials, and robust moderation and quality control. The process was notably fair, impartial, and confidential, with strong measures to avoid bias and ensure consistent application of criteria. Throughput time was excellent, and procedures were highly efficient. The involved experts demonstrated high levels of expertise and staff demonstrated high competence and responsiveness. Continuous guidance by moderators and quality controllers ensured the evaluation was carried out in a consistent and fair manner, in line with the applicable written procedures, with high-quality feedback to applicants as the final result. The evaluation compared very favourably to international standards, offering state-of-the-art practices in fairness and reliability. Recommendations include enhancing IT collaboration tools, introducing more offline time and counteracting evaluation order effects. Overall, the evaluation was exemplary.

We informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals in December 2025.

For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.



Last Changed: September 5, 2025

PROPOSAL NUMBERS  

Call HORIZON-CL5-2025-02 has closed on the 03/09/2025 (17:00). 

233 proposals have been submitted. 

The breakdown per topic is: 

  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-03 (IA): 16 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-06 (CSA): 1 proposal 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-08 (RIA): 38 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-10 (COFUND): 1 proposal 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-11 (CSA): 20 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-12 (CSA): 0 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-03 (IA): 17 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-04 (RIA): 19 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-06 (IA): 23 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09 (IA): 2 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-11 (IA): 18 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15 (CSA): 12 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-16 (CSA): 2 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-17 (IA): 7 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-21 (IA): 12 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-25 (RIA): 14 proposals 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-26 (RIA): 1 proposal 
  • HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-27 (IA): 30 proposals 

 

 Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in December 2025. 



Last Changed: September 2, 2025

Please note that the deadline of all 18 topics under call HORIZON-CL5-2025-02 has been postponed from 02 September 2025 to 03 September 2025 - 17:00:00 Brussels local time.

Last Changed: May 9, 2025
The submission session is now available for: HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-09, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-26, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-11, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-11, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-17, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-25, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-12, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-16, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-10, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-04, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-03, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-21, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-27, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-03, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-06, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-08, HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D2-06