Horizon Europe is the European Union's framework programme for research and innovation, representing the most ambitious investment ever made by the EU in this field. The successor to Horizon 2020, this programme aims to strengthen the Union's scientific and technological foundations, boost its innovation capacity, competitiveness, and job creation, while addressing citizens' priorities and supporting European policies.
Horizon Europe occupies a central and strategic position within the European funding ecosystem. With a total budget of €95.5 billion for the period 2021–2027 (including €5.4 billion from NextGenerationEU), it is the largest research and innovation funding program in the world. Unlike other, more specific instruments, Horizon Europe covers the entire innovation spectrum, from fundamental research to market launch.
Horizon Europe's strategic objectives are fully aligned with the European vision of a more sustainable, digital, and resilient society. The program aims to:
Horizon Europe is structured around three main pillars and a cross-section:
Innovation to meet European and global challenges
Horizon Europe aligns research and innovation with societal challenges and EU policy priorities, while fostering European competitiveness. This chapter details the program's multiple dimensions to help you ideally position your project.
Horizon Europe is structured around six major thematic clusters within the second pillar:
Horizon Europe's 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' cluster funds upstream research and innovation, while programmes such as LIFE and theInnovation Fund respectively support environmental demonstration projects and the industrial deployment of low-carbon technologies.
Beyond the thematic clusters, Horizon Europe has defined specific missions to maximize the impact of research and innovation:
Horizon Europe also focuses on ten institutionalized European partnerships in strategic areas such as global health, clean hydrogen, green aviation, innovative medicines, and high-performance computing.
Horizon Europe is part of the major European political priorities:
The program particularly supports ecological and digital transitions, with at least 35% of funding dedicated to climate objectives.
Horizon Europe projects must demonstrate their potential to generate significant impacts in several dimensions:
The program uses an impact-driven approach, with a clearly defined “intervention logic” linking activities to expected short-, medium-, and long-term results.
Horizon Europe offers a variety of financing instruments tailored to different types of projects and stages of innovation:
For SMEs and startups developing disruptive technologies and seeking more targeted funding, theEIC Accelerator constitutes a specific component of Horizon Europe particularly adapted to their needs.
Here are some illustrative examples of projects that have received funding under Horizon Europe and its predecessor:
Horizon Europe particularly supports projects which:
Although Horizon Europe covers all scientific and technological fields, certain sectors benefit from particular attention:
Support by MarketKaps
Our in-depth expertise in the Horizon Europe program and its predecessors is the result of many years of successful support for public and private organizations, SMEs and large corporations, as well as academic institutions. Our team includes evaluators from the European Commission, thematic experts in the program's main clusters, and specialists in the various funding instruments.
Our experts have a thorough understanding of Horizon Europe's specific features, its evaluation criteria, and the requirements of each type of action. This expertise allows us to guide you precisely through the program's complexity, from identifying relevant calls to managing the administrative aspects of the funded project.
Our support approach for Horizon Europe follows a proven 7-step methodology:
Marketkaps offers complete or modular support according to your needs:
To be eligible for the Horizon Europe program, candidates must meet the following conditions:
For most collaborative actions (RIA, IA), a consortium must comprise at least three independent legal entities established in three different Member or Associated Countries, at least one of which must be established in an EU Member State.
Horizon Europe is accessible to a wide range of organizations:
The programme includes specific measures to broaden participation, particularly for countries with low R&I performance, as well as special schemes for innovative SMEs through the EIC.
Horizon Europe is open to participants from:
Entities established in non-associated third countries may participate but are generally not eligible for EU funding, except for specific exceptions (notably for low- and middle-income countries).
Horizon Europe projects must meet several technical criteria:
Proposals must also demonstrate their alignment with ethical principles, gender considerations, open science and European political priorities.
Funding rates in Horizon Europe depend mainly on the type of action:
Funding amounts vary considerably depending on the instruments:
Generally eligible cost categories include:
The Commission has simplified the financial rules in Horizon Europe compared to previous programmes, including a wider acceptance of beneficiaries' usual accounting practices.
The Horizon Europe programme operates on the principle of co-financing for certain types of actions:
Co-financing can come from own resources, national/regional funding, or private investors. Marketkaps can help you identify and secure co-financing sources suited to your situation.
Horizon Europe operates according to different submission modalities:
The Horizon Europe application requires the preparation of several key documents:
Marketkaps supports you in the preparation of each of these documents, paying particular attention to overall consistency and alignment with the evaluation criteria.
The Horizon Europe submission process includes the following steps:
For two-stage calls, only applicants successful in the first stage are invited to submit a full proposal.
Horizon Europe projects are evaluated according to three main criteria:
Each criterion is rated out of 5 points, with a threshold of 3/5 per criterion and an overall threshold generally of 10/15.
Marketkaps optimizes your file to maximize your score on each of these criteria, with particular attention to the impact section, which is often decisive in Horizon Europe.
The Horizon Europe programme has the following success rate characteristics:
Our experience has allowed us to identify the main errors that penalize Horizon Europe applications:
Marketkaps ensures that these weak points are corrected before submission to maximize your chances of success.
The factors that make the difference in obtaining Horizon Europe funding are:
Our experience in supporting numerous Horizon Europe projects has enabled us to identify best practices:
FAQ on the Horizon Europe programme
SMEs can participate alone in certain specific instruments such as the EIC Accelerator or certain MSCA actions. For standard collaborative actions (RIA, IA), a consortium of at least three independent entities from three different countries is required. Marketkaps can guide you towards the instrument best suited to your situation and help you form a consortium if necessary.
Horizon Europe generally offers larger funding amounts than national programs, with a European dimension providing increased visibility and opportunities for collaboration. However, it is also more competitive and requires a proposal of exceptional quality. An effective strategy is often to start with national programs to develop your expertise before embarking on Horizon Europe.
No, the minimum for most collaborative initiatives is three independent entities from three different member or associate countries. The quality and relevance of partners are far more important than their geographic diversity. An effective consortium brings together the skills needed for the project with reasonable geographic diversity, without unnecessary partners.
While Horizon Europe funds research and innovation in digital technology, the programme Digital Europe takes over by focusing on the deployment and adoption of advanced digital technologies.
First-time filings without professional support have a success rate of less than 8%. With Marketkaps' support, this rate increases significantly even for a first filing, thanks to our in-depth knowledge of evaluation criteria and our experience with funded projects.
The Horizon Europe evaluation follows a structured process:
The entire process usually takes 5 to 8 months depending on the type of action.
Yes, and it often is. Approximately 30% of funded projects are improved resubmissions. Marketkaps analyzes the evaluation report (ESR) in detail, identifies specific weaknesses, and restructures the proposal to maximize its chances of success upon resubmission. Our success rate exceeds 40% for the resubmissions we support.
Maximize your chances of success with our expertise
Marketkaps supports you every step of the way, from identifying opportunities to final submission, to maximize your chances of obtaining Horizon Europe funding and developing your visibility on a European scale.
Please contact us with any questions or to discuss your research and innovation project. Together, let's transform your ideas into European projects of excellence.
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