Climate, Energy and Mobility will support Europe’s green transition based on competitive European industrial and service value chains, in particular in the energy and mobility sector which represent markets that are predicted to substantially grow globally.

Targeted research and innovation support will enable cleaner and more competitive energy and mobility solutions and digitalised services crucial for a competitive European economy and will benefit society and citizens by offering a better quality of life and millions of new qualified green and future proof jobs.

The overarching driver for this cluster is the ambition to achieve climate neutrality in Europe by 2050, entailing the transition to climate neutrality of the energy and mobility sectors by 2050 at the latest (as well as that of other sectors not covered by this cluster), while boosting their competitiveness, resilience, and utility for citizens and society and their ecological footprint, ensuring a just transition.

Actions will support the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the European Green Deal (greater ambition for 2030 requires faster technological development and accelerated economic and societal transformation); the European Economic Recovery Plan, and other EU priorities in the areas of climate, energy, and mobility.

By creating more green jobs, accelerating economic and social transformation, faster digitalisation, and by generating innovation-based and inclusive growth, activities will also contribute to the Commission priorities “An economy that works for the people” and “A Europe fit for the digital age”.

All funding information and details on how to apply are on the Funding and Tenders portal.

Climate, Energy and Mobility will contribute:

• to provide a clean and healthy environment for all, by improving our knowledge of planetary boundaries and developing solutions to improve our food systems, restore damaged ecosystems reduce greenhouse gas emissions, short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), and other pollutants, and enhance sequestration and storage of carbon in ecosystems.
• to provide a cleaner and healthier environment by reducing the negative impacts of mobility and energy generation and use on air quality, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
• to achieve climate neutrality and the zero pollution ambition of the energy and transport sector while maintaining their competitive leadership and contribution to Europe’s prosperity. Based on effective and efficient pathways towards climate neutrality, this will include cross-cutting solutions for securing the provision of cleaner energy at lower costs, coping with intermittence and energy storage issues, smarter connection of industrial installations to the energy system, more competitive and cleaner transport as well as smarter and safer mobility solutions for goods and people.
• to tackle the transition of the energy and mobility sectors in a holistic approach, including with regard to their implications for citizens and society. Given that transformation is embedded in broader societal needs and hence depends crucially on the buy-in of citizens, cluster 5 aims at finding new and better ways to involve Europe’s citizens in the low-carbon transition, including in cities, and in the sustainable economy.

The relevant expected impact of the cluster are:

1. 1. Transition to a climate-neutral and resilient society and economy enabled through advanced climate science, pathways, and responses to climate change (mitigation and adaptation) and behavioral transformations:
      • “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”: Synergies on urban health or on mitigating the impact of road traffic accidents and related injuries.
      • Socio-economic research can provide analysis and recommendations for just transition and citizen’s engagement and participation.
      • Civil society resilience in disaster risk reduction.
      • Historical & geological records on natural hazards for climate research.
      • Fighting crime and terrorism: tackling relevant environmental crimes such as illegal trades in ozone-depleting gases.
      • Infrastructure protection: climate change as a systemic risk to infrastructures.
      • Reduction of GHG emissions in primary production sectors.
      • Sequestration and storage function of ecosystems including marine ecosystems and soil.
      • Ocean-climate nexus.
      • Marine renewable energy.
      • Forest management for climate mitigation.
      • Coastal adaptation to sea level rise.
      • Adaptation of water, agriculture and forestry to climate change.
      • Circularity for improving overall energy and resources efficiency and thus also carbon reduction.
      • Climate neutral and resilient rural and coastal communities.
      • Nature-Based solutions for climate resilience in rural and urban environments (energy efficiency, built environment, coastal defences).
      • Observations and knowledge about the environment and climate.
      • Specific advice shared across the EU on matters related to climate, energy, etc.
   2. Towards climate-neutral and environmentally friendly mobility through clean solutions across all transport modes while increasing the global competitiveness of the EU transport sector.
   3. Clean and sustainable transition of the energy and transport sectors towards climate neutrality facilitated by innovative cross-cutting solutions:
      • Hydrogen, and heat/waste recovery in energy-intensive industries are also priorities for energy-intensive industries to make them climate neutral.
      • Activities in low-carbon and clean industries, Raw materials and Advanced materials with activities on energy infrastructures, Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), hydrogen, and Batteries.

More details of the expected impacts of this cluster are contained in the Horizon Europe strategic plan.