One of the key novelties in work programme 2026-2027 is the introduction of horizontal calls designed to connect different parts of Horizon Europe in support of key strategic areas. These calls ensure that Horizon Europe is more in tune with the EU’s evolving policies by tackling them in a consistent, crosscluster, multidisciplinary way. By combining efforts and pooling resources, they aim to create critical mass and deliver greater impact. The topics are intentionally non-prescriptive, giving applicants the flexibility to propose different approaches for achieving the expected outcomes.

The horizontal call “R&I in Support of the Clean Industrial Deal” is designed to implement the EU’s commitments under the Clean Industrial Deal through targeted research and innovation. With an indicative budget of EUR 540 million, this call aims to accelerate the market deployment of cutting-edge clean technologies and decarbonised industry solutions, with a focus on both technological excellence and market readiness.

It consists of two large, open topics focusing on: (1) decarbonisation of energyintensive industries; and (2) clean technologies for climate action. The focus is on creating “fit-for-deployment” projects that not only are technologically feasible but also have robust business and market readiness strategies.

As announced in the Clean Industrial Deal Communication, this call will foster synergies between Horizon Europe and the Innovation Fund by ensuring a continuous pipeline of R&I solutions ready for market deployment. Ultimately, the call seeks to accelerate the roll-out of clean tech solutions, boost European competitiveness, mobilise investments and reduce energy prices, thereby contributing significantly to the EU’s industrial decarbonisation and clean energy objectives.

This call supporting the Clean Industrial Deal introduces a new approach to reinforce the activities of the largest component of the Horizon Europe Programme, Pillar II “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness”, which supports projects related to societal challenges striving to reinforce technological and industrial capacities. It will be complemented by a number of specific sectorial actions within Cluster 4 “Digital, Space, and Industry” and Cluster 5 “Climate, Energy, and Mobility”, including the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking as part of an overall coordinated portfolio management approach.

The expected output of the call will be projects that are “Fit for deployment” in terms of technological feasibility, but importantly also in terms of having a realistic business plan and a sound market-readiness strategy in the dissemination and exploitation plan. This will support the EU innovation value chain to supply the deployment pipeline with suitable R&I solutions ready for deployment in the market through private/public investment including relevant EU deployment programmes, such as the Innovation Fund.

Proposals submitted under this call are expected to set out a credible pathway to contribute to the Clean Industrial Deal’s core objectives, and more specifically to several of the following expected impacts:

• Accelerating roll-out and deployment. Accelerate the roll-out and deployment of European decarbonised and clean tech solutions across EU industrial sectors (e.g. decarbonised industries, energy and transport).
• Promoting competitiveness. Support the European competitiveness of the next generation of clean tech and decarbonised industry in the EU.
• Resilience and Strategic Autonomy. Support the expansion of the manufacturing capacity in Europe for industry decarbonisation and clean tech solutions and strengthen sustainable and resilient value chains in Europe to reduce dependencies.
• Leveraging Investments. Facilitate the mobilisation and alignment of public and private financing and investment for innovative clean energy and industry decarbonisation technologies, assets, grids, and processes in the EU.
• Lowering Energy Prices. Reduce the energy price gap in Europe via the deployment of competitive clean tech and industrial decarbonisation solutions.

The horizontal call “AI in Science” is aimed at fostering trustworthy AI solutions to tackle significant societal and industrial challenges. It contributes to the implementation of the “Resource for AI Science in Europe” (RAISE) pilot, as announced in the European Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Science. This call supports safe, responsible, ethical and transparent AI applications across key sectors, such as advanced materials, agriculture, environment and food, and is in line with Europe’s broader digital transition goals. By embedding these innovations, this work programme seeks to enhance Europe’s R&I leadership, thereby having a substantial impact on sustainability, digital innovation and inclusive growth.

With an indicative budget of around EUR 90 million, this call includes open topics on thematic networks of excellence for AI in science, automated scientific discovery and RAISE doctoral networks for AI in science. These topics are designed to apply across different R&I areas within the work programme, ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive approach to advancing AI science in Europe.

In parallel to this horizontal call, at least EUR 775 million will be invested in AI in science through the rest of this work programme.

Horizontal call “Bridging actions”

The call on bridging actions includes a series of topics aiming to facilitate a smooth transition between Horizon Europe 2021–2027 and the next EU R&I Framework Programme, Horizon Europe 2028–2034.

These actions will focus in particular on the “innovation to investment journey”. This concept reflects the tight links that will exist between Horizon Europe 2028-2034 and the future European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), introducing the “innovation to investment journey”, a seamless process from research to market deployment. To prepare for this new approach, a horizontal call has been envisaged with a focus on paving the way towards “fit-for-deployment” projects, thereby creating a pipeline of innovations ready for market uptake.

This call includes 16 actions, covering: skills, knowledge valorisation through innovation ecosystems, deployment of innovative climate preparedness and resilience solutions, critical research data, knowledge repositories and scientific services for the life sciences, advancement of research results through the innovation to investment journey, access to research infrastructure services to enable R&I addressing industry needs, research and technology infrastructures as strategic assets for talent to Choose Europe, climate projections and related data records, EU AI Media Platform, monitoring of Solar Radiation Modification activities and their impacts on Earth’s climate and ecosystems, Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities, piloting of next-generation AI driven digital platforms for the European energy system, and advanced scaling frameworks for highperformance AI models.

Horizontal call “Transformative Change Towards a Nature-Positive Economy and Society” reinforces the EU’s commitments to biodiversity. While progress has been made, the 10% biodiversity spending target outlined in the Horizon Europe strategic plan 2025–2027 has not yet been fully achieved through earlier work programmes. This call ensures the target is met by funding focused R&I actions that accelerate the transition to sustainability by supporting EU biodiversity objectives.

This initiative is crucial for the EU, as thriving ecosystems underpin economic sustainability, climate resilience and food security. Biodiversity loss is increasingly recognised as a systemic economic and financial risk, affecting productivity, supply chains and financial stability. Integrated policy and research responses are required to deal with the interconnectedness of the pressures and drivers.

Actions in this call aim to strengthen competitiveness, supporting the capacity to sustain long-term productivity, resilience and innovation. They play a strategic role in supporting the transition towards nature-positive economic models, contributing to Europe’s long-term competitiveness, economic and societal resilience and strategic autonomy.

Useful links:

• Horizon Europe – Work Programme 2026-2027. General Introduction. Horizontal calls;
• Horizon Europe – Work Programme 2026-2027. Horizontal Activities. Horizontal calls