Funding programme

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation.

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Call overview

This call aims to facilitate the wider uptake of renewable energy systems (RES) in the energy, industrial and residential sectors.

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Expected Outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to at least two of the following expected outcomes:

• Facilitate the wider uptake of renewable energy systems (RES) in the energy, industrial and residential sectors leading to an increased share of renewable energy in the final energy consumption by 2030 and beyond.
• Contribute to provide open source validated tools and methodologies for policy makers and stakeholders for developing more informed RES policy and for analysing the market dynamics when including all renewable energies.
• Contribute to the development of markets and respective financial frameworks that can operate in an efficiently and incentive-compatible manner while accommodating massive shares of renewables.
• Improve social acceptability of renewable energy facilities and installations.

Scope

The proposal is expected to develop solutions addressing at least 2 of the expected outcomes either for the entire renewable energy market or focusing on a specific energy sector, such as electricity, heating, cooling or renewable fuels. Proposals can also address issues within a specific geographical region such as urban and peri-urban areas. Issues related to acceptability of RES technologies due to ecologic, economic and social aspects are expected to be addressed. Self-consumption issues can be addressed too. International aspects, such as collaboration with third countries and promoting solution in new markets, can be addressed as well.

The proposed solution can be developed to address a local challenge but needs to have wide potential for reapplication. The solution is expected to have a long-term viability and not be limited to an ad-hoc fix. The methodologies applied may be inspired by successful approaches already tested in other fields or contexts.

For all actions, the consortia have to involve relevant stakeholders (e.g. businesses, public authorities, civil society organisations) and market actors who are committed to adopting/implementing the results. The complexity of these challenges and of the related market uptake barriers may call for multi-disciplinary approaches, which requires contributions from the social sciences and humanities. Where relevant, local, regional specificities, socio-economic, gender-related, spatial and environmental aspects will be considered from a life-cycle perspective.

Proposals are encouraged to address social acceptability through the assessment of the environmental economic and social impacts associated with the development of these renewable energies and through the adequate involvement of stakeholders in decision-making processes.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects for understanding and addressing societal barriers to the uptake of renewable energy systems.

Where relevant, proposals are expected to also assess the legal, institutional, and political frameworks at local, national and European level and examine how, why and under what conditions these could act as a barrier or an enabler.

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Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

• the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
• the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
• countries associated to Horizon Europe;
• low- and middle-income countries.

See the full list in the General Annexes.

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Consortium composition

Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call conditions, only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:

• at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
• at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.

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Budget

Total indicative budget is EUR 8 000 000.

The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.

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).