Two Horizon Europe funding calls with combined indicative budgets of €52.5 million will open on 20 October, targeting the gap between completed research and solutions that can reach users and markets.
The European Research Executive Agency set out the opportunities in a 9 October briefing. They form part of the programme’s Bridging Actions 2027, within a wider €500 million addition announced by the Commission on 29 September.
Horizon Europe is the EU’s research and innovation funding programme. These calls invite competing proposals; their budgets are not grants already awarded to individual businesses.
One call develops results from completed projects
The larger opportunity has an indicative budget of €32.5 million. Applicants must build on results from at least one completed collaborative project funded through specified Horizon Europe research, innovation or pre-commercial procurement actions.
The previous work must have reached sufficient maturity. The covered research clusters range from health and digital industry to energy, agriculture and natural resources.
That requirement narrows the opportunity. An early idea without the required connection to completed research is not enough to qualify merely because it has commercial promise.
Research maturity also differs from readiness for sale. A prototype may work under laboratory conditions while still needing broader testing, production methods and evidence that customers can use it reliably.
Our earlier coverage of a tire prototype with a replaceable tread illustrates the distance between a successful laboratory test and road use. That project is a separate example of the development process, not an identified applicant for these calls.
A second call connects research with commercial partners
The €20 million opportunity funds proposals that help owners of Horizon Europe results bring their solutions to market and connect with organisations able to assist that process.
Its thematic areas include agriculture and food, clean energy and transport, health, the bioeconomy, and raw and advanced materials. The emphasis is on connections among research, education and organisations that help turn knowledge into usable products or services.
For businesses, that can mean working with research owners and intermediaries rather than receiving finance simply to expand an existing operation. Each proposal must meet the actual call’s eligibility and assessment requirements.
The application timetable extends into 2027
The agency’s published timetable gives the €32.5 million call a submission deadline of 28 January 2027. Its indicative schedule puts project starts in August 2027.
The €20 million call closes on 16 February 2027, with project starts indicated for October. An information day on 16 October and a brokerage event on 19 October are intended to help applicants understand the opportunities and find partners.
Neither call provides immediate October funding. Applicants need to plan for evaluation and grant agreements before work begins, and consult the legal call documents, which take precedence over the agency’s summary.
Cover: Representative laboratory research and financial paperwork, shown in separate panels. The people and documents are not connected to the Horizon Europe calls. Photographs: Mikhail Nilov, Hanna Pad. Source (Pexels License). Source (Pexels License). Cropped and combined by Market Business News.
