R&I in Support of the Clean Industrial Deal: Clean Technologies for Climate Action

Expected Outcome:

Proposals are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:

• Strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability (including biodiversity) and resilience of an innovative clean tech solution by clearly demonstrating the capability to, significantly:
  • increase its circular material use rate, based on a sound and realistic baseline;
  • reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) delivered to end-users - including, where relevant, production, distribution, and storage costs, based on a sound and realistic baseline and considering different geographic scenarios; and
  • contribute to Europe’s industrial leadership and competitiveness, in line with the objectives of Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA)^[1] for the EU manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies^[2],[3].
• Bring this innovative clean tech solution to full technological maturity and close to market-readiness with a view to accelerating its market deployment and/or integration in key industrial sectors in Europe (e.g. manufacturing, energy and transport).

Scope:

The Clean Industrial Deal aims to secure the EU as an attractive location for manufacturing, including for energy-intensive industries, and to promote clean tech and new circular business models in order to meet Europe’s ambitious decarbonisation and climate neutrality and biodiversity preservation targets. It focuses primarily on the competitive decarbonisation of EU industry and on the production of clean technologies in the EU. This requires notably a considerable increase in electrification of EU energy systems and in all end-use sectors of the European economy (either directly, or via enabling intermediate technologies).

The following three clean tech areas have a strong and promising growth potential in Europe. Proposals are expected to address one or several of these areas:

• Integrated net-zero emissions energy systems (e.g. including energy grids, networks and systems)
• Enhanced zero-emission power technologies (e.g. including renewable electricity, heat and energy technologies)
• Storage technologies, renewable fuels, and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) (e.g. including batteries and other energy storage solutions, renewable hydrogen^[4], advanced biofuels and synthetic renewable fuels) enabling climate neutrality

Proposals should explicitly select one main area but can also address in an integrated way a combination of these three areas. Applicants are free to decide on the specific value chain they wish to strengthen in the above clean tech areas.

As part of bringing innovative clean tech solutions closer to the market, proposals may also address step-change in relevant network and infrastructure deployment to facilitate scale up across the trans-European energy and transport networks – e.g. electricity, heat, gas, hydrogen, CO2, batteries, and refuelling networks, etc. Application of advanced innovative materials development, connected process engineering and scale-up, resource efficiency, circularity and recycling may also be addressed as part of the selected value chain, as relevant. Attention should be paid to avoid technologies which may have a negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystems.

Proposals are expected to:

• ensure the development of innovative technological solutions along a specific clean tech value chain. For this, they need to involve an adequate combination of clean tech suppliers, energy users (e.g. manufacturing, energy and transport) and other relevant stakeholders, in order to support a sound business case, taking into account a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach.
• demonstrate an adequate integration of relevant technological solutions including clean tech and industrial decarbonisation solutions in support of the Clean Industrial Deal, and to ensure a clear and quantifiable impact on competitiveness and reduction of GHG emissions. Reduction or avoidance of harmful pollutants and impact on biodiversity may also be considered, as relevant^[5]. The integration can either be demonstrated in a direct (e.g. energy to an industrial/transport sector) or an indirect (e.g. energy to grid to an industrial/transport sector) manner. The use of relevant results of R&I projects previously or currently funded at EU or national level is encouraged.
• show industrial leadership in view of the deployment after the project. To ensure market readiness and effective collaboration amongst relevant stakeholders along a specific clean tech value chain, the consortium should be industry driven and composed of a manageable number of participants (indicatively, not more than ten participants). The consortium size should be justified based on the extent of the value chain covered. The participation of SMEs is encouraged.
• seek coherence with the work of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan and relevant industrial initiatives.

The draft dissemination, exploitation and communication plan is expected to include a sound and convincing business plan and market-readiness strategy (cf. intro). They should address how to prepare and support the deployment of the proposed clean tech solution across relevant EU industrial sectors (e.g. energy, transport, manufacturing) and/or how to ensure a high potential for market uptake through further private/public investment (including relevant EU deployment programmes, such as the Innovation Fund). They should include a comprehensive analysis of the critical barriers (technological and non-technological) for the successful market deployment and the corresponding plan to address them.

Proposals are expected to include a clear go/no go moment ahead of the contracting and demonstration phase. Before this go/no-go moment, the project is expected to deliver detailed engineering plans, a techno-economic assessment, all needed permits for the demonstrator, a complete business plan and market-readiness strategy, identifying clearly the industrial partner(s) that will lead the deployment. Proposals are also expected to provide a clear and credible pathway to obtaining all needed permits for the demonstration phase of the project.

Taking into account that the Clean Industrial Deal focuses on clean tech and energy-intensive industry decarbonisation, projects funded under this topic will be encouraged to develop synergies and coordinate with similar or complementary projects funded under the topics HORIZON-CID-2026-01-02: R&I in Support of the Clean Industrial Deal: Decarbonisation of Energy Intensive Industries and HORIZON-CID-2027-01-02: R&I in Support of the Clean Industrial Deal: Decarbonisation of Energy Intensive Industries under this call, as well as with relevant projects funded under relevant European Partnerships (including e.g. the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and the Clean Energy Transition Partnership).

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[1] Net-Zero Industry Act: resource.html

[2] This should apply to each main specific component of the project for which, under the NZIA, it is established that more than 50% of Union’s supply originates from a third country. In such cases, at least 50% of these components should be sourced from the EU or other Horizon Europe Associated Countries. In cases where a strong dependency would compromise the viability of the project, beneficiaries may aim at a lower percentage providing an adequate justification in the proposal.

[3] 860c257b-16db-429e-91c1-a30bea57e7ce_en

[4] Projects need to ensure complementarities with the activities under the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking

[5] For instance, biodiversity could be a priority in specific areas with significant impact on flora or fauna.