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Open Topic on advanced protective gear optimized for CBRN-E (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) environments and new generation of smart protective equipment for disaster responders

🏛 EU_PORTAL · 📍 EU

Total budget

€3,835,000

OPENING

May 5, 2027

CLOSING

Nov 4, 2027

Description

Open Topic on advanced protective gear optimized for CBRN-E (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) environments and new generation of smart protective equipment for disaster responders

📝 Topic description

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:

Developed of advanced protective gear specifically designed for optimal performance in Chemical or Biological or Radiological, and Nuclear or Explosives (CBRN-E) environments;
Created innovative smart protective equipment for disaster responders, incorporating advanced technologies to enhance safety and operational efficiency;
Improvement of protective solutions to ensure the safety and effectiveness of disaster responders operating in hazardous and high-risk environments.

Scope:

This topic aims to advance the development of protective gear specifically designed for optimal performance in specificities of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRN-E) environments, along with the creation of a new generation of smart protective equipment for disaster responders. Projects should focus on the use of innovative materials, technologies, and design features that enhance the protective capabilities of gear used in high-risk, hazardous environments, ensuring the safety and well-being of disaster responders with an inclusive and user-centric approach. The integration of advanced technologies will be crucial to enhancing the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the equipment.

Projects should conduct a stakeholder or market analysis and a roadmap or plan for uptake of the developed methodologies, findings, and technologies to the industry, the research and innovation community, and/or the relevant authorities. The current response capacities of the European Civil Protection Pool^[1] and the rescEU strategic reserve^[2] should be taken into account in the roadmap to ensure needs-based approach.

Proposals should build upon existing research outputs, specifically under other Horizon Europe Cluster 4, and technologies to create smart, adaptive protective solutions that respond dynamically to evolving threats in CBRN-E scenarios. This includes the incorporation of features similar to automated hazard detection, environmental monitoring, and advanced communication systems to provide real-time situational awareness. The new gear should meet rigorous safety standards while improving the comfort, mobility, and usability of responders, enabling better performance and faster decision-making in demanding environments.

Proposals should focus on providing comprehensive solutions that combine robust protection, operational support, and data-driven insights, ensuring a holistic approach to safety. Collaboration between research institutions, manufacturers, and end-users will be essential to ensure that the resulting products meet the practical requirements of practitioners in the field. The Preparedness Union Strategy is a key document in this regard. Analysing the capacity gaps of the UCPM^[3] as well as finding synergies with the rescEU strategic reserve and projects from operational grants, such as the Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness (KAPP)^[4], is recommended.

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Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

[1] https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/media/ecpp-capacities-brochure

[2] https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/resceu_en

[3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0286

[4] Knowledge for Action in Prevention and Preparedness (KAPP) - European Commission - https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/funding-evaluations/financing-civil-protection/cp-calls-proposals/knowledge-action-prevention-and-preparedness-kapp-0_en

Official source

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⚖ Conditions and documents

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

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2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions

The following additional eligibility criteria apply:

This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of:

at least 2 Training Centres[[Training centres are national, regional or local infrastructures, generally ruled by governments or professional organisations, aiming at training practitioners (first responders, civil protection units etc.) in near-real operational crisis situations.]] located in EU Member States or Associated Countries, and
at least 2 practitioners involved in training, validation and testing of CBRN-E tools and technologies from at least 2 EU Member States or Associated Countries.

For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.

If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5.

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) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

Some activities resulting from this topic may involve using classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.