Access to research infrastructure services to enable R&I addressing industry needs in priority areas
Horizon Europe · Grant topic
Summary
A Polish company can use this call for R&D.
Funds integrated research infrastructure access, training and technical support for industry-driven research and innovation, notably benefiting SMEs.
- Who can apply
- Unclear from the source.
- Amount
- €5M per projectTotal budget €15,000,000
- Deadline
- 15 Jun 2027 02:00 CESTin 234 days
- Status
- Forthcomingopens 9 Mar 2027
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.
Description
Expected Outcome:
Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
• Research infrastructures have improved their attractiveness for industry so that they can sustainably extend their user base. Where appropriate, future continuum with technology infrastructures will be facilitated;
• Researchers and innovators have more efficient access to the best research infrastructures available to conduct industry-driven research and foster innovation, irrespective of location, through a single-entry point access portal, integrated or interoperable catalogues of services and converging access conditions and selection procedures;
• Breakthrough and leading-edge research and innovation are enabled by advanced research infrastructure services that are made available to a wider user community in the targeted areas;
• A new generation of researchers and innovators is trained to optimally exploit all the essential tools for industry-driven research and innovation with due attention to early-stage career researchers and innovators and to researchers and innovators from widening countries;
• Raised awareness in industry of relevant research infrastructures facilities and services, optimised use of the infrastructures by a broader user community and increased impact and sustainability of these infrastructures.
Scope:
This topic aims at providing trans-national access (on-site or remote) and/or virtual access to integrated and customised research infrastructure services for industry-driven research to foster innovation in each of the target areas listed below, offered by complementary state-of-the-art research infrastructures. Access should target users from industry (notably SMEs, startups and scaleups) or from academia when collaborating with industry. Proposals should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access to Research Infrastructures[1] and to the principles of the Charter of access for industrial users to research and technology infrastructures [ref to be added once published, checking final title].
Access also includes ad hoc users’ training and scientific and technical support (see Specific Features for Research Infrastructures). In this context, appropriate support to the technical and scientific staff that will facilitate access by non-expert users from industry should be considered.
The main goal of this topic is access provision to existing services: this should be clearly reflected by the proposed activities and the allocated resources. The development and customisation of services and/or modality of access, relevant to the areas, will also be supported, provided the resulting services are opened and offered already under the actions (short term R&D) and that the long-term sustainability of such services is ensured by the participant research infrastructures. Where applicable, proposals should pay due attention to shorten the ‘time to access’ for users from industry.
Data management (and related ethics issues), in line with FAIR[2] principles, as well as the connection of digital services (e.g. data services) to the European Open Science Cloud and interoperability with other Common European Data Spaces[3], should be addressed where relevant.
Proposals should make available to researchers a portfolio of complementary research infrastructure services of European interest[4], including data services, and customised workflows to enable R&I addressing the targeted area. Proposals should include at least one ESFRI Landmark or European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) as beneficiary[5]. In case of a distributed ERIC, as an alternative to the ERIC participating as a beneficiary, a legal entity that is hosting ERIC facilities, resources or related services may participate as a beneficiary[6].
Proposals should include an outreach and engagement plan to actively advertise their services, to targeted communities from industry (notably SMEs, startups and scaleups) or from academia when collaborating with industry, focusing on EU member states and associated countries, including from widening countries. Where relevant, proposals should consider the use and/or development of intermediary capacities between research infrastructures and industry facilitating the matchmaking. Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence with other EU grants supporting access provision where relevant. Knowledge valorisation as well as coordination with technology infrastructures and digital services should also be considered, where relevant[7].
Proposals should include the list of services/installations[8] opened by research infrastructures for trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for users. Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” section of this work programme part. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account during evaluation.
The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. However, where applicable, proposals should mandate in their calls for access the integration of the gender dimension in the research and innovation content of the users applying to these calls.
To ensure a holistic view from design to implementation of possible access schemes, proposals should ensure strong and continuous collaboration with the cross-domain preparatory action on access HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-DEV-05[9], with the pilots under topic HORIZON-INFRA-2026-01-DEV-02, and with the actions supported under topic HORIZON-INFRA-2027-01-SERV-01.
The topic targets the areas listed below related to scientific challenges and EU priorities. Proposals are expected to address one of these areas and the area addressed should be clearly identified in the proposal:
Area 1: Biomedical or food technologies
Area 2: Clean energy and/or clean mobility solutions
Area 3: Advanced materials for circular economy and/or bioeconomy
Area 4: Accelerators and superconducting magnets
Area 5: Microelectronics
Area 6: Advanced sensing technologies for ocean observation
Proposals could consider the inclusion of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) and the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory in the area of Biomedical technologies. In that respect, the JRC will consider collaborating with any successful proposal and this collaboration, when relevant, should be established after the proposal’s approval.
[1] https://op.europa.eu/publication-detail/-/publication/ec4692ae-ac6f-11ef-acb1-01aa75ed71a1
[2] Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
[3] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/data-spaces
[4] A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC infrastructures.
[5] See ESFRI Landmarks in ESFRI RIs PORTFOLIO https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/ and ERIC Landscape – Active European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs) https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-research-and-innovation/our-digital-future/european-research-infrastructures/eric/eric-landscape_en.
[6] The term ‘distributed’ research infrastructure typically refers to one or a few central hubs and several interlinked (national or institutional) nodes where many components of the research infrastructure may not be part of the same legal entity, the ERIC. A declaration signed by the legal representative of the ERIC should confirm that the ERIC is supporting this participation, explain the relevance for the ERIC and describe any further cooperation with the ERIC.
[7] See for example possible linkage with projects supported under topic HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-64.
[8] “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
[9] https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/HORIZON_HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-DEV-05
Who can apply, in detail
- Purpose
- Research and innovation
- R&D relevance
- 2 of 3
- Poland eligible
- Yes
- Country limit
- —
- Region
- Any
- Consortium
- Unclear
- Readiness level (TRL)
- —
- Topics
- Research infrastructure access
- Industry-driven research
- Integrated scientific services
- Research user training
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026
Conditions
Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.
- Consortium required
- Yes
At least one ESFRI Landmark or ERIC as beneficiary; distributed ERIC hosting entity may be an alternative under the stated p.82 condition.
- Eligible project scope
- Proposals must include access provision, through trans-national (on-site or remote) and/or virtual access to integrated/customised infrastructure services for industry-driven R&I; target industry users (notably SMEs/startups/scaleups) or academia in collaboration with industry.
- Eligible project scope
- Access includes ad hoc user training and scientific/technical support. Technical/scientific staff activities should facilitate access; proposal resources should reflect access delivery and service development.
- Other condition
- This topic is HORIZON-RIA (Research and Innovation Actions).
- Other condition
- HORIZON-AG is the budget-based action grant model; listed eligible categories remain conditional on the General MGA and AGA, the signed grant options and general eligibility rules. The separately listed trans-national/virtual access unit-cost component is topic-specific where cited.
- Other condition
- Horizon Europe General Annexes describe personnel as actual costs unless declared as a unit cost; they separately list SME-owner/natural-person personnel unit costs, subcontracting as actual costs, purchases as actual costs unless unit cost, and FSTP only if provided by the specific call. Therefore these personnel categories do not turn an external service purchase or subcontract into a hire, and no specific FSTP entitlement is asserted for this topic.
- Other condition
- For A.1 employees/equivalent, the HE MGA states annual personnel costs divided by 215 as the daily-rate basis; declared day-equivalents must be identifiable and verifiable. The total declared day-equivalents per person across EU grants in a year cannot exceed 215, minus parental leave time where applicable.
- Other condition
- The current Portal budget map reports 3 expected project(s) for this exact topic/action.
- Other condition
- The access scheme should consider appropriate support for technical and scientific staff who facilitate access for non-expert industry users. This is a functional support expectation, not a stated recruitment count, qualification standard or salary rate.
Amounts and costs
- Indicative budget
- €15,000,000
Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.
- Eligible cost
- Eligible costs may use the authorised unit-cost form for trans-national and virtual access to research infrastructures; the Work Programme does not say this substitutes for all other cost categories.
- Eligible cost
- The HE MGA allows nonsalaried SME owners and natural-person beneficiaries to claim personnel costs as unit costs under Annex 2a, subject to general eligibility conditions; the AGA gives a daily-rate formula of EUR 8,745.4 divided by 18 days, multiplied by the applicable country-specific correction coefficient for calls opened on or after 30 July 2024. This is a unit-cost calculation, not an employee salary cap or rate guaranteed for every country.
- Funding intensity, maximum
- 100
General maximum for exact HORIZON-RIA code; call/topic and grant agreement govern. Not a staff pay rate.
- Expected project funding, up to
- €5,000,000
Same point estimate as reported expected contribution; not a hard maximum or cap.
- Expected project funding, from
- €5,000,000
Point estimate per project as represented by the Portal expected-contribution fields and Work Programme wording “around”; not a hard minimum or a guaranteed award.
- Topic allocation
- €15,000,000
Indicative topic allocation for 2027, distinct from expected individual contribution and personnel budget.
Personnel and services
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category only when the grant conditions and Article 6.2.A.2 apply; assigned to the action, work under conditions similar to an employee, result belongs to beneficiary unless agreed otherwise, and actual direct-contract costs are not significantly different from comparable employees. It is a contractor engagement category, not employee payroll; no qualification, headcount, FTE, duration or rate is set by this topic.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category under the applicable Horizon Europe General MGA, conditional on actual action assignment and all eligibility rules. This is not a call-specific required team, named job, or promise of award. Qualification, headcount, FTE, duration and salary are not stated by the topic. Employee remuneration must be actual and linked to national law/employment terms; daily-rate and reporting rules are described in the cited MGA.
Technical staff
Example only
The topic says such support should be considered; it does not require a new hire or specify employment terms, qualifications, headcount, FTE, duration or pay. Descriptive staff function only.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential personnel unit-cost category where the applicable grant agreement includes Article 6.2.A.4. Applies only to an SME owner not receiving a salary or a natural-person beneficiary not receiving a salary, with work assigned to the action and general unit-cost conditions met. The daily unit rate is country-adjusted; it is not a salary and this packet does not assert a per-person EUR rate without the recipient country coefficient. No required headcount, FTE, duration or qualification is named in this topic.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category only when the grant conditions and Article 6.2.A.3 apply; assigned to the action, works under conditions similar to an employee and actual costs are not significantly different from comparable beneficiary employees. This is a paid secondment, not a new employment contract with the beneficiary. No call-specific qualification, headcount, FTE, duration or pay rate is stated.
Source documents
Call facts
- Opens
- 9 Mar 2027
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Programme
- Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
- Call
- HORIZON-BRIDGING-2027-03 · Bridging actions 2027
- Types of action
- HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
- Keywords
- ESFRI
- SME
- industry
- knowledge valorisation
- research infrastructure
- startups scaleups
- technology infrastructure
- Source
- ec.europa.eu
- Checked
- 23 Oct 2026
- Portal updated
- 29 Sept 2026
- Review status
- Partial review
- Reviewed
- 23 Oct 2026
This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.