Apply for Horizon Europe IAs & RIAs
Horizon Europe is the EU’s largest research and innovation programme designed to drive economic growth, sustainability, and global competitiveness. With a budget of €95.5 billion for the 2021-2027 period, it supports groundbreaking projects that tackle pressing global challenges, including climate change, clean energy transition, digital innovation, health, and sustainable development.
Type of Projects and Activities
European grants are typically allocated to collaborative projects spanning from 2 to 5 years duration, which are available to legal entities of all sizes and sectors. Horizon Europe includes three main types of projects on this regard:
Innovation Actions (IAs) focus on prototyping, demonstrating and validating new products or services at TRL 5-8, with 70% funding (100% for non-profits).
Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) support R&D for new technologies at TRL 3-6, with 100% funding.
Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) facilitate collaboration and capacity-building, also funded at 100%, with no specific TRL target.
Below, you can get an overview of the main differences between IAs & RIAs.
Key drivers for collaborative tech projects in Horizon Europe
Innovation Action (IA)
Objective: Produce plans or designs for new or improved products, processes, or services. This includes prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation, and market replication.
Funding Rate: 70% of the project costs (except for non-profit legal entities, where a rate of 100% applies) + 25% overhead.
TRL Level: Projects at higher TRL levels (5–8). Products or technologies are almost ready to be demonstrated in the real environment.
Research and Innovation Action (RIA):
Objective: R&D to establish new knowledge or explore the feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process, service or solution (including basic and applied research, technology development and integration, testing and validation on a small-scale prototype in a laboratory or simulated environment).
Funding Rate: 100% of the project costs are covered by EU funding + 25% overhead.
TRL Level: Typically lower TRL (1-6 ) and involves more basic research.
Sectors Covered
Within Horizon Europe, RIA’s and IA’s are especially prevalent in the so-called Pillar II, which is dedicated to addressing global challenges and enhancing European industrial competitiveness. Pillar 2 is divided into 6 clusters:
Cluster 1: Health
Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society
Cluster 3: Civil Security for Society
Cluster 4: Digital, Industry, and Space
Cluster 5: Climate, Energy, and Mobility
Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment
Pillar II
This pillar also includes the Joint Research center and partnerships such as:
Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Circular Bio-based Joint Undertaking (CBE)
Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CET).
It also includes Horizon Europe missions, which are targeted at research institutions, universities, and organizations working towards specific, ambitious goals, such as combating cancer or achieving climate-neutral cities.
Who can apply?
These types of projects are collaborative and require the establishment of a consortium. The consortium must be cross-border, involving a minimum of 3 independent partners from 3 distinct countries, with at least one being a full member of the EU. This includes public bodies, private organizations, non-profit entities, and research institutions.
Additional criteria depend on the specific topic (i.e. minimum consortium composition, type of participant, geographic location of the project activities, coordinator from an EU country, etc.).You can find the list of eligible non-EU countries in this link: list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf (europa.eu)
Expected deadlines
Horizon Europe offers a wide range of funding opportunities across various programs and thematic areas. Deadlines for calls vary throughout the year, depending on the specific cluster and topic. For more details on deadlines for specific topics, please consult the information below on the clusters.
Additional information on Horizon Europe clusters and partnerships
Cluster 4
Focuses on advancing digital technologies, enhancing industrial competitiveness, and fostering sustainable development through innovations in AI, robotics, cybersecurity, and space technologies.
Cluster 5
Addresses climate challenges by promoting clean energy, sustainable mobility, and solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advancing Europe’s green transition.
Cluster 6
Aims to build sustainable food systems, protect biodiversity, and develop circular bioeconomy solutions to preserve natural resources and combat climate change.
Accelerates the development and deployment of hydrogen technologies, promoting clean energy solutions and contributing to Europe’s climate neutrality goals
Focuses on transitioning to a sustainable bioeconomy by supporting bio-based industries and innovations that replace fossil-based materials with renewable alternatives.
Supports the transition to a decarbonized energy system through research and innovation, fostering collaboration on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and storage technologies.