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A clean planet for all – a purposeful research programme to achieve Europe’s vision


15th June 2021 at 4:30 pm



Finally, the waiting for the Work Programmes of Horizon Europe for 2021 and 2022 came to an end. They have all been published yesterday.

Today we are taking a view on one of these Work Programmes, the Cluster 5 – Climate, Energy and Mobility. As the name suggests, Cluster 5 unites topics that had been covered in three separate work programmes for energy, transport and climate under Horizon 2020, the predecessor of Horizon Europe. The merger makes sense because both the energy and the transport sectors today are producing a large portion of the greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible for climate change. In addition, it is expected that there will be a stronger interconnection between energy and transport, for example with the possibility to use batteries of electric vehicles for intermediate energy storage in local “smart” electric grids or with the advent of technologies to produce “green” fuels from renewable energy sources.

With a total budget of € 2.8 billion for 2021 to 2022, the Horizon Europe Cluster 5 will contribute to achieving the EU’s long-term goal of becoming a climate neutral society by 2050. As outlined in the EU’s vision “A Clean Planet for all“, this encompasses the transition to greenhouse gas neutrality of the energy and mobility sectors by 2050 at the latest, while boosting their competitiveness, resilience, and utility for citizens and society. To enable efficient pathways to such climate neutrality, climate science is expected to keep delivering the required knowledge.

The Cluster 5 is structured in 6 so-called “destinations”:

The following infographic provides an overview of the upcoming calls and deadlines for the year 2021 under the different destinations.

Although the Horizon Europe Climate, Energy and Mobility programme offers a wide array of funding opportunities for scientists, companies, and other organisations, we expect a tough competition similar to the previous Horizon 2020 programmes. Our initial analysis of the upcoming call topics shows the key facts and anticipated number of funded projects.

DestinationCall topicTypeTitleEU contribution per project estimationAnticipated number of funded projects
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-01RIASustainable processing, refining and recycling of raw materials (Batteries Partnership)EUR 6-7 M3
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-02RIAAdvanced high-performance Generation 3b (high capacity / high voltage) Li-ion batteries supporting electro mobility and other applications (Batteries Partnership)EUR 6-8 M3
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-03RIAAdvanced high-performance Generation 4a, 4b (solid- state) Li-ion batteries supporting electro mobility and other applications (Batteries Partnership)EUR 8-9 M4
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-04RIAEnvironmentally sustainable processing techniques applied to large scale electrode and cell component manufacturing for Li ion batteries (Batteries Partnership)EUR 5 M4
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-05RIAManufacturing technology development for solid-state batteries (SSB, Generations 4a – 4b batteries) (Batteries Partnership)EUR 6-7 M3
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-06RIASustainable, safe and efficient recycling processes (Batteries Partnership)EUR 9-10 M3
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-07CSASupport for establishment of R&I ecosystem, developing strategic forward-looking orientations to ensure future skills development, knowledge and technological leadership for accelerated disruptive technology exploration and uptake (Batteries Partnership)EUR 3 M1
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-08RIAEmerging technologies for a climate neutral EuropeEUR 2.5 M8
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-09RIAMethane cracking to usable hydrogen and carbonEUR 2-3 M2
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-10RIATechnologies for non- CO2 greenhouse gases removalEUR 2-3 M2
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-11RIADirect atmospheric carbon capture and conversionEUR 2-3 M2
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-12RIAFostering a just transition in EuropeEUR 3-4 M3
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-13CSAStrengthening Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) research communities in climate, energy and mobility disciplinesEUR 2-3 M1
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-14CSAAccelerating the climate transition in difficult contexts: transition super-labs (pilot)EUR 2-3 M1
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-15CSAFostering cooperation between Horizon Europe cluster 5 National Contact Points (NCPs)EUR 3.5 M1
Destination 2 – Cross sectoral solutions for the climate transitionHORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-16COFUNDCo-Funded Partnership: Driving Urban Transitions to a sustainable future (DUT)EUR 37 M1
Destination 3 – Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supplyHORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-01IAEstablish the grounds for a common European energy data spaceEUR 8 M4
Destination 3 – Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supplyHORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-02CSALaying down the basis for the demonstration of a Real Time Demonstrator of Multi-Vendor Multi-Terminal HVDC with Grid Forming Capability: Coordinated actionEUR 1 M1
Destination 3 – Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supplyHORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-03CSAInteroperability communityEUR 5 M1
Destination 3 – Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supplyHORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-04COFUNDClean Energy TransitionEUR 70 M1
Destination 4 – Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy useHORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-01IAAdvanced energy performance assessment and certificationEUR 3-5 M2
Destination 4 – Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy useHORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-02IAIndustrialisation of deep renovation workflows for energy-efficient buildingsEUR 5-8 M2
Destination 4 – Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy useHORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-03IAAdvanced data-driven monitoring of building stock energy performanceEUR 3-5 M2
Destination 4 – Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy useHORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-04IAFull-scale demonstration of heat upgrade technologies with supply temperature in the range 90 – 160°CEUR 8 M2
Destination 4 – Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy useHORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-05IAIndustrial excess (waste) Heat-to-Power conversion based on organic Rankine cyclesEUR 10-14 M1
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-01IAMore powerful and reliable on-board perception and decision-making technologies addressing complex environmental conditions (CCAM Partnership)EUR 6-8 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-02RIACommon approaches for the safety validation of CCAM systems (CCAM Partnership)EUR 12-15 M1
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-03IAPhysical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI), connectivity and cooperation enabling and supporting CCAM (CCAM Partnership)EUR 7-9 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-04RIACyber secure and resilient CCAM (CCAM Partnership)EUR 5-6 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-05RIAAnalysis of socio-economic and environmental impacts and assessment of societal, citizen and user aspects for needs based CCAM solutions (CCAM Partnership)EUR 3-4 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-06RIAFramework for better coordination of large-scale demonstration pilots in Europe and EU-wide knowledge base (CCAM Partnership)EUR 5-6 M1
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-07IAMore efficient and effective multimodal freight transport nodes to increase flexibility, service visibility and reduce the average cost of freight transportEUR 7-8 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-08IANew delivery methods and business/operating models to green the last mile and optimise road transportEUR 7-8 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-09IAClimate resilient and environmentally sustainable transport infrastructure, with a focus on inland waterwaysEUR 7.5 M3
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-10RIATesting safe lightweight vehicles and improved safe human-technology interaction in the future traffic systemEUR 3.50-4 M3
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-11RIARadical improvement of road safety in low and medium income countries in AfricaEUR 4 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-12RIAControlling infection on large passenger shipsEUR 3-5 M2
Destination 6 – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goodsHORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-13IASafe automation and human factors in aviation – intelligent integration and assistanceEUR 4-8 M2
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-01RIAImproved understanding of greenhouse gas fluxes and radiative forcers, including carbon dioxide removal technologiesEUR 8 M3
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-02RIAModelling the role of the circular economy for climate change mitigationEUR 5 M3
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-03CSAMaximising the impact and synergy of European climate change research and innovationEUR 4-5 M2
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-04RIAEnhanced integrated assessment in pursuit of global climate goalsEUR 5 M3
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-05RIABetter understanding of the interactions between climate change impacts and risks, mitigation and adaptation optionsEUR 6-7 M3
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-06CSASupporting and standardising climate servicesEUR 9 M1
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-07RIAImproved economic methods for decision-making on climate and environmental policiesEUR 3 M2
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-08RIARestoration of natural wetlands, peatlands and floodplains as a strategy for fast mitigation benefits; pathways, trade-offs and co- benefitsEUR 6-7 M3
Destination 1 – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutralityHORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-09RIAThe contribution of forest management to climate action: pathways, trade-offs and co-benefitsEUR 6 M3
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-01IANextgen vehicles: Innovative zero emission BEV architectures for regional medium freight haulage (2ZERO)EUR 10-15 M3
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-02RIANextgen EV components: Integration of advanced power electronics and associated controls (2ZERO)EUR 4-6 M4
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-03RIASystem approach to achieve optimised Smart EV Charging and V2G flexibility in mass-deployment conditions (2ZERO)EUR 7-10 M3
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-04CSALCA and design for sustainable circularity – holistic approach for zero-emission mobility solutions and related battery value chain (2ZERO & Batteries Partnership)EUR 4 M1
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-05RIAGreenhouse gas aviation emissions reduction technologies towards climate neutrality by 2050EUR 2-6 M6
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-06RIANext generation digital aircraft transformation in design, manufacturing, integration and maintenanceEUR 3-6 M5
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-07IAEnabling the safe and efficient on-board storage and integration within ships of large quantities of ammonia and hydrogen fuels (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 10 M2
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-08RIAEnabling the full integration of very high power fuel cells in ship design using co-generation and combined cycle solutions for increased efficiency with multiple fuels (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 15 M1
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-09CSACSA identifying waterborne sustainable fuel deployment scenarios (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 0.5 M1
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-10RIAInnovative on-board energy saving solutions (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 5 M4
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-11IAHyper powered vessel battery charging system (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 7 M2
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-12IAAssessing and preventing methane slip from LNG engines in all conditions within both existing and new vessels (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 7 M1
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-13RIADigital Twin models to enable green ship operations (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 7 M1
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-14IAProving the feasibility of a large clean ammonia marine engine (ZEWT Partnership)EUR 10 M1
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-15IADevelopment and demonstration of cost affordable and adaptable retrofit solutions for tailpipe and brake polluting emissionsEUR 4-5 M2
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-16RIAAssessment of noise and particle emissions of L category vehicles from real driving conditionsEUR 4-5 M1
Destination 5 – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modesHORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-17CSASupport for dissemination events in the field of Transport ResearchEUR 1.5 M1

Climate, Energy, and Mobility projects and accelopment

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We have experience from several ongoing or completed Climate, Energy and Mobility projects in Horizon 2020, including HEAT-INSYDE, Mat4Rail, H-DisNet or CHEOPS. Thanks to our expertise in more than 50 FP7 and Horizon 2020 projects, we assist coordinators with administration and management tasks and support the dissemination and exploitation of projects’ results. For more information about our proposal preparation services for Climate, Energy and Mobility projects, we are here to help.

Johannes Ripperger

Dr. Johannes Ripperger
Research & Innovation Manager