Demonstrating energy security and competitiveness: evidence-based pathways for renewable fuel value chains in HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-02
24th November 2025 at 4:21 pm
The European Commission (EC) is sharpening its focus on energy security and industrial competitiveness in light of volatile global markets, disrupted supply chains and the EU’s accelerating green transition. The Research and Innovation Action (RIA) call topic HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-02 invites projects that can deliver robust, evidence-based analyses of value chains for advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs). With a deadline on 17 February 2026 and a budget of € 8.00 million for two projects, the call aims to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy while fostering sustainable development, regenerative agricultural practices and enhanced carbon removals. Below, we outline what the EC expects and how to design proposals that convincingly assess energy security and competitiveness across integrated renewable fuel value chains.
1. Why this call matters now: a shifting landscape for EU energy security
Advanced biofuels and RFNBOs have the potential to reduce Europe’s dependency on imported fossil fuels and improve energy system resilience. However, geopolitical uncertainty and changing market conditions demand a deeper understanding of how these value chains contribute to long-term energy security.
• Show clear understanding of current energy market vulnerabilities and policy shifts.
• Connect your analysis to relevant EU frameworks such as REPowerEU or the updated European Industrial Strategy.
• Explain how renewable fuel competitiveness supports energy security beyond simple diversification.
• Highlight long-term system benefits such as resilience, risk reduction and domestic value creation.
2. Modelling EU competitiveness: moving from technology focus to system performance
The EC expects applicants to analyse industrial competitiveness using forward-looking modelling. Value chains must be assessed through a combination of techno-economic, environmental, social and macroeconomic lenses.
• Include multi-scale modelling: plant-level techno-economics, national energy system perspectives and EU-level competitiveness indicators.
• Compare alternative market scenarios, policy pathways and investment environments.
• Analyse how technological and non-technical factors influence competitiveness (logistics, labour, regulation, skills).
• Show where targeted innovation can accelerate cost reduction and improve system performance.
3. Integration across the entire value chain: the cornerstone of this call topic
Integration is not optional for this topic. Proposals must address all steps of the value chain and bring all relevant players together to form coordinated solutions.
• Involve stakeholders from feedstock producers to policymakers early in the proposal design.
• Demonstrate how integration reduces bottlenecks and strengthens socio-economic and environmental outcomes.
• Ensure consistent alignment between technical, agricultural, industrial and policy components.
• Avoid siloed assessments: demonstrate integration across all model layers and data workflows.
4. Competitiveness drivers: Sustainable development, regenerative agriculture and carbon removals
The EC explicitly expects projects to articulate how renewable fuel value chains generate “multi-benefits”, including climate resilience, sustainable farming practices and maximised carbon removals.
• Integrate regenerative practices: soil carbon management, nutrient recycling, low-input cultivation.
• Assess synergies and trade-offs between carbon farming, land use for fuels and land use for solar-based energy systems.
• Quantify environmental and social gains through evaluation and transparent sustainability metrics based on lifecycle assessments (LCA).
• Show how sustainability strengthens competitiveness by safeguarding feedstock supply and reducing long-term operational risks.
5. Standardisation, policy alignment and mitigation measures
Many renewable fuel technologies still face unclear regulatory pathways. The EC expects proposals to identify missing standards, policy barriers and mitigation measures to enhance competitiveness and energy security.
• Examine existing EU and international fuel standards and identify new definitions or guidance.
• Describe how your research outputs will support standardisation activities.
• Highlight policy and regulatory enablers that could accelerate deployment and scale-up.
• Include feasibility assessments of proposed mitigation measures affecting both near-term (2030) and long-term (post-2040) competitiveness.
6. Building a strong consortium and ensuring high-impact uptake
Successful proposals will demonstrate strong methodological expertise, sectoral diversity and credible stakeholder engagement strategies across all value chain actors.
• Build a multidisciplinary consortium that includes technology developers, farmers, energy companies, economic modellers, sustainability experts and policy bodies.
• Ensure balanced representation of industrial and agricultural stakeholders.
• Include clear knowledge transfer mechanisms, especially towards policymakers and end users.
• Plan for systematic stakeholder engagement to strengthen real-world uptake and reduce deployment barriers.
Looking for support in preparing your renewable fuels proposal?
At accelopment, we support European consortia driving the transition towards secure, competitive and sustainable energy systems. Our work on projects such as H-DisNet and HEAT-INSYDE showcases our expertise in integrated thermal networks, energy storage solutions and system-level optimisation for decarbonised infrastructure. Through our involvement in PEPPERONI and SOLARX, we contribute to advancing next-generation solar technologies and scalable renewable energy production routes, strengthening Europe’s clean-energy value chains and industrial resilience. Together, these projects reflect our commitment to connecting technological innovation, sustainability science and policy relevance across Horizon Europe. With our experience in proposal writing, consortium coordination and impact-driven communication, we help research teams design competitive, strategically aligned projects under Cluster 5 and related funding opportunities.
Dr. Johannes Ripperger
Research & Innovation Manager
Andreia Cruz
Research & Innovation Project Manager