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The Horizon Europe call HORIZON-CL4-2027-04 offers three funding opportunities to develop advanced hardware for virtual worlds, strengthen Europe’s Web 4.0 ecosystem and increase European participation in international digital standardisation. With a combined indicative budget of EUR 49 million, these topics fall under the destination Digital and industrial technologies driving human-centric innovation.

Opening on 17 November 2026, the call closes on 18 March 2027. These opportunities target research organisations, extended reality (XR) technology developers, industry associations, SMEs and organisations involved in digital standardisation.

Developing advanced hardware for immersive virtual worlds

HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-HUMAN-01 supports next-generation XR hardware and components capable of creating more realistic, accessible and immersive virtual experiences. The European Commission (EC) expects technological advances in headsets, screens, wearable devices, haptic components, sensors, actuators and advanced chips. Non-invasive brain-computer interfaces for hands-free interaction are also within scope. Rather than developing individual components in isolation, projects should explore how different technologies can be integrated and synchronised to stimulate multiple human senses. Proposals should address:

• High-performance, miniaturised and reliable XR hardware.
• Integration of multiple sensory modalities into functioning devices.
• Interoperability and compatibility with existing open standards.
• Energy consumption, energy efficiency and accessibility.
• Validation through illustrative industrial or societal use cases.

Projects are expected to advance from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 to TRL 5, with a typical duration of 36 months. The effective involvement of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) expertise is required to strengthen the societal relevance of the developed technologies.

Pro tip: Demonstrate how combining different hardware components produces measurable improvements in immersive experiences. Include realistic validation scenarios and explain how accessibility, interoperability and energy efficiency will guide technology development.

Strengthening Europe’s Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0 ecosystem

HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-HUMAN-02 focuses on coordination rather than developing new XR hardware. Its objective is to reinforce the European Virtual Worlds Partnership and strengthen the ecosystem supporting virtual worlds and Web 4.0 technologies. The Coordination and Support Action (CSA) should bring together research organisations, technology developers, companies, public authorities and end-users across Europe.

The EC expects projects to:

• Review and, where necessary, update the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for Virtual Worlds.
• Strengthen collaboration between European, national and regional initiatives.
• Support awareness-raising activities and stakeholder engagement.
• Promote accessible, inclusive and trustworthy virtual worlds.
• Mobilise stakeholders for standardisation and interoperability activities.

Proposals should be prepared and coordinated by key organisations active in the European Virtual Worlds ecosystem. A key requirement is to allocate activities that support cooperation with the Virtual Worlds Partnership and related funded projects, including HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-17.

The Commission envisages one project with approximately EUR 3 million in funding and a typical duration of 36 months.

Pro tip: Demonstrate how your consortium will reach stakeholders across the entire European virtual worlds value chain. Provide a structured approach for updating the SRIA, supporting the partnership and measuring the adoption and impact of outreach activities.

Increasing Europe’s influence on international digital standards

HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-HUMAN-07 aims to strengthen the participation and influence of European experts in international digital standardisation. The topic contributes to the EU Standardisation Strategy by supporting European stakeholders in the development of global standards for strategically important digital technologies.

The EC particularly seeks to increase participation from SMEs, research and innovation organisations, academic institutions, open-source communities and societal stakeholders. Proposals should establish a management facility to:

• Support European experts participating in international standardisation bodies.
• Facilitate leadership roles in technical committees and working groups.
• Conduct standardisation landscape analyses and identify gaps in emerging technologies.
• Organise relevant training, awareness-raising and networking activities.
• Support the hosting of international standardisation meetings in Europe where appropriate.

A particularly important requirement concerns financial support to third parties (FSTP). At least 75% of the requested EU contribution must be allocated to FSTP, distributed through open calls. Individual third-party grants are limited to EUR 60,000. The action uses lump sum funding and is expected to support one project with an indicative EU contribution of EUR 7 million.

Pro tip: Develop the FSTP mechanism as the central element of your proposal. Define transparent selection criteria, demonstrate how European experts will be supported and establish measurable indicators for participation and leadership in international standardisation bodies.