How to maximise your impact on Horizon Europe Mobility Projects – Tips for HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D6-01
6th June 2025 at 12:56 pm
With the 4 September 2025 deadline for Horizon Europe Mobility proposals fast approaching, applicants to the call HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D6-01 must be ready to meet both technological and societal expectations. This call, part of the CCAM Partnership, focuses on advancing remote operations for sustainable and smart mobility. But to stand out, your proposal must go beyond technical brilliance, it must chart a clear, credible impact pathway and demonstrate societal readiness. Here is how.
Call’s societal imperatives
Addressing mobility needs and concerns of societal actors: The call topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D6-01 is one of eight topics that specifically mandates a “Societal Readiness Pilot” approach. This means consortia should include project partners with Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) profiles in addition to technical experts. In addition, the proposals are expected to meet all the requirements listed in the Work Programme for this Societal Readiness Pilot to ensure that the proposed remote operations technologies align with actual societal needs and behaviours (EC, 2025).
Key tip: Ensure involvement of a diverse stakeholder panel from the outset—including local authorities, mobility users, logistics operators, and citizen groups—to define the use cases and assess societal acceptability.
From acceptance to uptake: A strong Horizon Europe Mobility proposal under this call should not only ensure acceptance of technology but also demonstrate a roadmap to uptake. As the safety assurance of remote operations requires a new validation methodology, the proposal needs to include the development of the basic principles of such a methodology, considering the existing EU framework and results from other EU-funded projects.
Designing a robust impact pathway
Align outcomes with EU strategic priorities: Impact is not just about what the project will achieve—it’s about who benefits, how, and when. Your pathway should tie project results to objectives such as:
- Climate-neutral mobility
- Smart logistics
- Digital infrastructure interoperability
Highlight: Use the Key Impact Pathways (KIPs) framework to structure your impacts on science, society, and the economy.
Quantify and localise your benefits: Include measurable targets for CO₂ reduction, improved safety metrics, or cost savings in logistics chains. Projects are expected to demonstrate societal and economic benefits in realistic settings.
Developing a convincing exploitation plan
Strategic use of the CCAM Partnership ecosystem: The CCAM Partnership provides a ready platform for uptake and visibility. Exploitation plans should reference synergies with existing demonstrators and stakeholder networks within CCAM. Projects under this call topic are also expected to apply the European Common Evaluation Methodology (EU-CEM) for CCAM.
Regulatory and business foresight: Include tasks for regulatory gap analysis and early engagement with standardisation bodies. A business model canvas or Go-To-Market strategy tailored to different operator types (urban vs. rural, freight vs. passenger) can add robustness.
Activating stakeholders with engaging communication
Inclusive communication and dissemination of results: Effective communication must not only reach stakeholders but activate them. Plan campaigns targeting specific audiences—local governments, unions, SMEs—with tailored messaging and accessible outputs (e.g. visual explainer videos, public demos).
HORIZON-CL5-2025-04-D6-01 presents a unique opportunity to advance remote operations in mobility, but doing so meaningfully demands more than technology. Integrate societal needs, construct a credible impact pathway, and exploit the CCAM ecosystem to ensure that your Horizon Europe Mobility proposal doesn’t just comply, but excels.
Unlock EU funding with our expert support
At accelopment, we have extensive experience in securing EU funding for research and innovation projects, with a strong track record in Horizon Europe energy and mobility projects. With deep knowledge of Pillar II funding opportunities, we help our partners maximise their chances of success in securing European research grants across Cluster 5. We are currently involved in several significant energy and mobility projects, including PEPPERONI, ROADVIEW, SOLARX and more. Our team of experts supports researchers, companies and institutions throughout the entire funding process – from strategic grant planning, to proposal writing, project management and communication and dissemination. From navigating Pillar II calls to fine-tuning proposals, we help partners maximise their chances of winning European energy and mobility research grants. Reach out today and let’s make it happen!
Dr. Johannes Ripperger
Research & Innovation Manager
Andreia Cruz
Research & Innovation Project Manager