Horizon Europe - the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation

Horizon Europe is divided into three pillars:

• "Excellent Sciene"
  • European Research Council
  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
• Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
• Innovative Europe

In addition, there are the cross-sectional areas of “Widening Participation” and “Strengthening the European Research Area”.

© European Commission

Like the previous program, Horizon Europe will be of great importance for the research landscape in Germany and thus also for TU Dresden. Many researchers - teams and individuals - as well as other actors from the field of innovation will be able to benefit from the attractive funding opportunities. The different calls for proposals will be both bottom-up and top-down and will address projects of the entire innovation chain - from basic/frontier research to market launch.

Many funding lines from Horizon 2020 will be continued (e. g. ERC grants, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, collaborative research on societal challenges and industrial technologies and processes, European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)).

In addition, there will be some novelties, for the first time, the new EU framework program for research and innovation includes so-called missions as a new funding policy instrument. These will be located in funding pillar 2. The research and innovation missions aim to develop solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges. They are interdisciplinary and should be implemented across several clusters.

The following mission areas, have been defined:

• Adaptation to climate change including social transformation

• Cancer

• Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters

• Climate-neutral and smart cities and

• Soil health and food

Furthermore a number of European Partnerships, new and continuing ones, will encourage wide participation of partners from public and private sectors in areas such as energy, transport, biodiversity, health, food and circularity.

For further service and support for your project ideas and application, please contact the European Project Center (EPC) at TU Dresden.

Participation to Horizon Europe is open to different types of organizations and individuals from the European Union Member States, countries associated to the program and the world.

In collaborative research projects, at least three independent legal entities from three different member states or associated countries must participate. In other parts of the program such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions or the ERC, for example, one legal entity is sufficient as a prerequisite for participation.

The conditions for reimbursement will be: 100% (direct costs) plus 25 % overhead.

There will be special rules for industrial partners in Innovation Actions, and for programs based on lump sums or flat rates.

https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en

Pillar 1: Excellence Science

• European Research Council (ERC) 

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

• Research Infrastructures

Pillar 2: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness (Clusters) and Missions

• Health

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

• Civil Security for Society

• Digital, Industry and Space

• Climate, Energy, Mobility

• Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

• Missions

• New European Bauhaus Facility

Pillar 3: Innovative Europe

• European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)

• European Innovation Council (EIC) 

Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area

Access to these files is login-protected and only accessible to logged-in TUD members.

Overview work program 2025-2027 as Excel spreadsheet

Overview of calls for proposals 2025-2027 as PDF document

(last update: October 10, 2025)