A new set of Horizon Europe grants are available this year to support research in areas such as AI, knowledge transfer, big data, sustainable energy solutions, and more.
In this guide, we pick out some calls for proposals that could be of interest to engineers and scientists working at CERN.
Horizon Europe is the main scientific funding programme in Europe, and supports a range of research topics, including many linked to work being carried out at CERN.
The guide focuses primarily on Pillars II and III of Horizon Europe, which are the most applicable to CERN scientists and engineers. Pillar II is broken into thematic clusters and funds projects aiming to tackle global and European societal and industrial challenges. Pillar III aims at funding projects involving technologies that are closer to being market ready.
Pillar I funds has calls to fund basic research and postdoctoral studies. There is information on these at the end of this guide.
How to use our guide
Scan the column in the tables below titled “if your expertise is related to…” to identify quickly if some areas connect with your research.
If that is the case, take a good 45 minutes to read the associated call(s) and pay special attention to the sections called “Expected Outcome” and “Scope” under the topic description because this is what the call is about.
Then, fill in the template that is linked at the bottom of this article. This is not for nothing. It serves two purposes:
● Leads you to think about your idea in a structured way
● Facilitates a faster and more focused discussion with the CERN EU Office
Send this template along with a short introduction of yourself to our team at eu.projects[at]cern.ch and we will get in touch with you.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of opportunities and other calls may be relevant.
Funding opportunities guide for CERN
Pillar II: Health
| If your expertise is related to... | You may want to check the call... | Call opening / call deadline |
| Artificial intelligence that can be applied to healthcare applications, big data, machine-learning models or federated learning. This call is for the development of ethical and safe innovation on AI in healthcare. | HORIZON-HLTH-2027-03-TOOL-08: Towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for healthcare | 3 Jun, 2027 - 22 Sep, 2027 |
Pillar II: Climate, Energy and Mobility
| AI tools that could be used for real-time grid operations (including protection), market operations, etc. | HORIZON-CL5-2027-02-D3-24: Large scale operational validation and upscaling of state-of-the-art (Generative) AI tools and models powering a next generation digital energy system | 3 December, 2026. - 31 March, 2027 |
| Power grid control systems, real-time data acquisition and monitoring, digital twins, AI-based forecasting, or large-scale distributed electrical infrastructure | HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-25: Advanced TSO control rooms to enhance grid observability, stability and resilience |
4 August, 2027 – 1 December, 2027 |
| Software platforms for electrical distribution networks, integration of distributed energy resources, digital twins, cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, or AI-driven grid forecasting and congestion management | HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-26: Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADSM) for more efficient and flexible distribution grids | 4 August, 2027 - 1 December, 2027 |
| Data management and analytics, open-source software development, digital twins, AI-enabled systems, large-scale simulation, or the application of machine learning to complex infrastructure planning and operations | HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-28: Community of practice - Data-Driven Decision-Making in Energy | 4 August, 2027 - 1 December, 2027 |
| Vacuum or temperature-swing adsorption systems or cryogenics | HORIZON-CL5-2027-02-D3-30: Advancements in Direct Air Capture | 3 December, 2026 - 31 March, 2027 |
| Energy storage technologies (electrical or thermal), repurposing of large-scale industrial or energy infrastructure, power electronics, grid flexibility, or the circularity and sustainability assessment of energy systems | HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-27: Integrated Approaches for Retrofitting Infrastructures with Innovative Energy Storage Technologies | 4 August, 2027 - 1 December, 2027 |
| Robotics, autonomous systems, human-robot collaboration, 3D printing for construction, or precision sensing and control for automated machinery in complex physical environments | HORIZON-CL5-2027-05-D4-05: On-site robotic and automated techniques for building renovation and new construction | 5 May, 2027 - 15 September, 2027 |
| Thermal management of high-density computing facilities, waste heat recovery systems, cooling technologies, heat pump engineering, or the integration of data centre energy flows with building or district heating systems | HORIZON-CL5-2027-05-D4-06: Thermal energy optimisation and waste heat recovery of high energy demand IT rooms in buildings or small edge data centres | 5 May, 2027 - 15 September, 2027 |
Pillar II: Digital, Industry and Space
| Innovations that substantially improve heat removal from high-power AI chips, optimisation of data centres for energy-efficient AI processing | HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-09: Energy efficiency and sustainability of AI data processing in Data Centres | 17 November, 2026 - 18 March, 2027 |
| The development of advanced materials that substitute or reduce reliance on critical raw materials, including superconductors, magnets, semiconductors | HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-22: Innovative advanced materials and new production processes | 22 September, 2026 - 2 February, 2027 |
Pillar III: European Innovation Ecosystems
| Technology transfer or knowledge transfer, the act of turning research into market solutions | HORIZON-EIE-2026-03-CONNECT-01: From lab to market: Strengthening the role of Technology Transfer Offices in bringing knowledge to the market | 09 Jun, 2026 - 22 Sep, 2026 |
Pillar I: Basic research and postdoctoral studies
European Research Council
The European Research Council (ERC) has launched its ERC Plus Grant scheme which offers longer and bigger grants to fund outstanding frontier research in nearly any field (with the exception of defence).
The grants offer up to €7 million for a maximum of seven years. They are open to any nationality.
Deadline: 2 September, 2026. Find out more here.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships funds PhD holders in training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility. Deadline: 9 September, 2026. Find out more here.
MSCA Doctoral Networks funds partnerships of universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs, and other socio-economic actors to tackle specific topics. Deadline: 24 November, 2026. Find out more here.