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"],"keywords":["HORIZON-MISS-2026-04-CIT-02","HORIZON-MISS-2026-04","Civil engineering","Decarbonisation","District Heating & Cooling","Renewable energy sources","Renewable heating & cooling"],"sortStatus":["1"],"language":["en"],"topicConditions":["described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
At least two cities, represented by a local authority or by an entity with an explicit consent from the local authority, each from a different Member State or Associated Country, must participate as beneficiaries. At least one of the two cities must be one of the 112 cities selected for the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities[[The EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities aims to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 and ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050. On 28 April 2022, the Commission announced the 100 EU cities that will participate in the Mission. In addition, 12 cities have been selected from countries associated or expected to be associated the Horizon Europe programme.]].
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering both district heating and building-level heating solutions, grants will be awarded to proposals not only in order of ranking, but also to at least one highest-ranked proposal in each category of heating solution (district heating and building-level heating), provided all thresholds are met. This balanced portfolio is also achieved if one proposal addressing both categories (district heating and building-level heating) is funded.
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following action(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03
Collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform[[Set up by Horizon 2020 project NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities' transition to net zero emissions by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519, and scaled up through topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform.]] is essential and projects must ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing this collaboration are included in the work plan of the proposal. The collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform must be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded as soon as possible after the project starting date.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Not applicable.
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Expected Outcome:
The projects are expected to deliver on one of or combination of the following topic outcomes:
Scope:
Low-temperature district heating systems in urban areas offer higher potential for integration of renewable energy sources and waste heat, but their deployment is slowed down because the existing stock of inefficient buildings has been designed for high-temperature heat delivery systems. The topic supports the creation of the conditions necessary for the conversion of existing supply solutions – district heating, as well as individual heating ones – into low-temperature alternatives, along with reducing and optimising the heat load of buildings.
Efficient district heating systems are expected to meet increasingly stringent criteria in terms of the use of renewable energy, waste heat and/or co-generation in line with Article 26(1) of the Directive (EU) 2023/1791. To help district heating operators meet those criteria, there is a need to demonstrate solutions that support the transition to low-temperature district heating systems operating at supply temperatures at below 70°C.
There is currently a limited choice of established non-fossil fuel heating and hot water systems to replace fossil-fuel based heating systems in multi-apartment buildings. There is a need to demonstrate systems based on heat pumps solutions to replace both central and individual fossil fuel boilers in existing residential multi-apartment buildings.
Proposals are expected to address at least two of the following:
Projects are expected to demonstrate the proposed solutions in two different climate zones, at building, district and/or city level, and to assess the environmental, social and economic benefits of the proposed solutions for the local community and heating system operators while accounting for the regional economic and regulatory aspects. The system design must include advanced controls to allow exploiting the energy flexibility of individual heating systems in a collective way. Projects must present a concise state-of-the-art of existing relevant solutions, knowledge and tools from EU funded projects.
Projects are expected to contribute to the implementation of Climate City Contracts and/or Sustainable Energy Action Plans, Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans. Collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform is essential. The collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform must be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded as soon as possible after the project starting date. Under the guidance of the Cities Mission Platform, the selected projects will engage in clustering activities with other relevant projects supported under the Cities Mission to promote synergies and complementarities. Proposals should ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing clustering activities and cooperation with the Cities Mission Platform are included in the work-plan.
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Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
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The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
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