Horizon Europe is the European Union’s flagship research and innovation funding programme for 2021–2027. It finances collaborative R&D, pilot deployments, and innovation projects across areas like climate, energy, mobility, digital, and industrial competitiveness—including topics directly relevant to EV charging, smart grids, and clean transport.
What Is Horizon Europe?
Horizon Europe funds projects through competitive calls, typically requiring international consortia (multiple organizations across countries). The programme is organized around major “pillars” and instruments, including:
– Excellent Science (e.g., frontier research, research infrastructures)
– Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness (cluster-based calls, including energy and mobility)
– Innovative Europe (including innovation support and scale-up mechanisms)
It also includes mission-style initiatives and partnerships that target measurable outcomes in areas like climate and cities.
Why Horizon Europe Matters for EV Charging
For EV charging OEMs, CPOs, installers, cities, and fleet operators, Horizon Europe can support:
– Development of smart charging and grid-edge optimization solutions
– Demonstrations of depot charging, public charging rollouts, and interoperability
– Integration with grid services, flexibility markets, and renewable energy systems
– Cybersecurity and reliability improvements (e.g., secure update pipeline, hardware root of trust)
– Sustainability work such as lifecycle and carbon reporting methodologies
These projects often fund both technology development and real-world pilots.
How Funding Typically Works
Common participation and funding mechanics include:
– Calls published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, with defined scope, budget, and deadlines
– Consortia-based applications (industry + research + public sector combinations are common)
– Grant types ranging from research-heavy actions to demonstration and innovation actions
– Requirements for measurable impacts, dissemination, and exploitation plans
Participation rules depend on whether your entity is in an EU Member State or an associated country eligible under Horizon Europe terms.
Associated Countries and Eligibility
In addition to EU Member States, many non-EU countries participate through association agreements, allowing organizations to join calls on similar terms to EU entities (subject to call conditions). The official “participating countries” list is updated regularly as agreements change.
What Horizon Europe Means in Practice for Charging Projects
Typical project outputs in e-mobility and grid integration include:
– Field pilots with monitored KPIs (uptime, user experience, energy optimization)
– Data-sharing and interoperability approaches using standards like OCPP
– Deployment playbooks for municipalities, depots, and commercial real estate
– Replicable architectures for energy management (EMS) and load control
– Documentation aligned with compliance and reporting expectations
Related Glossary Terms
EU Funding Eligibility
Clean Transport
Smart Charging
Grid Services
Grid-edge Optimization
Fleet Depot Charging
CPMS
OCPP
Carbon Reporting
Energy Attribute Certificates