Building a Long-Term Africa Union (AU) and European Union (EU) Research and Innovation joint collaboration on Sustainable Renewable Energies
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Building a Long-Term Africa Union (AU) and European Union (EU) Research and Innovation joint collaboration on Sustainable Renewable Energies offering max €69.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description – HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15
1. Purpose of the Call
The action aims to establish a permanent AU-EU Research & Innovation (R&I) platform on Sustainable Renewable Energies, building on LEAP-RE and fully aligned with the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, the Green Deal and the Global Gateway. The CSA will coordinate, cluster, evaluate and upscale existing and future joint initiatives while preparing a self-sustained governance and financing model beyond the project lifetime.
2. What the Grant Funds
Eligible activities (non-exhaustive):
- Setting-up and operating AU-EU governance bodies, advisory boards, thematic working groups and a secretariat.
- Mapping, analysing and monitoring impact of past EU-Africa energy projects; generating policy briefs & investment cases.
- Designing & implementing joint R&I roadmaps (2030/2050) for climate-neutral, affordable and gender-inclusive renewable energy solutions.
- Large-scale capacity-building: staff exchanges, PhD/early-career researcher schemes, technology demonstration hubs, policy-maker training.
- Community & citizen engagement across Africa (co-design, social acceptance, hybridisation of technologies, clean-cooking pilots). Social sciences & humanities, incl. gender studies, must be fully integrated.
- Innovation acceleration: living labs, matchmaking with financiers, IP management guidelines, regulatory dialogue.
- Clustering & synergy actions with Horizon Europe, national and regional projects (e.g., COFUND, NDICI-Global Europe, InnovAfrica), organising joint events & joint dissemination.
- Development of a long-term financial & structural sustainability plan for the AU-EU partnership (post-grant business model, blended finance scenarios, trust fund options).
3. Budget & Funding Model
- Maximum EU contribution per project: €69 000 000 (lump-sum).
- Type of Action: Coordination & Support Action (CSA) – HORIZON Lump Sum Grant. The lump sum is fixed in the Grant Agreement; internal cost categories are for the consortium to manage.
- Co-funding rate: 100 % of eligible lump-sum amount (no mandatory own contribution, but leverage of additional resources is encouraged for sustainability).
4. Consortium & Eligibility
- Minimum Horizon Europe rules (3 independent legal entities, 1 in an EU Member State) plus mandatory topical condition: ≥40 % of beneficiaries must be established in African Union Member States.
- All EU Member States, Horizon Europe Associated Countries and African Union countries (even if not automatically eligible) may participate.
- Recommended profile mix:
* Universities & RTOs
* Industry (large companies & SMEs), start-ups, incubators
* Energy agencies, utilities, investors & banks
* National funding agencies / ministries (for future co-funding)
* Civil-society organisations, women’s groups, local authorities
5. Indicative Project Duration
4–5 years (consortia must justify period vs. work plan).
6. Key Dates
- Call opens: 06 May 2025
- Deadline (single stage): 02 Sep 2025, 17:00 Brussels time
- Expected GA signature: ≈ Q2 2026
7. Evaluation & Award
Proposals are evaluated on Excellence, Impact, Quality & Efficiency of Implementation (maximum 15 points, threshold 10). Expect a funding rate of 1 project.
8. Mandatory & Horizontal Requirements
- Gender Equality Plans for all public-sector beneficiaries from MS/AC.
- SSH integration, open science, data management plan, ethics self-assessment.
- Plan for exploiting and sustaining results beyond project end.
9. Complementarity & Synergies
- Demonstrate active links with LEAP-RE, HORIZON-CL5-2024-D3-01-09 (Africa-EU COFUND) & HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-07, plus other Global Gateway flagships.
10. Contact & Reference
Call page on EU Funding & Tenders Portal – search for HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for the AU–EU Sustainable Renewable Energies CSA (HORIZON-CL5-2025-02-D3-15)
1. Single Market Access (450 + million consumers)
• Harmonised EU energy legislation (Renewable Energy Directive, Internal Electricity Market rules, TEN-E) gives project outputs one set of technical, environmental and safety requirements, accelerating certification and commercial roll-out across 27 Member States.
• AU partners gain an immediate gateway to Europe’s €2 trillion clean-tech market, while EU companies de-risk entry into Africa via joint standards and reciprocal recognition foreseen under Global Gateway.
• Solutions co-created for rural electrification, clean cooking or hybrid mini-grids can be adapted for Europe’s outermost regions and islands, enlarging addressable demand.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
• The 40 % AU beneficiary rule forces genuinely multinational consortia, unlocking Horizon Europe’s automatic portability of personnel, IP and data across borders.
• Access to pan-European research infrastructures (e.g. JRC labs, EERA networks, European Technology & Innovation Platforms for PV, Wind, Batteries) without additional fees.
• Alignment with ERA mobility schemes (Marie Skłodowska-Curie, EURAXESS) simplifies secondments of African researchers into top EU labs and vice-versa.
3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies
• Direct contribution to:
- European Green Deal 55 % GHG reduction target by 2030
- Global Gateway Africa Investment Package (€150 bn)
- REPowerEU diversification of sustainable energy supply chains
- Gender Equality Strategy (mandatory gender dimension in SSH activities)
• Generates concrete deliverables for the AU-EU Innovation Agenda pillar “Green Transition”.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits
• Use of EU sustainable finance taxonomy and CEN/CENELEC standards fosters investor confidence and speeds up blended-finance deals under EFSD+ and InvestEU.
• Early engagement with EU standard-setting bodies positions the consortium to influence future global norms for stand-alone renewables, storage and green H2 in emerging markets.
5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem
• Interface with 3 000 + Horizon Europe energy projects for clustering activities; built-in matchmaking through CORDIS and Enterprise Europe Network.
• Link to European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) KICs on InnoEnergy and Climate, enabling start-ups to enter EIT Accelerator and Venture Centre of Excellence.
• Eligibility for European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition/Accelerator follow-on funding (up to €17.5 m per company) once TRL advances.
6. Funding Synergies & Blending Potential
• Horizon lump-sum simplifies combination with:
- NDICI-Global Europe bilateral envelopes for partner AU states
- Cohesion Policy funds (Interreg, ERDF) for EU demo sites
- LIFE Clean Energy Transition for market-uptake actions
- Connecting Europe Facility-Energy for cross-border infrastructure
• Complementarity mandated with:
- HORIZON-CL5-2024-D3-01-09 (Africa-EU CO-FUND) – can co-finance joint calls
- HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-07 (Climate Action Pillar) – feeds policy evidence.
7. Scale, Replicability & Impact Pathways
• Pan-EU demonstration sites enable large data sets for techno-economic validation, enhancing bankability for African roll-outs.
• Results feed into EU Sustainable Energy Investment Forums, paving the way for mainstreaming via national recovery & resilience plans (RRPs).
• Harmonised KPI framework facilitates aggregation of impacts necessary to attract institutional investors and green bonds at EU scale.
8. Capacity Building & Science Diplomacy
• Establishes a long-term AU-EU expert network that can be formalised under the AU-EU High-Level Policy Dialogue, reinforcing EU soft power.
• Training packages accredited under European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) recognised across all EU universities, easing mutual diploma recognition for African engineers.
9. Strategic Recommendations for Applicants
• Build a consortium covering at least 14 EU and 10 AU countries to exceed the 40 % AU threshold and demonstrate continental coverage.
• Integrate SSH partners early (gender, behavioural economics) to score highly on ‘Excellence’ and ‘Impact’.
• Map and schedule joint clustering events with LEAP-RE, CO-FUND and climate-pillar projects in the work plan.
• Design a post-project financing blueprint combining Horizon, NDICI, InvestEU and private capital to meet evaluators’ demand for long-term sustainability.
• Exploit the lump-sum model by defining clear, output-based payment milestones that mirror AU and EU political calendars (e.g. next AU-EU Summit).
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Leveraging these EU-wide advantages positions consortia to maximise scientific excellence, market uptake and geopolitical impact while de-risking investment and accelerating the green transition on both continents.
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