Advancing Earth System Models to increase understanding of Earth system change
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Advancing Earth System Models to increase understanding of Earth system change offering max €56.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding overview
What the call finances
* Research & innovation actions (RIA) that advance the scientific foundations and next-generation capabilities of Earth System Models (ESMs), with particular emphasis on:
* Better representation of coupled processes and feedbacks (e.g. climate-carbon-water, aerosol–cloud, land-use – regional climate interactions).
* Integration of state-of-the-art digital technologies (AI/ML, big-data analytics, emulators) for bias detection, calibration and uncertainty quantification.
* Production, curation and open release of high-quality observational / reanalysis data sets, code, and model components compliant with FAIR principles.
* Networking, inter-comparison and clustering activities with parallel Horizon Europe projects, IPCC-relevant initiatives and global partners (incl. Global South capacity building).
Available budget & cost model
* Maximum EU contribution per grant: EUR 56 000 000 (lump-sum).
* The lump-sum approach means 100 % of the agreed amount is paid upon delivery of predefined work packages/milestones, eliminating ex-post cost reporting.
* Indicative Commission planning foresees funding 2–4 large-scale projects; typical individual grant size 10-30 M€, but applicants may request up to the ceiling if well justified.
Who is eligible?
* Consortia of minimum three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
* Additional partners from any country (including Global South) may participate; entities from the "Horizon automatically funded" list receive EU funding, while others participate at own cost or via national co-funding.
* Universities, research organisations, HPC centres, SMEs, large industry, European Research Infrastructures, meteorological & hydrological services, space agencies and NGOs are all eligible.
Specific obligations & policy priorities
* Open Science: full open-source release of any new or substantially improved model code, workflows and data produced with EU funds.
* FAIR data management plan mandatory from Day 1; public repository deposition (e.g. Zenodo, ESGF, Copernicus WEkEO).
* Climate diplomacy & capacity building: encourage inclusion of Global South partners, early-career training & knowledge transfer.
* Synergy requirement: resources must be earmarked (budget + person-months) for joint workshops, model inter-comparison exercises and clustering with projects funded under HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-01 and HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-SERV-02.
Timeline & key documents
* Call opens: 06 May 2025
* Proposal deadline: 24 September 2025, 17:00 (Brussels)
* Expected project start: Q2-Q3 2026
* Duration: typically 48-60 months.
* Reference documents: Work Programme 2025 – Cluster 5, General Annexes A-G, Lump-Sum Decision (07 Jul 2021).
Evaluation snapshot
* Single-stage submission; proposals evaluated against Excellence (45 %), Impact (35 %), Quality & Efficiency of Implementation (20 %).
* Competitive threshold: ≥ 10 out of 15 overall and ≥ 3 in each criterion.
* Tie-breakers favour proposals with: gender balance, EU policy contribution, and wider geographical coverage.
Typical success ingredients
* Clear mapping of work packages to the eight process priorities listed in the topic.
* Demonstrated access to Tier-0/Tier-1 HPC and relevant EU Research Infrastructures.
* Solid track record in CMIP/ESM development, coupled with innovative digital-twin or AI expertise.
* Credible governance model for open-source release, community uptake and long-term maintenance.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-02
1. Single Market Access
• Direct exposure to a 450-million-people market accelerates the uptake of improved Earth System Models (ESMs) by:
• National meteorological services needing higher-fidelity regional predictions for civil-protection and water-management mandates.
• Energy, insurance, agriculture and infrastructure companies that operate trans-EU supply chains and must manage climate-related risks consistently across borders.
• Uniform IP & data-sharing rules under Horizon Europe and the mandatory FAIR/open-source provisions ensure that all EU economic actors can integrate project outputs into commercial services without renegotiating 27 national licences.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration
• The topic explicitly calls for networking, inter-comparison and clustering activities, giving consortia a formal mechanism (and budget line) to build multinational teams combining:
• Climate model developers (e.g., DKRZ DE, ECMWF EU, IPSL FR).
• HPC centres (EuroHPC Joint Undertaking) offering petascale infrastructure.
• Observation providers (Copernicus, EUMETSAT, ESA) and in-situ networks (ICOS, ACTRIS).
• Pan-European talent pipelines are strengthened through Global South cooperation clauses, positioning EU institutes as hubs for worldwide capacity building.
3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies
• Green Deal: High-resolution ESMs underpin the EU Climate Law’s 2050 climate-neutrality trajectory and the DG CLIMA adaptation strategy.
• Digital Europe & Destination Earth: Results feed seamlessly into the EU’s “Digital Twin of the Earth”, enhancing its water-cycle and extremes modules.
• Fit-for-55 & REPowerEU: More accurate seasonal forecasts optimise renewable-energy dispatch and grid stability models across Member States.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits
• A single GDPR-compliant framework for data management eliminates divergent national privacy clauses when handling socio-economic impact datasets.
• Open-science and software-quality mandates standardise coding practices (e.g., SPDX licences, CodeMeta metadata), lowering integration costs for downstream EU projects.
5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem
• Synergies with KIC-Climate, EuroHPC Centres of Excellence (e.g., ESiWACE3) and ERIC infrastructures (e.g., ICOS, ECCSEL) create a continuum from basic research to market-ready climate services.
• Academic-industry co-creation is facilitated by the European Research Area’s mobility schemes (MSCA, ERA Chairs), providing a steady flow of researchers versed in AI, ML and big-data analytics.
6. Funding Synergies
• Complementarity with:
• HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-01 (IPCC support) – shared dissemination pipelines to policy stakeholders.
• HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-SERV-02 – ready-made service layer for archiving & serving ESM outputs.
• Digital Europe (DEP) cloud & data-spaces – subsidised compute/storage for ensemble simulations.
• LIFE & Interreg – downstream pilots translating improved projections into adaptation measures at basin or cross-border regional scales.
• Lump-sum model streamlines budget alignment with ERDF/ESF+ co-funded national HPC upgrades.
7. Scale and Impact Potential
• EU-wide deployment of next-gen ESM components guarantees homogeneous climate information in all 24 EU languages, a prerequisite for coherent national adaptation plans under Regulation (EU) 2024/1114.
• Joint, open model architecture reduces duplication: one pan-EU code base vs. 27 bespoke models saves >€100 M over 10 years (JRC estimate).
• Shared extremes-prediction capability can lower disaster-related economic losses by up to 20 % (EEA 2023), supporting the EU Solidarity Fund’s risk-finance sustainability.
8. Strategic Value of Operating at EU Scale
• Critical mass: combines observational richness from Arctic to Mediterranean, enabling coupled processes (e.g., Saharan dust-European cloud interactions) impossible to capture in single-country projects.
• Geopolitical weight: A unified European ESM family strengthens the EU’s voice in WMO, IPCC and G20 science diplomacy, influencing global mitigation pathways.
• Long-term sustainability: The clustering obligation institutionalises a permanent European ESM ecosystem beyond the 3-4 year project horizon, ensuring continuous upgrades aligned with policy cycles.
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Actionable Take-Away for Applicants: Assemble a consortium that spans at least 8–10 Member/Associated States, maps each work-package to a flagship EU policy lever, allocates ≥5 % budget to clustering & standards-compliance, and embeds FAIR/AI-ready pipelines that can be plugged into Destination Earth and Copernicus within 24 months.
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