EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D5-17

1. Single Market Access – 450+ Million Consumers

• Create a pan-European benchmark for real-time maritime emissions monitoring devices, making regulatory-grade solutions immediately marketable in all 27 Member States without individual national certification cycles.

• Enable technology and service providers (sensor manufacturers, AI/IoT integrators, satellite data suppliers) to scale sales via EU public-procurement portals (TED, ESPD) and green-innovation clauses in port tenders worth €9 bn/yr.

• Help shipowners demonstrate compliance with EU-ETS, FuelEU Maritime and Fit-for-55 rules across all EU waters, turning compliance costs into competitive advantage when serving any EU port city.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Mandatory trials in six TEN-T core/comprehensive ports across at least three sea basins create a living lab that links Baltic, North Sea, Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea research clusters.

• Offers SMEs and research institutes cross-border subcontracts (e.g., metrology labs in DE/FI, AI analytics in FR/ES, sensor OEMs in NL/IT) fostering technology transfer and standardised test protocols.

• Facilitates data-sharing agreements with Helcom, Bonn Agreement and IMO, positioning EU actors as global norm-setters for maritime emission verification.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

• Direct contribution to the Green Deal’s Zero-Pollution Action Plan, the Smart & Sustainable Mobility Strategy, the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission and the ZEWT partnership.

• Supports implementation of ETS maritime inclusion (2024+), FuelEU Maritime (2025+) and forthcoming CountEmissions EU regulation by providing the digital MRV backbone.

• Complements Digital Europe’s priorities on data spaces and cybersecurity through development of FAIR, tamper-proof, interoperable emission datasets.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• Development of harmonised NOx/CH₄/N₂O/BC/UFP protocols reduces fragmented national rules, lowers compliance costs by up to 35 % for shipowners operating multi-country routes.

• Automatic Reporting & Verification System (ARVS) can feed into EMSA, EEA and national port IT systems, paving the way for mutual recognition of enforcement actions and fines.

• Early shaping of ISO/CEN standards on port emission monitoring enhances EU industrial leadership and future export potential.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Builds on results and infrastructures of SCIPPER, EMERGE, Green C-Ports, LIFE CLINSH, EARTH-OBS Cl4-Space projects, accelerating TRL 6→8 with reduced duplication.

• Leverages 3 000+ marine scientists in the EuroGOOS, Copernicus Marine Service and EMODnet networks, ensuring world-class metrology and data-fusion expertise.

• Opens pathways to demonstrator vessels from the Waterborne TP and 40+ Living Labs under the Cities Mission, securing real-world testbeds.

6. Funding Synergies & Blended Finance

• Blends Horizon budget with CEF Transport (alternative fuel bunkering, port OPS), Innovation Fund (retrofit pilots), ESIF/Just Transition (air-quality measures in coastal regions) and EIB Green Shipping Guarantee (deployment loans).

• Facilitates follow-on equity via EIC Accelerator or BlueInvest for scale-ups producing certified sensor packages or AI-driven RT-DSS platforms.

7. Scale, Replication & EU-Wide Impact

• 1 000+ TEN-T ports and 23 000 inland-waterway vessels represent a potential addressable market of €1.2 bn for validated monitoring solutions by 2030.

• Evidence base will inform future IMO Annex VI amendments, giving EU firms first-mover export advantages to global fleet of >60 000 vessels.

• Harmonised data lake supports EU-wide emission inventories, enabling finer-grained low-emission zones and differentiated port fees that can cut port-city PM₂.₅ by 20 % in 2030.

8. Strategic Value Unique to EU-Level Operation

• Only an EU-coordinated action can ensure:

• Critical mass of diverse vessel types, fuels and climatic conditions needed for statistically robust emission factors.

• Political legitimacy to negotiate data-sharing with national customs/navy authorities and to integrate outcomes into EU legislation.

• Economies of scale in cybersecurity certification and GDPR-compliant cloud infrastructure.

9. Actionable Opportunities for Applicants

• Build a consortium spanning technology providers, port authorities, classification societies, satellite operators and Cities-Mission municipalities.

• Plan pilot deployments to dovetail with CEF Alternative Fuels Infra calls (2025), unlocking co-funding for on-shore power and bunkering sensors.

• Engage early with EMSA & CEN TC 282 to fast-track adoption of measurement protocols as pre-normative standards.

• Allocate WP on data governance to align with European Common Data Space for Mobility (DEP), ensuring future commercial reuse rights.

10. Executive Takeaway

Leveraging Horizon Europe funding at EU scale enables applicants to create the first interoperable, legally robust and market-ready solution for real-time maritime emission monitoring—something that no single Member State can achieve alone. The project will not only help the EU hit Green Deal targets but also position European industry as the global reference for clean, smart shipping technologies.