Understand and minimise the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Understand and minimise the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy offering max €33.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding description for HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-08
Quick facts
* Programme / Call: Horizon Europe, Cluster 5 – Climate, Energy & Mobility, Call 02-2026
* Topic ID: HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-08
“Understand and minimise the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy”
* Type of Action: HORIZON-RIA (Research & Innovation Action) – Lump-Sum grant
* Indicative EU contribution per project: up to €33 million
(the Commission expects to fund 2–4 proposals in order to stay within the overall topic budget)
* Technology Readiness Level (TRL): up to TRL 5 for mitigation / restoration demonstrators
* Consortium requirement: minimum 3 independent entities from 3 different EU or Associated Countries (HE General Annex B). Larger, multidisciplinary consortia are strongly recommended because of the scope and sea-basin-coverage requirement.
* Project duration: typically 48–60 months (align field data collection with 2 × wind-farm seasonal cycles)
* Opening date: 16 Sept 2025 | Deadline: 17 Feb 2026 (17:00 CET)
What is funded
The EU will fund research and innovation activities that:
1. Generate large-scale, multi-pressure environmental data on bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind installations across several European sea basins.
2. Develop, test and validate advanced monitoring, modelling and Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) tools capable of life-cycle and cumulative impact assessment.
3. Demonstrate TRL-5 mitigation / restoration technologies (e.g. nature-inclusive foundations, bubble curtains 2.0, biodegradable dynamic cables).
4. Provide open-access, FAIR data streams to EMODnet, the European Digital Twin Ocean (DTO) and IEA Wind TCP tasks.
5. Deliver policy-ready guidance for permitting authorities and sea-basin initiatives (e.g. OSPAR, Greater North Sea) on how to attain net-positive biodiversity outcomes.
Eligibility highlights
* Legal entities from Member States and Associated Countries are automatically funded. Entities from other countries may participate if they secure their own funding unless listed as eligible in the HE Programme Guide.
* Priority will be given to a balanced portfolio of sea basins (Atlantic, Baltic, Black, North, Mediterranean). High-ranking proposals may be skipped if their sea-basin focus is over-represented.
* Proposals must address at least five of the scope bullets and embed FAIR-compliant data management.
* Lump-sum budgeting means the consortium proposes a fixed total amount; payments are released on the basis of work-package-level completion, not actual costs.
Funding rate & cost model
* 100 % of eligible direct costs (flat-rated through the lump sum) + 25 % indirect costs already embedded.
* No financial reporting of real costs – but technical progress must convincingly demonstrate that each work package is fully achieved.
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📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities
for the Call "Understand and Minimise the Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy" (HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-08)
1. Single Market Access
• Immediate entry to a 450-million-person market for environmental-monitoring technologies, MSP decision-support tools and nature-inclusive design solutions.
• Harmonised CE-marking and EU taxonomy criteria accelerate commercial deployment once TRL 5 is reached, lowering duplication of certification costs across 27 Member States.
• Large aggregated demand from upcoming offshore wind auctions (>110 GW by 2030) creates a predictable pipeline for post-project roll-out.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
• Multi-sea-basin consortiums can pool existing monitoring sites (North, Baltic, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Black Seas) and generate statistically robust pan-European datasets.
• Access to leading research infrastructures (EMSO, EuroFleets+, ACTRIS-Marine) and joint PhD/industrial doctorate programmes boosts talent mobility.
• Leverages regional governance bodies (OSPAR, HELCOM, Barcelona Convention) for rapid replication of mitigation measures.
3. Alignment with EU Flagship Policies
• European Green Deal & Fit-for-55: supports climate neutrality by 2050 while safeguarding biodiversity (EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030).
• Digital Europe & Data Act: FAIR data feeding the EU Digital Twin Ocean and common data spaces.
• Blue Economy Strategy & Mission Ocean Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030: direct contribution to Mission objectives and lighthouse basins.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits
• Results can be referenced in future delegated acts and guidance under the Renewable Energy Directive and Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, reducing permitting lead-times EU-wide.
• Consistent environmental assessment methodologies foster mutual recognition of EIA studies among Member States, easing cross-border cable routes and hybrid wind-interconnector projects.
5. Access to the EU Innovation Ecosystem
• Collaboration with >3,400 Horizon Europe energy & ocean-science beneficiaries plus EIT InnoEnergy, BlueInvest, and Ocean Innovation Hubs.
• Open-source toolkits can be incubated in Digital Innovation Hubs and standardised through CEN/CENELEC, accelerating market uptake.
6. Pan-European Data Infrastructure & DTO
• Mandatory EMODnet feeding plus integration with the EU Digital Twin Ocean positions consortia at the core of Europe’s next-generation ocean governance platform.
• High-resolution, cross-basin datasets enable AI-driven predictive models that can be commercialised for insurers, developers and public authorities.
7. Funding Synergies & Blended Finance Paths
• Horizon lump-sum reduces administrative burden; follow-on scaling can tap CEF-Energy (cross-border grids), LIFE (biodiversity restoration), InvestEU (sustainable infrastructure window), and national RRF envelopes.
• Complementarity clauses open doors to cluster with projects funded under CL6 climate-ocean nexus, Mission Ocean nature-inclusive concepts, and the forthcoming Innovation Fund calls.
8. Scale & Impact Potential
• EU sea-basin approach allows development of generic, modular environmental mitigation packages applicable to >90 % of future EU offshore sites.
• Demonstrated net-positive biodiversity concepts can be mainstreamed into tender design criteria (e.g. DK, NL, DE, FR), influencing billions of euros of CAPEX.
9. Strategic Value for Industry & SMEs
• Early engagement with OEMs, EPCIs and certification bodies de-risks technology qualification up to TRL 5, shortening time-to-market.
• SMEs gain EU-level references, unlocking export opportunities to global markets adopting EU standards (e.g. UK, Taiwan, US East Coast).
10. Long-Term EU Leadership & Export Potential
• Establishes Europe as the world reference for eco-friendly offshore wind deployment, reinforcing geopolitical leadership in both climate action and ocean stewardship.
• Creates high-value green jobs (ecological engineering, digital twins, advanced sensors) and fosters a resilient blue value chain across multiple Member States.
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