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FORTHCOMING

Towards commercialisation of Perovskite PV and development of dedicated manufacturing equipment (EUPI-PV Partnership)

Last Updated: 8/19/2025Deadline: 16 February 2026€33.0M Available

Quick Facts

Programme:Horizon Europe
Call ID:HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-10
Deadline:16 February 2026
Max funding:€33.0M
Status:
forthcoming
Time left:7 months

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💰 Funding Details

Funding Description

Grant Snapshot

* Programme / Call: Horizon Europe – Cluster 5 (Climate, Energy & Mobility) – Call 02-2026

* Topic ID: HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-10

* Action Type: Innovation Action (IA)

* Indicative EU Contribution per Grant: up to €33 million (Commission usually funds 1-3 projects; budgets of €10-25 million are historically competitive).

* Funding Rate:

* 70 % of eligible direct costs for profit-making entities

* 100 % for non-profit entities (universities, RTOs, NGOs)

* +25 % flat-rate to cover indirect costs (overheads)

* Project Length: Typically 36–48 months (justify if longer/shorter).

* Expected TRL at start/end: TRL 5-6 ➜ TRL 7-8 (pilot-line / first-of-a-kind equipment demonstrated in relevant environment).


What the Grant Funds

The Commission will finance activities that collectively bridge the gap from lab-scale perovskite PV to market-ready, bankable modules and production tools:

* Materials & Process Innovation: Lead-reduced / lead-free formulations; solvent-free or green-solvent deposition; tandem architectures.

* Scale-up & Pilot Production: Inline or roll-to-roll deposition, patterning and interconnection over ≥ 1 m² substrates; demonstration of dedicated manufacturing equipment.

* Reliability & Standardisation: Accelerated testing, climate-chamber evaluation, development of perovskite-specific IEC test protocols.

* Encapsulation & Recycling: Internal/external barriers, Pb-containment strategies, eco-design for recyclability, EoL business models.

* Sustainability & Safety: Life-cycle assessment (LCA), techno-economic analysis (TEA), REACH / RoHS compliance.

* Exploitation & Market Uptake: Feasibility studies, business plans, IP management, investor engagement, Innovation Fund alignment.


Eligibility Essentials

1. Consortium composition: Minimum 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or Horizon-Europe-Associated Countries AND at least one perovskite cell/module manufacturer or specialised PV equipment supplier.

2. Operational capacity: Demonstrate access to pilot lines, reliability labs and industrial-grade clean-room facilities.

3. Non-EU participation: Possible, but only funded if entity’s country is associated or has self-funding arrangements.

4. Ethics & Environment: Pb handling, worker safety, and waste streams must be addressed in an Ethics/Safety appendix.


Key Dates

* Call opens: 16 Sept 2025

* Single-stage deadline: 17 Feb 2026, 17:00 CET

* Evaluation results: ~Sept 2026

* Grant Agreement signature: Dec 2026 – Feb 2027

* Project start: Q1 2027 (indicative)


Compliance Tips

* Adhere to the 50-page limit for Part B (IA, single-stage).

* Include a Data Management Plan and Open Science measures.

* Provide a detailed Exploitation & Dissemination plan with clear routes to the Innovation Fund or other de-risking instruments.

* Commit to report KPIs to the EUPI-PV Partnership.


Personalizing...

📊 At a Glance

€33.0M
Max funding
16 February 2026
Deadline
7 months
Time remaining
Eligible Countries
EU Member States, Associated Countries

🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages

EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities under HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-10


1. Single Market Access (≈450 million consumers)

Pan-European customer base for PV modules & equipment – successful consortia immediately operate in the world’s second-largest economic area without customs barriers, enabling rapid roll-out of perovskite rooftop, BIPV and utility installations.

Unified CE-marking lowers certification costs compared with multiple national schemes; once compliance with IEC/EN PV standards is demonstrated, products can circulate freely across 27 Member States plus EEA.

Public procurement leverage – EU Clean Energy Package & Renovation Wave drive demand for high-efficiency PV; project outputs gain preferential access to >€200 bn/year green public spending when meeting EU taxonomy & GPP criteria.


2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

Mandatory multi-disciplinary consortium requirement incentivises teaming of:

• pilot-line equipment makers (DE, IT, NL)

• perovskite start-ups (PL, ES, FR)

• silicon PV gigafactories (DE, ES)

• research institutes (IMEC, CEA-INES, HZB, EMPA, TNO, Oxford PV EU GmbH).

ERA mobility programmes (MSCA, COST Actions) allow staff secondments, accelerating tacit knowledge transfer on stability testing & encapsulation.

Standard-setting influence – joint results feed into IEC TC82 & CENELEC TC82 working groups, shaping future EU/ISO reliability protocols for perovskites.


3. Alignment with EU Flagship Policies

European Green Deal & Fit-for-55 – high-efficiency PSC & perovskite-Si tandem modules reduce LCOE by ≥15 % & footprint/MWh by ≥30 %, directly supporting 42.5 % renewable share by 2030.

Strategic Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) – project contributes to EU target of 30 GW annual PV manufacturing by 2030, decreasing dependence on Asian supply chains.

Digital Europe & Chips Act synergies – thin-film printing/laser-patterning equipment overlaps with semiconductor process control, opening cross-industry markets.


4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

REACH & RoHS guidance – consortium can jointly develop Pb-leakage mitigation & end-of-life recycling protocols recognised EU-wide, avoiding divergent national restrictions.

Unified ESG reporting per CSRD facilitates green-finance eligibility (EU taxonomy, CBI), attracting institutional investors to scale-up CAPEX.


5. Deep Innovation Ecosystem Access

World-leading RTO infrastructure – access to EU pilot lines (e.g., EU Solar Manufacturing Council platform, EIT InnoEnergy Demo facilities) for testing >2 m² modules.

Open-access data spaces – project can plug into the PV Manufacturing Data Space under the Digital Europe Programme, accelerating AI-driven process optimisation.


6. Funding & Financing Synergies

Blending opportunities:

• Innovation Fund (up to €40 M per large-scale perovskite line)

• InvestEU guarantees for first-of-a-kind production plants

• EIB Energy Demo Projects (low-interest loans)

Cascade financing via EEN & EIC Accelerator for downstream SMEs (inverters, BIPV integrators).


7. Scale & Market Impact

Terawatt deployment potential – EU solar strategy aims for 750 GWdc by 2030; capturing merely 10 % with EU-made perovskite/tandem modules equals 75 GWdc, ~€22 bn market.

Job creation – estimated 45 direct jobs per 100 MW manufacturing capacity; a 3 GW line creates ~1 400 skilled positions across Member States.

Carbon footprint reduction – manufacturing in EU with renewable electricity cuts embedded CO₂ by >60 % vs. coal-powered imports, supporting Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism compliance.


8. Strategic Value of EU-Scale Operation

Risk pooling & cost sharing – expensive reliability testing (damp-heat, UV, hail) can be centralised, reducing duplication across national labs.

Faster standards convergence – EU-wide validation builds investor & insurer confidence, accelerating bankability.

Market signalling – large, coordinated EU projects send strong demand signals for European glass, encapsulants, indium-tin-oxide substitutes, stimulating raw-material supply chains.


9. Actionable Opportunities for Applicants

1. Form a north-south manufacturing cluster (e.g., DE cell printing, ES module encapsulation) to leverage diverse solar irradiation sites for field tests.

2. Integrate digital twins & inline metrology (eligible under Digital Europe) to satisfy Topic’s “suitable equipment” criterion and open after-grant licensing revenue.

3. Partner with waste-management operators to prototype closed-loop Pb recovery systems, aligning with forthcoming EU PV waste regulation.

4. Secure Green Deal IPCEI status for giga-scale lines to access state-aid flexibilities beyond 30 % CAPEX.

5. Embed skills academies under Pact for Skills to build a continental workforce, scoring higher on “Impact” evaluation.


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Bottom line: Applying at EU level unlocks integrated value chains, harmonised regulation, and multi-billion-euro financing channels that no single Member State can provide, multiplying the probability that European firms will lead the global perovskite PV market.

🏷️ Keywords

Topic
Forthcoming