Innovative & Advanced Monitoring and Modelling Systems for Revised Air Quality Policies – EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities

Overview

This call (HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01) sits at the intersection of the European Green Deal, Zero-Pollution Action Plan and the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD). Operating at EU scale unlocks strategic benefits that simply cannot be achieved by a single Member State acting alone.

1. Single Market Access (450 + million citizens)

• Uniform Demand for Solutions – The revised AAQD sets converging limit values across 27 MS & associated countries, creating a predictable, €10 bn+ market for sensors, data services and modelling tools.

• EU Public Procurement Rules – After proven pilots, consortia can tap into joint cross-border procurement (e.g. Big Buyers Initiative) to rapidly commercialise hardware/software.

• Economies of Scale – Manufacturing of low-cost sensors and satellite-enabled data services becomes cost-competitive when deployed EU-wide, lowering unit costs by 20-40 % compared with fragmented national orders.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Multinational Living Labs – Combine Nordic clean-air hotspots, Central-European industrial basins and Mediterranean urban heat islands in one shared testbed, accelerating TRL 5→7 validation.

• Data Interoperability – FAIRMODE, AQUILA and ACTRIS ERIC provide ready-made QA/QC protocols; pan-EU datasets enable AI models that learn from >10,000 monitoring stations instead of <500 nationally.

• Talent Pooling – Access to Europe’s 1,700+ atmospheric scientists and 300+ AI/ML research groups through COST Actions, Marie Skłodowska-Curie exchanges and ERA Fellowships.

3. Alignment with EU Flagship Policies

• European Green Deal & Zero-Pollution Targets – Direct contribution to the 55 % premature-death reduction target for air pollution by 2030.

• Digital Europe & Data Act – Cloud-native air-quality digital twins feed into the Common European Green Deal Data Space, stimulating downstream SMEs.

• ESA-EC Earth System Science Initiative – Guaranteed interface with Sentinel expansion missions and Future-EO cluster; ensures continuity beyond project lifetime.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• One Methodology, 27 Transpositions – Developing CEN/AQN standards during the project saves each Member State €2–3 m in duplicated validation studies.

• Streamlined Authorisations – Mutual recognition of calibration certificates and CE-marking under the Machinery & Measuring Instruments Directives.

• Evidence-based Litigation Support – Harmonised data support access-to-justice cases under the Aarhus Convention, reducing legal uncertainty for local authorities.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Research Infrastructures – ACTRIS ERIC, ICOS, Copernicus DIAS, and EOSC provide open data lakes and calibration facilities.

• EIT Communities – Climate-KIC & Digital nodes can incubate spinoffs, while Urban Mobility KIC pilots citizen-science components.

• Clusters & Hubs – 100+ Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) specialising in AI/IoT offer test-before-invest services, cutting prototyping costs by ~25 %.

6. Funding Synergies & Leveraging Instruments

| Instrument | How it Fits | Indicative Leverage |

|------------|------------|---------------------|

| LIFE Clean Air | Scale post-RIA best-practice into regional implementation projects | €2–5 m/site |

| CEF-Digital 2027 | Pan-EU 5G/Edge for real-time sensor backhaul | 75 % infra co-funding |

| Digital Europe Programme | Cloud-to-edge data space building blocks | Up to €10 m per consortium |

| Interreg Europe / URBACT | Replicate solutions in cohesion regions | €1–2 m per region |

| Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF) | Member States earmark AQ monitoring upgrades | €30 bn total green allocation |

7. Scale & Impact Potential

• EU-Wide Deployment Roadmap – Pilot (3 cities, 2 rural regions) → Demonstrator (10 MS) → Roll-out (EU-27) over 6–8 yrs.

• Health Impact – Potential to prevent ~120,000 premature deaths/yr if models enable compliance with WHO PM2.5 guideline.

• Economic Return – Every €1 invested in air-quality R&I returns €42 in avoided health costs (EEA ratio). EU-level scale magnifies ROI through shared digital infrastructure.

8. Strategic Recommendations for Applicants

1. Consortium Composition – Combine at least 4 Member States representing North, South, East, West + 1 Associated Country; include public authorities to smooth post-project uptake.

2. Copernicus & Galileo by Design – Embed EO/EGNOS processing chains to fulfil eligibility and ensure long-term data continuity.

3. Synergy Plan – Map out concrete hand-over to LIFE or RRF investments by M24; secure MoUs with ESA Future-EO actions.

4. Open Science & Interoperability – Align with EOSC & INSPIRE, publish code under EUPL/GPL-compatible licences.

5. Citizen Engagement – Leverage European Climate Pact Ambassadors for co-creation, targeting vulnerable groups.

Bottom Line

Harnessing the breadth of the EU Single Market, its harmonised regulatory environment and a uniquely rich R&I ecosystem dramatically boosts the scientific excellence, market readiness and societal impact of projects funded under this call compared with purely national endeavours.