EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for Call HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-SERV-02

Overview

This topic finances trans-national and/or virtual access to top-class Research Infrastructures (RIs) in four strategic areas. Operating at EU level unlocks advantages that simply cannot be matched by stand-alone national projects. The key EU-wide opportunities are detailed below and then broken down per thematic Area.

1. Single Market Access (450 + million citizens)

• Results feed directly into EU-wide value chains – e.g. biotech ingredients for food/pharma, radionuclide-based diagnostics, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply, climate-data based services.

• Common EU certification pathways (EMA, EASA, CE-marking, REACH, etc.) allow clinical products, fuels or digital services validated in the project to circulate freely without re-testing in 27 Member States.

• Public procurement directives (e.g. Green Public Procurement, Innovation Procurement) create fast-track demand for validated sustainable solutions, multiplying market uptake.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Mandatory involvement of at least one ESFRI Landmark/ERIC fosters pan-European consortia that pool complementary facilities and expertise (e.g. EU-IBISBA nodes, ACTRIS super-sites, PRISMAP reactors, DNW wind-tunnels).

• Trans-national user access budgets are fully eligible costs, removing the main financial barrier for researchers and SMEs in Widening countries to use world-leading RIs.

• Project-embedded training schools and mobility open career paths and strengthen the ERA talent pool.

3. EU Policy Alignment

• Direct contribution to flagship policies:

– European Green Deal & Fit-for-55 (SAF, climate models, biotech bio-based processes).

– EU Industrial & Bioeconomy Strategies (Area 1 biomanufacturing).

– SAMIRA Action Plan & Europe’s Beating Cancer (Area 2 radionuclides).

– European Climate Law, Destination Earth & Adaptation Mission (Area 3 climate models).

– ReFuelEU Aviation & Hydrogen Strategy (Area 4).

• Alignment boosts political visibility and increases chances of follow-up investment from Recovery & Resilience Facility, Cohesion Funds, CEF-Energy/Transport and national plans.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation

• Development and mutual recognition of SOPs, metrology standards and data formats across national RI nodes reduces duplication and accelerates certification/authorisation timelines.

• Connection to European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) ensures FAIR data and compliance with GDPR/AI Act, giving legal certainty for industry users.

5. Access to the EU Innovation Ecosystem

• Gateway to >300 ESFRI/ERIC facilities, 25+ KIC hubs (EIT) and 800+ Digital Innovation Hubs.

• Synergies with EuroHPC petascale systems (LUMI, Leonardo) for Areas 3-4; with EIC Pathfinder/Transition funds to spin off high-risk results; and with InvestEU for scale-up financing.

• JRC labs act as neutral reference and policy interface, easing translation of technical results into EU standards and legislation.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage

• Horizon Europe funding rate (100 % direct + 25 % overhead) can be combined with:

– Digital Europe (data spaces, HPC).

– LIFE & Innovation Fund (demonstration of low-carbon fuels, bio-based processes).

– ERA-NETs / Cofund partnerships (e.g. Clean Aviation, Circular Bio-based Europe).

– ERDF/Interreg for infrastructure upgrades in widening regions.

• Proper synergy planning satisfies EC’s cumulative funding rules and maximises ROI.

7. Scale & Societal Impact

• Single-entry-point RI networks drastically reduce fragmentation, enabling industrial users to test, validate and certify at EU scale within one grant.

• Standardised access statistics, KPIs and open data contribute to authoritative IPCC assessments, EU climate indicators, EASA SAF certification pool and EMA dossiers.

• Long-term sustainability model based on user fees & service catalogues underpins ERA-wide RI landscape.

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Area-Specific Opportunities

Area 1 – Advanced Biotechnology & Biomanufacturing

• Position EU-IBISBA as the continental “one-stop shop” for design-build-test-learn bioprocessing.

• Create EU-level bioprocess data lake aligned with Bioeconomy Strategy, enabling AI-driven optimisation and downstream exploitation under Data Act.

• Fast-track alignment with EFSA & EMA guidance for novel food, ATMPs and bio-pharma, smoothing access to EU market.

Area 2 – Novel Radionuclides & Facilities

• Consolidate PRISMAP into a permanent European Radionuclide Infrastructure, mirroring US DOE Isotope Programme, ensuring sovereign supply chains.

• Joint clinical translation platform accelerates multicentre trials under EU Clinical Trials Regulation, expanding patient reach.

• Support emerging SME radiopharma sector by providing GMP-grade isotopes under harmonised EU Pharmacopeia specs.

Area 3 – Climate Modelling & Impact

• Exploit EuroHPC machines and Copernicus Climate Change Service to deliver Euro-regional AR6+ simulations compliant with ESGF/EOSC standards.

• Provide evidence for National Energy & Climate Plans (NECPs) and EU Taxonomy reporting, creating immediate policy pull.

• Enable climate-service spin-offs targeting agriculture, insurance and urban planning markets across EU.

Area 4 – New Aviation Fuels & Combustion Technologies

• Leverage pan-EU test-rig network to complete ASTM D4054 Tier 2.5 datasets, a prerequisite for global SAF market entry.

• Support Clean Aviation JU demonstrators and link with SESAR for integrated fuel/operational optimisation.

• Facilitate harmonised safety standards in collaboration with EASA & EUROCONTROL, easing certification across Member States.

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Actionable Recommendations for Applicants

1. Build a balanced consortium (ESFRI/ERIC + SMEs + Widening partners) and secure a JRC letter of support.

2. Allocate ≥60 % of budget to direct access provision to satisfy topic focus.

3. Integrate an EOSC-compatible data management plan and refer to European Charter for Access to RIs.

4. Map concrete funding synergies in work package on ‘Sustainability & Scale-up’ – cite specific calls (e.g. Clean Aviation, EIC Transition).

5. Develop an outreach plan targeting under-represented Member States and industry, using Enterprise Europe Network and EIT KICs.

By capitalising on these EU-wide advantages, consortia can deliver high-impact, policy-relevant results and position themselves for continued leadership in Europe’s knowledge-based economy.