Open now · HORIZON Innovation Actions · HORIZON-MISS-2026-04-CIT-02
Expected Outcome:
The projects are expected to deliver on one of or combination of the following topic outcomes:
Scope:
Low-temperature district heating systems in urban areas offer higher potential for integration of renewable energy sources and waste heat, but their deployment is slowed down because the existing stock of inefficient buildings has been designed for high-temperature heat delivery systems. The topic supports the creation of the conditions necessary for the conversion of existing supply solutions – district heating, as well as individual heating ones – into low-temperature alternatives, along with reducing and optimising the heat load of buildings.
Efficient district heating systems are expected to meet increasingly stringent criteria in terms of the use of renewable energy, waste heat and/or co-generation in line with Article 26(1) of the Directive (EU) 2023/1791. To help district heating operators meet those criteria, there is a need to demonstrate solutions that support the transition to low-temperature district heating systems operating at supply temperatures at below 70°C.
There is currently a limited choice of established non-fossil fuel heating and hot water systems to replace fossil-fuel based heating systems in multi-apartment buildings. There is a need to demonstrate systems based on heat pumps solutions to replace both central and individual fossil fuel boilers in existing residential multi-apartment buildings.
Proposals are expected to address at least two of the following:
Trimmed here, the full scope, expected outcomes and award criteria are on the official topic page ↗.
| Item | Estimate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Drafting effort | 6–8 weeks | single submission |
| Partner search | 4–8 weeks | runs in parallel, and it is the part that slips |
| Your own money | €2.6M | 30% of project cost, over the project's life |
| Time to first payment | 6–9 months | cut-off → evaluation → grant agreement |
These are Bemzu's estimates from the call's structure (the number of stages and whether a consortium is required) not figures published by the Commission. Only the co-financing share is read from the call itself.
Two kinds of row. Most are the sentence we read the condition from, quoted out of the call itself. Some say plainly that they are not a quotation but the programme's own rule for this type of action, the EU portal publishes a table of contents where the conditions should be, so for a Research and Innovation Action the rate comes from the rulebook rather than from the fiche.
| Condition | Quoted from the call, or the rule behind it |
|---|---|
| Consortium size | Not quoted from this call — Innovation Actions under the Horizon Europe rules are at least three independent legal entities from three different Member States or Associated Countries, at least one established in a Member State. |
| Funding rate | Not quoted from this call — Innovation Actions under the Horizon Europe rules are funded at 70% of eligible costs for profit-making organisations, and 100% for non-profit legal entities — the rate shown here is the one that applies to a company. |
| Maturity | null Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. |
Eight questions, no account, nothing sent anywhere. You will know which of the 1526 open calls you can actually enter before you finish your coffee.
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