Co-funding Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan renewable fuel value chains at EU, national, regional, and local level

Overview

Supports the development and scaling of interregional renewable fuel value chains across Europe, targeting stakeholders such as research institutions, industry, public authorities, and SMEs. Aims to overcome fragmentation by aligning R&I priorities and funding mechanisms under the SET Plan.

Who Can Apply

Consortia of public or private entities, including SMEs, research institutions, industry, and regional/local authorities. Participation from Eastern Europe and regions with lower innovation performance is encouraged. Financial support to third parties (FSTP) is mandatory, with eligibility extended to entities in EU Member States and Associated Countries.

Funding Details

• Total budget: €43,000,000
• Funding rate: 70% of eligible costs
• Financial support to third parties (FSTP): Up to €500,000 per third party

What Is Funded

• Development, demonstration, and scale-up of renewable fuel technologies, including:

- Advanced liquid and gaseous biofuels from sustainable biomass or autotrophic microorganisms. - Renewable liquid and gaseous fuels (excluding hydrogen as an end-product) via thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical, or direct solar/algae-based processes. - Intermediate bioenergy carriers and their upgrading to advanced biofuels.

• Activities may include:

- Networking, coordination, and clustering with other Horizon Europe projects. - Research, innovation, pilot actions, market uptake measures, training, and dissemination. - Addressing challenges such as feedstock standardization, permitting fragmentation, and business model development in rural regions.

• Excludes hydrogen as an end-product and heat/power production.

Technology / Maturity Requirements

• TRL range: 7–9 (system prototype demonstration in operational environment to actual system proven in operational environment).

Key Dates

• Open date: 2026-12-02
• Deadline: 2027-03-30

Application Process (High-Level)

• Single-stage submission with a 60-page proposal limit.
• Proposals must include a plan for financial support to third parties (FSTP) and ensure broad EU geographical balance.
• Submission via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Post-Award Obligations

• Annual joint transnational calls and monitoring of co-funded projects.
• Coordination, clustering, and reporting activities with other Horizon Europe projects.
• Dissemination, exploitation, and contribution to the CETPartnership Knowledge Community.

Geographic Scope & Language

• Eligible countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, United Kingdom, Switzerland.
• Application language: English.

Notes

• Proposals must align with the SET Plan Implementation Plan for Renewable Fuels and Bioenergy.
• Mandatory use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS for projects involving satellite-based data.
• Encourages collaboration with ERA-NET-Bioenergy and BESTF3 networks.
• Excludes hydrogen as an end-product and heat/power production.