Implementing digital services to empower neuroscience research for health and brain inspired technology via EBRAINS

Overview

Funding to enhance and operate EBRAINS, a pan-European digital research infrastructure for neuroscience, brain medicine, and brain-inspired technologies. Targets research organizations, medical institutions, and industrial users developing AI-driven tools, digital brain models, and collaborative platforms for brain research and health applications.

Who Can Apply

Eligible applicants include legal entities (e.g., research organizations, universities, hospitals, SMEs, and industry) from EU Member States, Horizon Europe Associated Countries, and select third countries with specific funding provisions. Consortia are expected, particularly those involving stakeholders from neuroscience, medicine, AI, and computing sectors.

Funding Details

• Maximum funding per grant: €40,000,000
• Funding type: Grant
• Eligible costs: May include unit costs for trans-national and virtual access to research infrastructures, as defined in the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement.

What Is Funded

• Operation and expansion of EBRAINS digital infrastructure, including access to federated supercomputing, large-scale data storage, and cloud services.
• Integration of AI tools to support brain research, data analysis, simulations, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data indexing.
• Development of digital brain/body twins, neuro-inspired AI models, and collaborative platforms for neuroscience and brain health.
• Co-design of services with scientific, medical, and industrial stakeholders, including national competence nodes.
• Training programs to facilitate user access and skill development in digital neuroscience, computing, and AI.
• Alignment with the European Health Data Space, including real-time data flows, metadata handling, and secure access.
• Synergies with other EU research infrastructures (e.g., eBRAIN-Health, EUCAIM, Euro-BioImaging) to ensure interoperability and avoid fragmentation.

Technology / Maturity Requirements

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

Key Dates

• Open date: 2026-03-09
• Deadline: 2026-06-15T22:00:00Z

Application Process (High-Level)

• Process: Single-stage submission via the Funding & Tenders Portal.
• Page limit: 100 pages for the proposal (Part B of the Application Form).
• Evaluation criteria: Excellence, impact, and implementation, with additional emphasis on access provision and integration of services.

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 include access provision activities for the EBRAINS infrastructure.
• Synergies with other EU initiatives (e.g., European Health Data Space, European Partnership for Brain Health) are required.
• Emphasis on scalability, robustness, and real-world applicability of proposed services, including handling large datasets and metadata.
• Restrictions may apply for the protection of European communication networks.