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Horizon Europe Cluster 3 — Civil Security & Disaster Resilience

Horizon Cybersecurity: Trusted Chips & Secure Software

Funds five lump-sum grants, each €3-4M, for tools that harden chip design or software supply chains against tampering, backdoors, and compromised dependencies.

OpenEuropean CommissionEU

Software and hardware supply chains keep getting more complex and more global, and that complexity is exactly what attackers exploit. A backdoor slipped into a chip, or a vulnerability buried in a software dependency, can sit undetected for years before someone uses it. This topic funds work that makes the whole development and assessment pipeline — hardware and software both — harder to compromis

Developing and assessing tools, methods, and processes that secure software and hardware development end to end, in one of two areas: (a) trusted, tamper-resistant chip and processor architectures — secure microprocessors, cryptographic co-processors, hardware root-of-trust, and hardware trojan/backdoor detection — or (b) software supply-chain security — real-time vulnerability detection, secure software development lifecycle tooling, and provenance tracking for software components. A proposal declares one area as its main focus but can address both. Formal verification and AI-assisted testing apply across either area, and post-quantum cryptography applies where relevant.

CycleiHow often this grant runs — e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.Annual
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.15 Sept 2026
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.22 weeks
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.
Award typeiThe form of funding — grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.0%
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.€20M

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Last verified: 25 Aug 2026Funder reference: HORIZON-CL3-2026-02-CS-ECCC-01Source: ec.europa.eu