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Horizon Europe Cluster 5 — Climate, Energy and Mobility

Horizon Energy: Smarter Distribution Grids

Funds three €9.5M projects that make electricity distribution grids more flexible, resilient and efficient through advanced digital control.

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Electricity distribution grids are becoming harder to operate as more renewable generation, storage and flexible demand connect at the edge. This topic funds projects that give distribution system operators better digital tools to run those grids reliably and flexibly.

A project should design and test a vendor-agnostic advanced distribution management system, with software for grid performance, c

Designing, testing and demonstrating advanced distribution management systems (ADSM) that improve electricity-grid performance, controllability and flexibility. Projects must develop vendor-agnostic architectures and software platforms for integrating distributed energy resources, congestion management, forecasting, analytics, visualisation and interoperability with transmission system operators, other DSOs and grid-edge assets. Digital twins, artificial intelligence, open-source modules, security-by-design and cyber-threat protection are expected, followed by a manual and best practices for other DSOs. Demonstration and validation must run in at least two pilots in different EU Member States or Associated Countries.

CycleiHow often this grant runs — e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.Biennial
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.1 Dec 2027
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.30%
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.€28.5M

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Last verified: 25 Aug 2026Funder reference: HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-26Source: ec.europa.eu