Preparatory Phase of New ESFRI Research Infrastructure Projects
Funds €1.5–3.5M preparatory work that turns an ESFRI research-infrastructure vision into a buildable, governed project.
This action funds the preparatory phase before a new ESFRI research infrastructure can be built. The project must move beyond a strong scientific case and establish the practical foundations for a facility that countries and funders can commit to, govern and operate over the long term.
Work through the legal and financial framework for setting up, constructing or integrating national resources, o…
Prepare new ESFRI research infrastructure projects identified in the 2026 ESFRI Roadmap for construction and long-term operation. Resolve the legal, financial and technical questions behind governance, site, financing, construction or integration, operation, decommissioning, data curation and access. Bring in the ministries, governments, funders, research facilities, universities, industry and other stakeholders needed to take decisions and make commitments. Deliver a final technical design, service plans, FAIR data arrangements, investment and legal agreements, and a credible route to Member State or Associated Country commitment.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see how to apply
Sign up free to see what you submit
Sign up free to see how they score you
Sign up free to see the timeline
Sign up free to see where teams trip up
Guides for this application
All guides →Horizon Europe Grants for Startups: A Founder Guide
A practical guide to Horizon Europe grants for startups, including EIC, consortia, eligibility, Funding & Tenders, TRL, budgets, and EU strategy.
Write proposalHow to Write a Grant Proposal Reviewers Can Score
Learn how to write a grant proposal around reviewer criteria, evidence, work packages, budget logic, and commercialization for deeptech and R&D funding.
DocumentsGrant Work Plan Template: Work Packages, Gantt, Milestones, and Risks
Use this grant work plan template to structure work packages, tasks, owners, deliverables, Gantt timing, dependencies, and risk registers.
DocumentsLetter of Support for Grant Applications: Template and Examples
Learn how to write and request a letter of support for a grant, with template structure, examples, reviewer logic, and common mistakes.
More from European Commission
All grants from this funder →Digital Europe Programme
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds Europe-wide digital capability development in AI, cybersecurity, semiconductors, hardware, and IoT.
Crime prevention approaches, online and off-line, tackling the nexus between addictions and crime
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds research and pilot collaboration between police authorities and civil-society groups to prevent addiction-linked crime across the EU.
Horizon Border Security: Accessible Travel Facilitation
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds two €4M border-crossing tech projects, run with Border or Coast Guard Authorities, built for travelers with disabilities or low digital skills.
Horizon Border Security: Age Assessment Reliability
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds a €1.33M project, run with border and coast guard authorities, that compares how reliable different ways of estimating a young migrant's age really are.
Horizon Border Security: Surveillance & Drone Detection
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds two €6M projects that build border detection and surveillance tech, run jointly with national Border and Coast Guard authorities.
Horizon Civil Security: Bioterrorism Prevention
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds a €3M project that reviews how synthetic biology could be misused for bioterrorism and pinpoints where monitoring and regulation fall short.
Similar grants
Browse the directory →
Research Project (Onderzoeksproject)
🇧🇪VLAIO · Belgium
Funds Flemish companies with industrial-research grants for project-driven innovation and applied commercial development.
AI chip demonstrators for EU compute infrastructure
🇪🇺Chips JU · European Union
Pays up to ten European chip companies between EUR 500,000 and EUR 1 million each to build working AI chip prototypes and get them tested on a shared EU evaluation platform.
NRF Centers of Research Excellence
🇰🇷NRF · South Korea
Supports major research centers in Korea that drive strategic science leadership and multidisciplinary team excellence.
Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future
🇮🇪Research Ireland · Ireland
Funds high-risk investigator-driven research in Ireland across frontier technology and translational discovery.
ICON (Interdisciplinary Cooperative Research)
🇧🇪VLAIO · Belgium
Supports cooperative demand driven research bridging Flemish strategic research centres clusters and at least independent Flemish companies.
RCN Innovation Project: Agriculture and Food (FFL/JA)
🇳🇴RCN · Norway
Funds Norwegian agriculture and food companies carrying out industrial research or experimental development through RCN innovation grants.