Demonstration of battery energy storage systems in existing and new vessels via novel energy storage and ship design concepts (ZEWT Partnership)
Funds two projects, worth up to EUR 7.5 million each, extending fully electric ships' and river boats' operating range by 40% using new battery storage designs.
This is a single-stage Innovation Action: a consortium submits its proposal through the Funding & Tenders Portal's Submission System, using the standard Horizon Europe RIA/IA application form and a detailed budget table, before the deadline. The Commission expects to fund two projects from this topic, but the award isn't simply the two highest-ranked proposals overall -- a balanced-portfolio rule …
The Commission wants a full-scale demonstration of battery-electric propulsion that extends the operating range of large seagoing vessels (over 400 gross tonnage) or long inland river vessels (over 86 metres) by 40% against a 2024 baseline, reaching at least 120 nautical miles. Proposals should combine new onboard energy-storage concepts, energy-efficiency measures, battery-lifetime extension techniques or rapid in-route charging, and can target either newbuilds or retrofits. Proposals also have to include safety guideline recommendations that build on existing EMSA and CESNI battery-safety standards, plus replication case studies showing the same solution applied to at least two other waterborne applications. The topic also invites training material for seafarers and shore-based staff, and fast-charging or onshore power supply concepts have to work toward the IEC/IEEE standards still under development.
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 →
DRIVE35 Supplier Readiness and Transformation Fund
🇬🇧WMCA · United Kingdom
Funds West Midlands businesses scaling EV supply-chain manufacturing capacity through capital grants.
Energy Efficiency Loan with Capital Discount
🇱🇻ALTUM · Latvia
Funds enterprise energy-efficiency and renewable upgrades in Latvia through discounted financing.
Depot Charging Scheme
🇬🇧DfT · United Kingdom
Part-funding depot charging infrastructure for battery-electric commercial fleets.
FFG COMET Projects
🇦🇹FFG · Austria
Supports Austrian academia and firms through collaborative innovation projects that turn research outputs into commercial solutions.
Maritime Masterplan 2026
🇳🇱RVO · Netherlands
Funds Dutch-led ship consortia developing hydrogen, methanol, ammonia or carbon-capture propulsion.
KIAT World Class Plus Program
🇰🇷KIAT · South Korea
Funds South Korea teams building global category growth for deep-tech from proof to commercialization.