New “horizontal” approach in Horizon Europe also lifts the profile of calls relating to the Clean Industrial Deal
Photo credits: Cash Macanaya / Unsplash
Calls for proposals across five topics in 2026-27 will act as pilots for the European Commission’s upcoming AI in science strategy. The strategy’s main aim is to establish the Resource for AI Science in Europe (Raise), a virtual institute intended to fulfil the Commission’s commitment to create a “CERN for AI” that will help scientists develop artificial intelligence tools to accelerate their research.
The AI topics are set out in a draft “horizontal” work programme for Horizon Europe, alongside calls supporting the Clean Industrial Deal. This new approach raises the profile of calls supporting two of the Commission’s flagship policies, areas previously covered in broader cluster work programmes.
According to the draft, the five AI topics will be allocated nearly €100 million, drawn from Cluster 4 and Cluster 6 of Horizon Europe.
For a total of €28 million, two topics will set up pilot networks of laboratories dedicated to the application of AI to scientific research in specific disciplines, particularly agricultural and environmental pollution sciences. “Thematic areas for further networks of excellence [. . .] could include life sciences/biotech, rare diseases, space/satellite data use, sustainable chemistry, bioeconomy or circular economy,” the Commission writes in the draft plans.
Researchers will be asked to identify the challenges where scientific progress can be driven by AI, and where the scientific community around AI can be strengthened. Suggestions include promoting exchange schemes such as jointly supervised fellowships and matchmaking events, fostering collaborations with the industry, and developing standards and benchmarks for AI models.
Meanwhile, €33 million will go towards efforts to increase the efficiency, productivity and reproducibility of science, and the deployment of automated research environments systems integrating AI-driven decision-making processes.
“Funded projects will help scientific labs with an already advanced level of automation and digitalisation to design, develop and test the intelligence layer that enables scientific instrumentation to semi- or fully autonomously plan, run and analyse experiments,” the document says. This will entail the development of comprehensive and secure data management systems and storage solutions.
A final topic will set up Raise doctoral networks, building on the related Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions 2026 call. The goal is to train researchers on AI-driven scientific tools and methodologies across all scientific disciplines, improve their employability and career prospects, and enhance their communication capacities with both peers and the public.
Supporting industrial decarbonisation
The other horizontal call in the draft work programme will focus on decarbonisation, driven by the Clean Industrial Deal policy that previously committed to spending €600 million on “deployment-ready” cleantech projects under Horizon Europe.
It will consist of two large open topics, the first on decarbonising energy-intensive industries, and the second on advancing clean technologies for climate action. For both themes, researchers must go beyond assessing the technical feasibility of their project. “Proposers are requested to present a carefully considered business plan and market-readiness strategy, backed by the management of the companies involved,” the document reads.
The first topic should receive €125 million in both 2026 and 2027. The second has €150 million pencilled in for 2026, and €140 million for 2027. Over the two years, the total estimated budget stands at €540 million.
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For decarbonising energy-intensive industries, researchers will be tasked to look at three technology areas: carbon capture, utilisation and storage; clean energy usage in production, from the integration of clean energy carriers and technologies to upgrading waste heat; and circularity and resource efficiency of production processes.
The key research areas in clean technologies for climate action are: integrated net-zero emissions energy systems; enhanced zero-emission power technologies; and storage technologies, renewable fuels and carbon capture and utilisation. “Attention should be paid to avoid technologies which may have a negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystems,” the draft plans say.
Researchers will be encouraged to coordinate with similar funded projects under the Processes4Planet and Clean Steel Partnerships, among others.
Editor’s note: We think it is important to maintain a public record of how Horizon Europe evolves in successive rounds of drafting between the Commission and member states. This is a political process that, so far, the Commission refuses to make transparent. To this end, Science|Business is making a full history of the drafting process publicly available in our Horizon Papers database. You can share other draft work programmes anonymously at [email protected].
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