Draft work programme sets out climate, energy and mobility topics for 2026 and 2027

The European Commission plans to release €1.76 billion in 2026 and €1.30 billion in 2027 for research projects relating to the climate transition, clean transportation and sustainable energy use and supply, according to the latest version of the Horizon Europe work programme for climate, energy and mobility.

In 2026, the Commission has earmarked €503.50 million, nearly a third of the budget, for energy-related topics.

This includes calls for recycling electric vehicle batteries in coordination with India; de-risking renewable fuel technologies; producing lithium from geothermal plants; demonstrating heat upgrade solutions in industrial processes; and supporting the training of artificial intelligence foundation models for data sharing in the energy sector.

Researchers who respond to the last call can choose to focus on forecasting, operation of electricity grids, congestion and flexibility management, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, fault diagnosis or even smart electric vehicle charging.

Also in 2026, the Commission intends to provide €258.00 million for research projects addressing clean and competitive transportation solutions ranging from the large-scale demonstration of heavy-duty battery electric vehicles for long-haul logistics operations to the safety of renewable low-and zero-carbon waterborne fuels.

Another large portion of the estimated budget for 2026, some €209.00 million, will be awarded to proposals dedicated to increasing the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies and improving the resilience of electricity grids.

Other key topics include: enhancing understanding, modelling and prediction of climate risks for both Europe and Africa; fighting disinformation related to climate change; and assessing the benefits and missed opportunities of climate inaction. According to the draft work programme, these missed opportunities range from health-related gains to economic benefits, such as business and industrial opportunities, job creation, energy and economic security, innovation and lower costs, as well as environmental and social improvements such as biodiversity conservation and reduced inequalities.

Moving to 2027, €294.50 million will be set aside to support researchers looking to speed up the energy transition by demonstrating the conversion of industrial excess heat into electrical power, boosting the circularity of integrated photovoltaic technologies, and developing automated techniques for building renovation and innovative energy storage technologies.

The Commission also plans to allocate €233.00 million to improving existing recycling processes, direct air capture of carbon dioxide, wave and tidal energy systems, cell production techniques for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries, production technologies for solar photovoltaics, and AI tools and models as part of efforts to digitalise the energy system.

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Elsewhere in the plans, researchers will be asked to support the implementation of an EU policy framework for carbon dioxide transportation and storage infrastructure by addressing issues such as market and cost structure, cross-border integration and tariff regulation.

As in 2026, the Commission will finance research projects that are focused on advancing knowledge of climate change, with calls for proposals on deploying new climate monitoring tools and scenarios, assessing the performance of policy instruments to inform climate mitigation, and better understanding land and ocean carbon sources and sinks.

Beyond building climate-neutral land and waterborne transportation, scientists will also look at the aviation industry, from developing sustainable aircraft circular design and additive manufacturing to reducing air quality and noise pollution.

Finally, a joint call involving other parts of Horizon Europe will be dedicated to supporting the Clean Industrial Deal in both 2026 and 2027.

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 why we publish analyses of draft Horizon Europe work programmes as they become available on our Horizon Papers page.