Thank you for your interest in Horizon Europe funding

Sign up to receive updates about Horizon Europe funding opportunities, news and events related to your areas of interest.

Registration for these UK National Contact Point (NCP) updates is free.

UK-based organisations, researchers and innovators can access Horizon Europe funding

Horizon Europe is the EU's key funding programme for research and innovation. It has a budget of €95.5 billion and runs until 2027.

In January 2021, the UK government announced that the UK will associate to Horizon Europe. This means UK scientists, researchers and businesses will be able to access funding under the programme on equivalent terms as organisations in EU countries.

The European Commission Q&A on the UK's participation in Horizon Europe confirms that UK entities are already eligible to apply. You do not need to wait for the EU and UK to formalise association. The Q&A explains the process, scope and main features of the UK's association.

National Contact Points are here to help you

The network of National Contact Points (NCPs) is the main structure to provide guidance, practical information and assistance on all aspects of participation in Horizon Europe. NCPs are established around the UK, Europe and beyond.

The UK NCP team are appointed by the UK government to give you impartial advice about Horizon Europe. Their service is free to use, and is available to all organisations including academia, industry, local/national government and charities.

Each team member has expert knowledge in a specific area of funding. Contact your NCP expert for help with any aspect of Horizon Europe. For example:

  • choosing funding opportunities
  • finding partners
  • preparing your proposal
  • applying
  • liaising with the European Commission on the scope of projects
  • advice on administrative and contractual issues
  • training and assistance on proposal writing

How can we contact you?

Tell us a bit about you and your organisation

Which Horizon Europe funding are you interested in?

Pillar I – Excellent Science

Funds the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding. Supports investigator-driven frontier research across all fields selected on the basis of scientific excellence.
Funds excellent research and innovation in any field and equips researchers, at all stages of their careers, including early stage and post-doctoral researchers, with new knowledge and skills through mobility across borders as well as exposure to different sectors and disciplines. Funding is granted to researchers in the form of generous employment contracts to undergo PhD training programmes or postdoctoral fellowships. Grants are also available to organisations to establish international PhD training networks, consortia for international staff exchanges or through public engagement activities. Participation is encouraged from both the academic and non-academic sectors.
Funds: consolidating and developing the landscape of European research infrastructures; opening, integrating and interconnecting research infrastructures; reinforcing European research infrastructure policy and international cooperation; and consolidating and developing the innovation potential of European research infrastructures and activities for innovation and training.

Research Infrastructures are facilities that provide resources and services for the research communities of all fields of research to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields, and could be single sited, distributed, or virtual. These include: major equipment or instruments; knowledge-related facilities such as collections; archives or scientific data infrastructures; computing systems; and communication networks.

Pillar II – Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness

Includes: preventing, diagnosing, monitoring, treating and curing diseases; non-communicable and rare diseases; mental health; diet; infectious diseases including poverty-related and neglected diseases; pandemic preparedness; one health / antimicrobial resistance (AMR): tools, technologies and digital solutions for health and care including personalised medicine; mitigating health risks; environmental, occupational and socio-economic health determinants; chemical risk assessment; making public healthcare systems more cost-effective, equitable and sustainable; and supporting and enable patients' participation and self-management. Also updates on the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), the EU-Africa Global Health partnership (EDCTP3), and the Cancer Mission.
Includes: democracy; governance; and social and economic transformations.
Includes: fighting crime and terrorism; border management; resilient infrastructure; disaster resilience; cyber security; and supporting security through research and innovation.
Includes: artificial intelligence (AI); data and computing; quantum technologies; photonics and electronics; smart networks and connectivity; robotics; and the digital economy.
Includes: circular industrial processes; resource/energy/process efficiency; electrification and energy storage (including hydrogen, batteries, as well as carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS)); chemicals and feedstocks; plastics; construction and built environment; digital manufacturing technologies; automation and agile production; design for sustainability; advanced materials; smart and multifunctional materials (including composites, metallics, graphene, nano and bio); and raw materials and supply chain resilience.
Includes: satellite technology; access to space; space data; space science; and space robotics.
Includes: climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate neutrality; cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition including a competitive and sustainable European battery value chain (Batteries Partnership); emerging breakthrough technologies and climate solutions; citizens and stakeholder engagement; and communities and cities. Also includes the Missions on: adaptation to climate change; and climate neutral and smart cities.
Includes: sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply (including: energy systems, grids and storage; global leadership in renewable energy; carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS); and cross-cutting issues); efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use (including highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock); and the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.
Includes: clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes (including: zero-emission road transport; aviation; enabling climate neutral, clean, smart, and competitive waterborne transport; and the impact of transport on environment and human health); safe, resilient transport and smart mobility services for passengers and goods (including: connected, cooperative and automated mobility (CCAM); multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and goods; safety and resilience - per mode and across all transport modes); Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking; Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking; and the SESAR3 (Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research) Joint Undertaking.
Includes: circular solutions; and innovating sustainable, resilient, and valorised bio-based systems.
Includes: aquaculture; healthy diets; and forestry.

Pillar III – Innovative Europe

Supports projects on a radically new technology with potential to create new markets and/or to address global challenges.
EIC Transition - Mature a novel technology and develop a business case to bring it to market.
EIC Accelerator - Funding for individual start-ups and small companies to develop and scale-up game changing innovations. Please note that the Investment component (only) within the EIC Accelerator is not available to UK SMEs.
EIC Prizes - Take the challenge and compete for an EIC Prize, which rewards Europe's leading innovators.
The Eurostars Programme is a joint programme between EUREKA and the European Commission specifically dedicated to Research and Development performing SMEs. Eurostars stimulates them to lead international collaborative research and innovation projects.

The programme is market-driven, focusses on the needs of SMEs, and specifically targets the development of new products, processes and services and the access to transnational and international markets.

There are over 40 countries signed up to the programme and each country will have specific funding rules, for their partners, in addition to the criteria laid down by the Eureka Network.
Brings together Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) to tackle societal challenges in climate, digital, food, raw materials, sustainable energy innovations, health, manufacturing, urban mobility, as well as culture and creative sectors and industries. A new KIC in marine and maritime ecosystems is also expected to be set up in 2026. KICs bring together organisations from business, education and research to find innovate solutions to pressing global challenges.

Other

Addresses disparities between EU Member States and low research and innovation (R&I) performing countries known as 'widening countries' and funds actions that focus on the increase of R&I capacities. Also supports national policy and addresses ERA policy priorities.

Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence: actions are focused on strengthening the potential for successful participation in transnational R&I processes, promoting networking and access to excellence. Funding includes: Teaming; Twinning; Excellence Hubs; ERA Chairs; Fellowships; and other activities.

Strengthening the ERA: actions are focused around four strands: prioritising investments; improving access to excellence; translating R&I results into the economy; and deepening the ERA (including actions on open science, HEIs and researchers, science education, citizen science, gender equality, ethics and integrity).
Provides funding for researchers and innovators to set up interdisciplinary international research networks in Europe and beyond. This can include all fields of science and technology.
Funds: nuclear research and innovation: nuclear fusion research and development; and nuclear fission, safety and radiation protection. It also covers education, training and access to research infrastructures. In addition, it funds non-power applications of ionising radiation (e.g. related to health and medicine, for example supporting Europe's Beating Cancer Plan) and will develop synergies with other areas such as artificial intelligence and robotics. The Euratom Research and Training Programme (2021-2025) is a complementary funding programme to Horizon Europe.
The JRC is the European Commission's science and knowledge service. It supports Horizon Europe actions through expertise and collaboration opportunities.

Legal and Financial

Support and advice on all aspects of the rules for participation across Horizon Europe.

Regional Horizon Europe News - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland



Managing Your Horizon Europe UK National Contact Point updates

By submitting this form you are accepting our privacy policy (linked below)