loader image
Skip to main content
Home

CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS HORIZON-CL5-2023-D5-01-06 EU Member States/Associated countries research policy cooperation network to accelerate zero-emission road mobility (2ZERO Partnership)

Section outline

  • Brief information on the Funding Opportunity

    Collapse all Expand all

    Program: Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) |  Call ID: HORIZON-CL5-2023-D5-01-06

    Geographical coverage: EU

    Available contribution €: 1 500 000 €

    Deadlines: 20 April 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time

    Type of Action: HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions

    Type of MGA: HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]

    For more information on meanings of TRL, Type of Project and General Rules, please refer to the General Annexes of the Work Programme:  Link to the General Annexes of the Work Programme

  • Partners Profiles

  • Partner Search

  • Expected Outcomes

    European Commission and EU Member States/Associated countries are reinforcing and developing their research & innovation policy to accelerate zero-emission road mobility development. A framework for cooperation will enhance the efforts to achieve this pan-European challenge by joining forces, sharing knowledge, bundling financial resources and coordinating activities, creating complementarities, coherence and building synergies across the EU (e.g. 2ZERO partnership) and EU Member States/Associated countries ´ R&I funding programmes, national plans, efforts, approaches and in collaboration with the Associated Countries.

    Project results are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:

    • Stronger harmonised national policy plans, efforts, approaches with a focus on R&I funding programmes of the different EU Member States/Associated countries, accelerating zero-emission road mobility.
    • Maximally deployed and effectively utilised synergy effects, pooled resources and aligned R&I funding programmes to support the EU 2030 and 2050 CO2 emission goals for the road mobility sector in an affordable and effective way.
    • Exchange of knowledge and experiences and mutual coordination at multiple levels (EU/ national / regional / cities and stakeholders, funding organisations, OEMs, fleets, users, etc.), implementation activities, regulations, incentives and demonstrations and the sharing of data, information and best practices.
    • Provide companies, regions, cities and the research community with a holistic overview of policy plans and R&I funding programmes across EU (and Associated Countries) to maximise synergy effects and the efficient utilisation of resources, such as from recovery packages and cohesion funds.
    • Allow a clear overview of the national projects and better take into account their results in the development of their research and deployment actions.
    • In order to facilitate the above-mentioned coordination of efforts at national and EU level and the sharing of best practices and results, data on national projects (to a level at least equivalent to those present in the CORDIS database) should be made available by MS and AC. The consortium will endeavour to promote and harmonise the registration of data on national projects of participating countries, to make data more accessible internationally and to facilitate their exchange and comparison. This will be supporting the integration of data on national projects into existing databases, such as TRIMIS and CORDIS.
    • Long lasting, strong coordination and cooperation between the European Commission, MS and AC and the Stakeholders involved in the 2ZERO Partnership, facilitated by the States Representatives Group (SRG).

  • Scope

    Although there is a relatively large degree of similarity in the targets and approaches of the EU Member States and Associate Countries to address the climate change targets, still considerable differences in the paths can be observed: more coordination and collaboration is urgently needed to promote zero emission road mobility, building on the policy cooperation network of the EU Member States/Associated countries built-up in ERA-NET Transport, Electromobility+ and ERA-NET Co-fund Electric Mobility Europe (EMEurope) with over two decades of experience.

    Proposals are expected to address all of the following aspects

    • Address zero-emission road mobility for people and goods programmes supporting all phases of the innovation: technology development, demonstration, deployment and implementation will be considered.
    • Develop a long-lasting network (beyond the project duration) of public and private stakeholders connecting EU Member States/Associated countries and European initiatives, under the umbrella of the 2ZERO partnership States Representative Group (also building on existing links with the supporting European technology platforms ALICE, ETIP-SNET, EPoSS, ERTRAC and Batteries Europe) to share knowledge, coordinate activities and bundling financial resources to achieve synchronicity, synergies and complementarity in the R&I-related plans, efforts, approaches, incentives and funding programmes to effectively support the EU and national objectives for 2030 and 2050.
    • More concretely contribute to:
      • Support EU Member States/Associated countries in implementing and accelerating priority actions identified in the 2ZERO Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) in coordination with the 2ZERO States Representatives Group.
      • Collect and share, up-to-date and targeted information on European and national R&I funding programmes, demonstration projects and testing activities, test sites, living labs with their features and capabilities, standards, testing and assessment methodologies as well as programmes in the field of zero emission mobility in Europe and beyond.
    • Exchange knowledge and experiences on zero emission road transport programmes in Europe, building on and connecting existing database platforms, such as TRIMIS, 2ZERO events and conferences, including the H2020RTR series, Member State’s and stakeholder’s information sharing portals.

    This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2ZERO). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2ZERO) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.


  • Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes (2023/24)

    This Destination addresses activities that improve the climate and environmental footprint, as well as competitiveness, of different transport modes.

    The transport sector is responsible for 23% of CO2 emissions and remains dependent on oil for 92% of its energy demand. While there has been significant technological progress over past decades, projected GHG emissions are not in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement due to the expected increase in transport demand. Intensified research and innovation activities are therefore needed, across all transport modes and in line with societal needs and preferences, in order for the EU to reach its policy goals towards a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to reduce significantly air pollutants.

    The areas of rail and air traffic management will be addressed through dedicated Institutional European Partnerships and are therefore not included in this document.

    This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations (KSO):

    • C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems;
    • A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy[[ ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’, as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.]] by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations.

    It covers the following impact areas:

    • Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people;
    • Smart and sustainable transport.

    The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute “Towards climate-neutral and environmental friendly mobility through clean solutions across all transport modes while increasing global competitiveness of the EU transport sector", notably through:

    • Transforming road transport to zero-emission mobility through a world-class European research and innovation and industrial system, ensuring that Europe remains world leader in innovation, production and services in relation to road transport (more detailed information below).
    • Accelerating the reduction of all aviation impacts and emissions (CO2 and non-CO2, including manufacturing and end-of-life, noise), developing aircraft technologies for deep reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining European aero-industry’s global leadership position (more detailed information below).
    • Accelerate the development and prepare the deployment of climate neutral and clean solutions in the inland and marine shipping sector, reduce its environmental impact (on biodiversity, noise, pollution and waste management), improve its system efficiency, leverage digital and EU satellite-navigation solutions and contribute to the competitiveness of the European waterborne sector (more detailed information below).
    • Devising more effective ways for reducing emissions and their impacts through improved scientific knowledge (more detailed information below).

    Several levels of interactions are foreseen with other European initiatives, in particular with the Industrial Battery Value Chain (BATT4EU) partnership, the Cooperative Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) partnership and the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities, in particular:

    • Joint topic “2ZERO – BATT4EU” D5-1-4 B - Innovative battery management systems for next generation vehicles (2ZERO & Batteries Partnership) (2023)
    • Joint topic “CCAM – 2ZERO – Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities” D5-1-5 Co-designed smart systems and services for user-centred shared zero-emission mobility of people and goods in urban areas (2ZERO, CCAM and Cities’ Mission) (2023)

    Zero-emission road transport

    Main expected impacts:

    • Affordable, user-friendly charging infrastructure concepts and technologies that are easy to deploy with a wide coverage of urban spaces and of the road network and include vehicle-grid-interactions, ready for mass electrification of passenger and freight road transport.
    • Accelerated uptake of affordable, user-centric solutions for optimised energy efficiency and energy flexibility (vehicles and services).
    • Effective design, assessment and deployment of innovative zero-emission solutions for the clean road transport challenge.
    • Innovative demonstrations use cases for the integration of zero tailpipe emission vehicles, and infrastructure concepts for the road mobility of people and goods.
    • Increased user acceptability of zero tailpipe emission vehicles, improved air quality, a more circular economy and reduction of environmental and health[[These aspects are also dealt with in the specific “Impact of transport on environment and human health” section]] impacts.

    • Support EU leadership in world transport markets at component, vehicle and transport system level, including related services.

    Aviation

    Main expected impacts:

    • Disruptive low TRL technologies that have potential to lead to 30% reduction in fuel burn and CO2, by 2035, between the existing aircraft in service and the next generation, compared to 12-15% in previous replacement cycles (when not explicitly defined, baselines refer to the best available aircraft of the same category with entry into service prior to year 2020).
    • Disruptive low TRL technologies that have potential to enter into service between 2035 and 2050, based on new energy carriers, hybrid-electric architectures, next generation of ultra-high efficient engines and systems, advanced aerostructures that will enable new/optimised aircraft configurations and their cost-competitive industrialisation.
    • New technologies for significantly lower local air-pollution and noise.
    • Increased understanding and analysis of mitigation options of aviation’s non-CO2 climate impacts.
    • Accelerated uptake of sustainable aviation fuels in aviation, including the coordination with EU Member States/Associated countries and private initiatives.
    • Maintain global competitiveness and leadership of the European aeronautics ecosystem. Focus on selected breakthrough manufacturing and repair technologies that have high potential to lower the overall operating cost.
    • Further develop the EU policy-driven planning and assessment framework/toolbox towards a coherent R&I prioritisation and timely development of technologies in all three pillars of Horizon Europe. Contribute to the mid-term Horizon Europe impact assessment of aviation research and innovation.

    Waterborne transport

    Main expected impacts:

    • Increased and early deployment of climate neutral fuels, and significant electrification of shipping, in particular intra-European transport connections.
    • Increased overall energy efficiency and use of renewable energies such as wind to drastically lower fuel consumption of vessels. This is increasingly important considering the likelihood of more expensive alternative fuels, where in some cases the waterborne sector will have to compete with other transport modes.
    • Enable the innovative port infrastructure (bunkering of alternative fuels and provision of electrical power) needed to achieve zero-emission waterborne transport (inland and maritime).
    • Enable clean, climate-neutral, and climate-resilient inland waterway vessels before 2030 helping a significant market take-up and a comprehensive green fleet renewal which will also help modal shift.
    • Strong technological and operational momentum towards achieving climate neutrality and the elimination of all harmful pollution to air and water.
    • Achieve the smart, efficient, secure and safe integration of maritime and inland shipping into logistic chains, facilitated by full digitisation, automation, resilient and efficient connectivity.
    • Enable safe and efficient fully automated and connected shipping (maritime and inland).
    • Competitive European waterborne industries, supporting employment and reinforcing the position of the European maritime technology sector within global markets. Providing the advanced green and digital technologies which will support European jobs and growth.

    Impact of transport on environment and human health

    Main expected impacts:

    • The reduction of road vehicle polluting emissions (looking at both regulated, unregulated and emerging ones) from both existing and future automotive fleets in urban and peri-urban areas.
    • The better monitoring of the environmental performance and enforcement of regulation (detection of defeat devices, tampered anti-pollution systems, etc.) of fleets of transport vehicles, be it on road, airports and ports.
    • Substantially understand and provide solutions to reduce the overall environmental impact of transport (e.g.: as regards biodiversity, noise, pollution and waste) on human health and ecosystems.

  • General conditions

    1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes

    Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System

    2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes

    A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

    3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes

    If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

    4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes

    5. Evaluation and award:

    • Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes

    • Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual

    • Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes

    6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes

    Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].

    7. Specific conditions: described in the specific topic of the Work Programme


  • This topic was introduced in the Horizon Europe info days - Cluster 5, you can find the video and presenation below

    Presentation: Destination 5: 2ZERO & Aviation

    Video: Destination 5: 2ZERO & Aviation Time stamp: 11:31:21



  • Documents

    Call documents:

    Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System

    Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)

    Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1)

    Standard application form (HE CSA)

    Standard application form (HE CSA Stage 1)

    MGA

    HE General MGA v1.0

    HE Unit MGA v1.0

    Lump Sum MGA v1.0

    Call-specific instructions

    Detailed budget table (HE LS)

    Information on financial support to third parties (HE)

    Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"

  • Additional documents

    HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction

    HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility

    HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes

    HE Programme Guide

    HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695

    HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764

    EU Financial Regulation

    Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment

    EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement

    Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual

    Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions

    Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement