New technologies and solutions for reducing the environmental and climate footprint of research infrastructures

Topic updates

10 February 2026
Summary of observer report:

The evaluation of the HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01 call was carried out in accordance with established Horizon Europe procedures and demonstrated a high level of transparency, fairness, and procedural integrity. The call covered 18 topics across four destinations and involved the assessment of 159 submitted proposals, of which 155 were found to be eligible and admissible.

The evaluation was implemented through a fully remote process, comprising individual expert assessments, consensus report preparation, virtual consensus meetings, and online panel meetings. All key milestones were respected, and the overall duration of the process was efficient. The observer did not identify any indications that the compact duration of the evaluation had a negative impact on the quality, robustness, or transparency of the assessments.

Throughout all phases, REA placed strong and consistent emphasis on procedural transparency, equal treatment of proposals, and the independence of expert judgement. Comprehensive briefing materials, structured evaluation support tools, and consistent moderation practices supported a coherent and well-calibrated application of the evaluation criteria across topics. Project and Programme Officers and moderators fulfilled a clearly facilitative role, ensuring structured deliberations without influencing the substance of expert discussions.

Conflicts of interest were managed in a systematic and rigorous manner, with all identified cases duly declared and handled in line with the applicable rules. Confidentiality requirements were repeatedly reinforced during evaluation activities, and no breaches of confidentiality, impartiality, or compliance with the rules were observed.

Overall, the observer concludes that the evaluation of HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01 was conducted in full conformity with the applicable rules and guidance documents, providing a sound, credible, and transparent basis for the selection and ranking of proposals in line with the objectives of the Research Infrastructures Work Programme.

18 September 2025

PROPOSAL NUMBERS

Call HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01 has closed on 18/09/2025.

159 proposals have been submitted.

The breakdown per topic is:
HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-TECH-01: 7 proposals

Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in Feb. 2026.

New technologies and solutions for reducing the environmental and climate footprint of research infrastructures

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-TECH-01

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Research Infrastructures 2025 (HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01)

Type of action: HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

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

Status: Open for submission

Deadline model: single-stage

Opening Date: 06 May 2025

Deadline dates: 18 September 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

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

• reduction of environmental (including climate-related) impacts;
• optimisation of resource and energy consumption integrated through the full life cycle of research infrastructures;
• increased long-term sustainability of the European research infrastructures ecosystem.

Scope:

The aim of this topic is to deliver innovative technologies and solutions which generate a step change in reducing the environmental and climate footprint of research infrastructures through the full life cycle of research infrastructures. Proposals should identify common methodologies, among the concerned research infrastructures, to assess environmental impact and strategies to reduce it, as well as efficiency gains in the broader ecosystem.

The proposed action is expected to deliver on several of the following points, as relevant:

• new technologies and solutions for research infrastructures enabling transformative resource efficiency (e.g. reduced energy consumption) and reduction of environmental (including climate-related) impacts, including, when relevant, more sustainable and efficient ways of collecting, processing and providing access to data;
• validation and prototyping;
• training of research infrastructures staff for the operation and use of the new solutions;
• action plans to deploy new developments at wider scale and ensure their sustainability;
• measures to ensure an environmentally effective integration of the solutions in the local contexts;
• societal engagement to harvest and incorporate solutions from other relevant ecosystems and or to foster acceptance of the solutions in the local and regional communities.

Consortia should be built on a leading core of at least two different world-class research infrastructures, each of them being an ESFRI infrastructure, a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) or another research infrastructure that is an intergovernmental organisation of European interest, and can include a wider set of research infrastructures, and other technological partners.

Proposals should explain any synergies and complementarities with any related previous or current EU grants, including grants funded under other parts of Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020. Where relevant, proposals should ensure complementarity with actions funded under the 2023 call topic HORIZON-INFRA-2023-TECH-01-01 and clearly justify that different technologies and solutions are targeted.

Proposals could consider the inclusion of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) Support Services Directorate in their research infrastructure portfolio. The JRC offers its experience in assessing, setting the strategy, maintaining, operating and providing access to external researchers to its research infrastructures in various fields of science. One of the main pillars of JRC’s strategy is ensuring the sustainability of its research infrastructures, with measures to reduce energy consumption, improve energy efficiency, and promote the use of renewable energy sources. In this regard, the JRC will consider collaborating with any successful proposal.

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