CASRAI Dictionary

Tag: moonshots horizon europe

  • Moonshots in Horizon Europe FP10: A Guide for Applicants

    Moonshots in Horizon Europe FP10 are large-scale, technology-led projects the European Commission proposed on 16 July 2025 to replace the current Missions model, pooling funding from Horizon Europe and the new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) to push research through demonstration into real-world deployment. Unlike the five citizen-facing Missions running under Horizon Europe 2021-2027, moonshots are framed around strategic technological leadership rather than societal challenge boards, which changes what evaluators will look for in a proposal.

    A Horizon Europe moonshot is a cross-cutting, pooled-funding project — spanning EU, national and private investment — designed to move a strategic technology from research to market deployment within a defined field such as fusion energy or next-generation AI.

    What are the FP10 moonshots?

    On 16 July 2025, the European Commission published its proposal for Horizon Europe 2028-2034 (FP10), the tenth EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, alongside the wider EU long-term budget (Multiannual Financial Framework). The Commission proposed a standalone FP10 budget of €175 billion, structured around four pillars, and stated that the programme would be “tightly connected” to the newly proposed European Competitiveness Fund.

    Within that structure, the Commission introduced the capacity to launch “moonshot projects”: pooled-funding initiatives combining Horizon Europe, ECF, national, public and private sources, explicitly designed to carry promising research through demonstration and into real-world deployment rather than stopping at publication or proof of concept.

    How do moonshots differ from Horizon Europe’s current Missions?

    The current programme runs five EU Missions, launched in 2021 under Pillar II, each with a Mission Board, citizen-engagement mechanisms and a fixed 2030 target: climate adaptation across at least 150 regions, improving outcomes for 3 million cancer patients, restoring ocean and inland waters, 100 climate-neutral smart cities, and a soil deal covering 100 living labs. Moonshots are pitched differently: technology- and competitiveness-led, tied to the ECF’s strategic priorities, and judged on progress toward deployable capability rather than a citizen-facing societal target.

    Feature Horizon Europe Missions (2021-2027) Proposed FP10 Moonshots
    Primary orientation Societal challenges (climate, cancer, oceans, cities, soil) Strategic technological and industrial leadership
    Governance Mission Boards, citizen co-design Streamlined, closely linked to ECF industrial policy
    Funding source Horizon Europe Pillar II Pooled: Horizon Europe, ECF, national and private capital
    End state sought Measurable societal outcome by a fixed year Demonstration and real-world market deployment
    Status as of July 2026 Live, operating under the current MFF Commission proposal; subject to Parliament/Council negotiation

    Notably, the European Parliament has pushed to make moonshots more than a funding label — arguing for formal Member State commitments and measurable objectives, closer to the political weight Missions already carry, rather than a looser industrial-policy instrument.

    Which moonshot themes has the Commission proposed?

    The Commission’s official 16 July 2025 announcement names ten candidate moonshot areas. These are Commission-proposed fields, not yet legally adopted programme lines:

    • Future Circular Collider (fundamental physics infrastructure)
    • Clean aviation (next-generation, lower-emission aircraft)
    • Next-generation AI
    • Data sovereignty
    • Automated transport and mobility
    • Regenerative therapies
    • Fusion energy
    • Space economy
    • Zero water pollution
    • Ocean observation

    This list is contested. In a November 2025 response, The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities argued the Commission’s draft leans too heavily on technology and proposed four counter-moonshots grounded in social science and humanities research — ethical leadership on climate transition, equitable healthcare governance, universal digital literacy, and managing demographic and migration change. That pushback signals that the final theme list, and the balance between technological and societal framing, remains open during interinstitutional negotiation.

    What evaluation criteria should applicants anticipate?

    No FP10 evaluation criteria have been formally adopted; the Regulation and Specific Programme proposals are still moving through the European Parliament and Council. Based on the Commission’s own framing, however, research administrators preparing pipelines should anticipate a shift in emphasis:

    • Deployment pathway, not just excellence. Moonshot bids will need a credible route from research output to demonstrator or market-ready capability, not only scientific merit.
    • Co-funding readiness. Because moonshots pool EU, national and private capital, applicants — and their institutions’ research administration teams — should expect requirements to evidence matched or leveraged funding commitments.
    • Strategic alignment with ECF priorities. Proposals in clean tech, AI, defence-adjacent “dual use” technology, or space are more likely to map onto moonshot funding windows than single-discipline basic research.
    • Cross-pillar consortium design. Interim evaluation of the current programme (Draghi, Letta and Heitor reports) pushed the Commission toward simplification and fewer, larger topics, so consortia may need to be broader and more cross-disciplinary than a typical current-cycle Missions project.

    The Commission’s interim evaluation of the running programme found that every euro of EU contribution is estimated to generate up to €11 in GDP gains by 2045, and that Horizon Europe has funded over 15,000 projects worth more than €43 billion as of January 2025 — figures the Commission has used to justify scaling ambition through moonshots rather than retaining a Missions-only model.

    Common questions from research administrators

    What is a Horizon Europe moonshot project?

    A Horizon Europe moonshot is a pooled-funding, technology-focused project proposed for FP10 (2028-2034) that combines Horizon Europe, European Competitiveness Fund, national and private investment to carry strategic research from demonstration through to real-world deployment, rather than funding discovery research alone.

    Will Horizon Europe’s existing Missions continue under FP10?

    The Commission’s proposal keeps EU Missions within Pillar II alongside moonshots rather than abolishing them outright, but the political and budgetary emphasis is shifting toward moonshots and the European Competitiveness Fund, so Missions’ relative weight and independence within the programme are expected to narrow.

    Can UK researchers participate in FP10 moonshots?

    UK eligibility depends on associating to FP10, as the UK did for Horizon Europe in 2024. The UK’s 2025 Spending Review allocated funding to associate for FP10’s first two years, per Science Minister Lord Vallance, with later-year funding subject to the next Spending Review.

    When will the first FP10 moonshot calls open?

    FP10 is not due to start until January 2028, and the Commission expects final agreement between Parliament and Council late in 2027, so no moonshot call texts exist yet; applicants should track the Regulation and Specific Programme negotiations rather than expect near-term calls.

    Implications for institutions and applicants

    Research administration teams should not wait for adopted legal texts before acting. Grants offices can start now by mapping existing pipeline projects against the ten proposed moonshot themes, identifying which principal investigators already hold demonstrator-stage or translational work suited to a deployment-oriented evaluation model, and flagging co-funding and industry-partnership gaps early.

    Institutions should also monitor the Parliament’s push for firmer Member State commitments on moonshots: if adopted, that would create obligations closer to national co-investment duties than the softer coordination Missions currently require, with knock-on implications for institutional cost-sharing and overhead recovery planning.

    What happens next in the FP10 timeline?

    FP10’s budget and legal texts are not final. The European Parliament and Council must jointly agree amendments to the Commission’s Regulation and Specific Programme proposals, alongside the wider Multiannual Financial Framework negotiations, before adoption — expected late in 2027 for a January 2028 start. Until that agreement lands, the ten named moonshot themes, their governance model and their evaluation criteria remain proposals, not commitments. Institutions that begin portfolio-mapping and co-funding preparation now will be better positioned once the Specific Programme text — and the first moonshot call topics — are finalised.

  • Horizon Europe Pillars vs FP10: Four vs Three

    Horizon Europe currently runs on three pillars; the European Commission’s FP10 proposal — published 16 July 2025 as “Horizon Europe 2028-2034” — restructures the programme around four pillars, adding a dedicated European Research Area pillar and shifting roughly €80 billion in additional funding toward competitiveness-linked research. For research administrators, the practical task is mapping existing pillar-based compliance workflows onto this new architecture before the programme’s expected 2028 start.

    Horizon Europe is the European Union’s current €95.5 billion research and innovation framework programme (2021-2027), organised into three pillars plus a horizontal strengthening-the-ERA strand. Its proposed successor, provisionally branded Horizon Europe 2028-2034 and widely referred to by its sequence number as FP10 (the EU’s tenth framework programme since 1984), would roughly double that budget and reorganise it into four pillars.

    What is the current Horizon Europe pillar structure?

    Horizon Europe’s three pillars separate funding by research logic rather than by discipline. Pillar I, “Excellent Science,” funds bottom-up frontier research through the European Research Council (ERC) and researcher mobility through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Pillar II, “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness,” is the largest pillar, funding collaborative research across six thematic clusters — health; culture, creativity and inclusive society; civil security; digital, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility; and food, bioeconomy and environment. Pillar III, “Innovative Europe,” supports market-creating innovation primarily via the European Innovation Council (EIC).

    A horizontal strand, “Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area,” sits outside the three numbered pillars and funds capacity-building in lower-performing research systems — a structural detail that FP10’s proposal absorbs into a new, standalone pillar rather than leaving as a side strand.

    How does FP10’s proposed pillar structure differ?

    The Commission’s proposal keeps the “Horizon Europe” brand but restructures the programme into four pillars, according to the Commission’s own 16 July 2025 announcement and its accompanying Multiannual Financial Framework factsheet. Pillar I remains “Excellent Science” largely intact. Pillar II is renamed “Competitiveness and Society” and reoriented around four “competitive” research themes — clean transition and industrial decarbonisation; health, biotech, agriculture and bioeconomy; digital leadership; and resilience, security, defence and space — plus three “society” themes covering global societal challenges, the New European Bauhaus Facility, and EU Missions. Pillar III becomes “Innovation,” with an expanded EIC that adds dedicated support for defence and dual-use start-ups. The structural headline is Pillar IV: “European Research Area,” an entirely new pillar funding research and technology infrastructure and a “single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU.”

    Current Horizon Europe (2021-2027) Proposed FP10 / Horizon Europe 2028-2034 Proposed budget
    Pillar I: Excellent Science Pillar I: Excellent Science (largely unchanged) €44.079bn
    Pillar II: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness (6 clusters) Pillar II: Competitiveness and Society (4 “competitive” + 3 “society” themes) €75.876bn (+41.8%)
    Pillar III: Innovative Europe Pillar III: Innovation (EIC expanded, adds defence/dual-use focus) €38.785bn
    Horizontal strand: Widening Participation & Strengthening ERA Pillar IV: European Research Area (new standalone pillar) €16.262bn

    The Commission also proposes tying Horizon Europe more tightly to a new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), enabling joint “moonshot” projects that move research through to real-world deployment. Named moonshot candidates include:

    • The Future Circular Collider
    • Clean aviation
    • Next-generation AI
    • Data sovereignty
    • Automated transport and mobility
    • Regenerative therapies
    • Fusion energy
    • Space economy
    • Zero water pollution and ocean observation

    What are the budget and legislative timeline changes?

    The Commission’s proposal totals €175 billion for Horizon Europe within a €410 billion European Competitiveness Fund envelope, of which €234 billion covers other funding schemes, per the European Commission’s official 16 July 2025 news release. That compares with Horizon Europe’s current €95.5 billion allocation for 2021-2027 — close to a doubling in nominal terms.

    Neither the FP10 proposal nor the wider EU long-term budget (MFF) is final. Both require the ordinary legislative procedure, meaning the European Parliament and the Council of the EU must jointly agree amendments before adoption. The House of Commons Library reports that a final agreement is expected late in 2027, synchronised with the broader MFF negotiations, ahead of a planned 2028 programme start.

    The Commission’s interim evaluation of the current programme — cited in its own press materials — states that every euro of EU contribution is estimated to generate up to €11 in GDP gains by 2045, and that Horizon Europe had funded over 15,000 projects worth more than €43 billion as of January 2025. That evaluation, alongside the Draghi and Letta competitiveness reports, forms the explicit policy rationale the Commission cites for the pillar restructuring.

    Horizon Europe pillars: answer-first Q&A

    What is Horizon Europe Pillar 1?

    Pillar 1, “Excellent Science,” is Horizon Europe’s frontier-research pillar, funding investigator-led work through the European Research Council and researcher mobility through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Under the FP10 proposal it keeps its name and structure, with earmarked funding rising to €44.079 billion.

    What is Horizon Europe Pillar 2?

    Pillar 2 is currently “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness,” Horizon Europe’s largest and most application-oriented pillar, spanning six thematic clusters. FP10 proposes renaming it “Competitiveness and Society” and raising its budget to €75.876 billion, a 41.8% increase, with roughly €68 billion co-managed alongside the new European Competitiveness Fund.

    What is the Pillar 3 of Horizon Europe?

    Pillar 3, “Innovative Europe,” funds market-creating innovation chiefly through the European Innovation Council. FP10 renames it “Innovation” and proposes €38.785 billion, expanding EIC support to include defence and dual-use start-ups alongside its existing scale-up mandate.

    What should research administrators do now?

    The proposal is not yet law, so no institution needs to rebuild compliance workflows immediately. But three planning actions are worth starting now:

    1. Map current pillar-owned processes (ERC/MSCA eligibility checks, cluster call monitoring, EIC scouting) against the proposed four-pillar labels, since Pillars I and III largely preserve existing scope while Pillar II absorbs new “society” themes and Pillar IV is genuinely new.
    2. Track the legislative timeline rather than the July 2025 proposal text as final — amendments through the European Parliament and Council are expected through 2027, and pillar names, budgets and cluster groupings may still change.
    3. Watch association status for non-EU institutions. The UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said in September 2024 it was “interested in potentially associating to FP10,” and the UK’s 2025 Spending Review allocated funding to cover the programme’s first two years of association, per parliamentary reporting.

    Institutions that already organise grants administration around Horizon Europe’s pillar logic — rather than around individual instruments like the ERC or EIC — will find the FP10 mapping more mechanical: three of the four proposed pillars are renamed continuations of existing pillars, and the one genuinely new pillar, European Research Area, formalises work (widening, infrastructure) that many research administration offices already track as a distinct compliance category today.