Digital twins and/or their major components for environment, climate and security

This grant supports the development of new digital twins, or major new components of existing digital twins, to enhance preparedness and resilience in the context of environment, climate, and security. The overall aim is to improve security and disaster resilience in the face of climate change, support decision-makers and key users in mitigation and risk management, and further develop data lab infrastructure around the EU’s Destination Earth initiative. Projects should focus on high-accuracy, fast-response models, use advanced AI and modelling techniques, and benefit key societal sectors including disaster response, health, energy management, migration, and resource scarcity. Proposals must demonstrate usability, advanced technological integration, and strong alignment with European priorities, ensuring synergies with other relevant EU projects and initiatives.

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Agency	HORIZON (EU)
Region	EU
Country	N/A
Legal form	Company, NGO, Government organization, Other
Start date	10 Mar 2026
End date	16 Jun 2026
Max funding	€5,000,000 - €7,500,000 per project
Budget	€15,000,000 for this grant action (HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-02)
Coverage	Eligible costs will be covered as a lump sum as defined in the Horizon Europe Programme decision.

Grant application conditions

Admissibility	Proposal must adhere to page limits and layout as described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Eligible Countries	Eligibility as described in Annex B; certain non-EU/non-Associated Countries may be eligible if specific provisions are in place.
Use of European Systems	Beneficiaries must use the European Commission’s Destination Earth system. If satellite-based earth observation (EO), positioning, navigation, or timing data/services are used, Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS systems must be used.
Financial Capacity	Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Lump Sum Funding	Eligible costs will be reimbursed in the form of a lump sum in accordance with the Horizon Europe lump sum decision.
Integration Requirement	Projects must have a clear pathway towards integration with the Destination Earth system, and further develop the data lab infrastructure around Destination Earth for new AI-enabled digital twins.
Usability Demonstration	Projects must demonstrate usability through Minimum Viable Products (MVP) in at least three application areas connecting climate, environment, and security, with real user involvement.
Data Requirements	Coherent integration between at least two data sources (e.g., statistics, in situ, UAV Earth Observation data) in a modular architecture. If using sensitive datasets, a comprehensive plan is required, detailing data access and integration.
Collaboration	Proposals must demonstrate a credible pathway towards collaboration with the implementing entities of Destination Earth: ESA, ECMWF, and EUMETSAT.
Ethics and Trust in AI	Projects must demonstrate trustworthiness in the ethical use of AI.
Documentation	https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-INFRA-2026-TECH-01-02

Eligible expenses

Evaluation criteria

Business exclusions

Reporting

Application process

Application requirements