PPPA-2026-Game-Changing Innovation for European Launch Solutions

The grant aims to support EU entities in developing game-changing innovations with the potential to revolutionize access to space, improving the competitiveness of the European space industry. This includes supporting novel launch solutions, such as advanced propulsion systems, subsystems, and materials, targeting disruptive breakthroughs that transform the industry and unlock new growth opportunities. The focus is on delivering solutions with significant impact on EU access to space competitiveness and strategic autonomy, with target operational capacity by 2035.

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Agency	PPPA (EU)
Region	EU
Country	N/A
Legal form	Company, NGO, Government organization, Other
Start date	29 Jan 2026
End date	29 Apr 2026
Max funding	Between 5,000,000 and 7,000,000 EUR per grant.
Budget	20,000,000 EUR for 2025.
Coverage	Information not explicitly specified in the grant overview.

Grant application conditions

Admissibility Conditions	Proposal page limit and layout must follow Section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
Eligible Countries	Eligibility is described in Section 6 of the call document. Generally, eligibility applies to EU Member States and associated countries.
Other Eligibility Conditions	Additional eligibility conditions are described in Section 6 of the call document.
Financial and Operational Capacity	Applicants must demonstrate adequate financial and operational capacity. See Section 7 of the call document.
Evaluation and Award Criteria	Submission, evaluation process, criteria, scoring, thresholds, and indicative timeline are detailed in Sections 8, 9, and 4 of the call document, respectively.
Legal and Financial Set-up	Set-up conditions described in Section 10 of the call document.
Technology Readiness Level (TRL)	Target starting TRL between 3 and 6 (proof-of-concept to system/subsystem demonstration in a relevant environment).
Innovation Scope	Projects must develop innovations for European launch solutions. Scope includes staged combustion engines, hybrid propulsion, aerospike engines, or autophage propulsion.
Operational Capacity Target	Innovations are expected to achieve operational capacity (qualification or first use in a launcher) by 2035 at the latest.
Supply Chain Independence	Supply chain and final product must be free of legal export restrictions (e.g., ITAR, EAR, or equivalent). Applicants must detail any exposure to non-EU export controls and describe mitigation processes.
Technology Development Plan	Proposals must provide a preliminary technology development plan addressing qualification, exploitation, and commercial plans.
Documentation	https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/PPPA-2026-LAUNCHERS-GAMECHANGING

Eligible expenses

Evaluation criteria

Business exclusions

Reporting

Application process

Application requirements