RFCS-2026-Steel-Big Tickets under the Steel and Metals Action Plan

This grant supports innovation and competitiveness in the steel sector as part of the European Green Deal and the Steel and Metals Action Plan. Projects are expected to contribute to full decarbonisation of the steel sector, facilitate the adoption of novel low-carbon technologies, produce steel of at least current quality using innovative processes, and demonstrate positive environmental, health, and safety effects. The grant encourages large-scale pilot or demonstration projects that achieve TRL 7-8, develop viable business models, and outline industrial integration strategies for outcomes. Dissemination of results, skills development, and job creation/conversion are also expected impacts.

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Agency	RFCS (EU)
Region	EU
Country	N/A
Legal form	Company, NGO, Government organization, Other
Start date	17 Feb 2026
End date	6 May 2026
Max funding	No specific maximum contribution stated in provided data
Budget	25,000,000 EUR for RFCS-2026-BT-Steel-SMAP in 2026
Coverage	Not specified; consult call documents for exact co-financing rates

Grant application conditions

Proposal Format	Page limit and layout must follow Application Form Part B as described in section 5 of the call document
Eligible Countries	See section 6 of the call document
Other Eligibility Conditions	See section 6 of the call document
Financial and Operational Capacity	Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity; exclusion criteria apply as described in section 7 of the call document
Evaluation and Award	Processes for submission and evaluation described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds described in section 9 of the call document Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement in section 4 of the call document
Legal and Financial Set-up	Described in section 10 of the call document
Project Type	Proposals must be for pilot or demonstration projects targeting TRL 7-8 by completion (see Articles 15 and 16 of Council Decision (EU) 2008/376/EC)
Project Objectives	Proposals must address at least one of the following: (1) New, sustainable and low-carbon steelmaking and finishing processes (Article 8 of Council Decision (EU) 2008/376/EC); (2) Advanced steel grades and applications (Article 9) If focused on recycling, the proposal should instead be submitted under RFCS-2026-Steel-Big Tickets for the Clean Industrial Deal
Exploitation Strategy	Must include an exploitation strategy supporting industrial integration of project outcomes and a preliminary assessment of economic viability
Quantified Improvements	Targeted improvements (relative to existing installations or ETS benchmarks) must be quantified and demonstrated with energy system and material balance assessments, including emissions
Documentation	https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/RFCS-2026-BT-Steel-SMAP

Eligible expenses

Evaluation criteria

Business exclusions

Reporting

Application process

Application requirements