Advanced manufacturing technologies for leadership of EU manufacturers in products for the net-zero industry

The main goal of this opportunity is to strengthen the European manufacturing sector by developing advanced capabilities in strategic and high-value-added products for the net-zero industry. The program aims to boost clean technology production, diversify supply sources, and uphold high environmental standards. It supports the reduction of strategic dependencies and contributes to the targets of the Net Zero Industry Act. Focus areas include advanced manufacturing processes, innovative materials, automation, circular manufacturing, and technologies such as additive manufacturing and high-precision machining. The geographic scope covers EU Member States and Associated Countries, with some non-EU countries eligible under specific conditions.

• Develop advanced, low-waste manufacturing processes (e.g. additive manufacturing, nano-surface processing) for components in Annex I net-zero technologies.
• Integrate flexible automation, digital twins, and AI-driven optimisation to scale up EU-based production capacity for clean tech equipment.
• Implement circular manufacturing approaches to enable repair, disassembly, re-use, and reduced dependence on Critical Raw Materials.
• Deploy precision metrology and inspection systems for first-time-right manufacturing of strategic clean tech components.
• Design manufacturing systems with minimal energy/resource consumption and CO₂ emissions, aligned with EU sustainability standards.
• Demonstrate interoperable manufacturing platforms serving multiple net-zero tech sectors (e.g. batteries, solar, heat pumps), with clear exploitation plans.

Example projects:

• A consortium developing a new high-precision additive manufacturing process for clean energy components in Germany and Spain.
• A partnership between an automation company and a materials research institute in France to create sustainable circular manufacturing methods.
• An EU-wide project introducing advanced surface processing technologies to reduce emissions in industrial manufacturing.

• Personnel costs
• Subcontracting
• Travel and subsistence
• Equipment (depreciation or rental)
• Consumables and materials
• Dissemination and communication
• Access to research infrastructure
• IPR and certification
• Audit costs
• Indirect costs (25% flat rate)
• Internally invoiced services

• Budget for this Call: 42,000,000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 6
• Maximum value per project: 5,000,000€
• Minimum value per project:: 7,000,000€

• Minimum three independent legal entities from three different eligible countries, with at least one in an EU Member State.
• Applicants must be from EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries and prove financial and operational capacity.
• Proposals must specifically develop and demonstrate advanced manufacturing technologies enabling EU industry to design and produce net-zero products at scale.
• Consortia are expected to include manufacturers, technology developers, and industrial users to ensure real market uptake.
• Must comply with Horizon Europe’s General Annexes (ethics, open science, gender dimension, IPR, and data management).
• Proposals should ensure participation of SMEs and mid-caps to strengthen innovation diffusion and competitiveness across the EU value chain.