Delivering Earth Intelligence to accelerate the green and digital transition

The main goal of this opportunity is to use Earth Intelligence to speed up the green and digital transition, supporting European Green Deal targets. It focuses on developing applications and decision support systems that help turn research into real-world tools or products, especially for EU policymaking. Key areas include sustainable agriculture and food security, water resilience, ecosystems and biodiversity, carbon management, and disaster resilience. Projects should leverage advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and combine different remote sensing platforms. While the main focus is on EU Member States and Associated countries, there is also room for international cooperation to scale up solutions globally, especially through the Copernicus programme.

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• They must use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation, and/or timing data and services, with required use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.
• Eligible projects must come from countries listed as eligible in the program guidelines; some non-EU/non-Associated Countries may participate under certain conditions.
• Activities should reach Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 7-8 by the project's end, but may start at a lower TRL.

Examples:

• A project creating an AI-powered tool for farmers to monitor crop health using Copernicus satellite data.
• A water management system that combines satellite imagery and ground sensors to predict and prevent droughts across Europe.
• A disaster response platform that uses Galileo navigation data to coordinate emergency services during floods.

• 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: 15.000.000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 2
• Budget per project: 7.500.000€

• At least three independent entities from three different eligible countries, one in an EU Member State

• All partners must be from EU or Horizon Europe associated countries and show financial and operational capacity

• Innovation Action (IA) targeting TRL 7–8 for Earth observation solutions

• Must co-design 2–3 operational EO tools with end-users (e.g. public authorities, Copernicus users)

• Must support Green Deal goals in areas like agriculture, water, ecosystems, carbon or disaster resilience

• Requires strong business plans and use of EU data infrastructures (Copernicus, Galileo, data spaces)

• Standard Horizon Europe ethics, compliance, and legal rules apply

• Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data and services, though other data sources can also be included.

• Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity to carry out the project.