CLUSTER 4 - INDUSTRY
The Cluster 4 work programme (Digital, Industry and Space) is designed to fund competitive and trusted research and innovation technologies for the European industry in key areas, such as discrete and continuous manufacturing and engineering, digitalisation of the construction sector and energy intensive industries.
The work programme for 2025 is nearly complete and will be pre-published at the end of April. Some of the preliminary areas for discussion in 2025 can be found below. Preliminary deadlines (TBC) for the industry topics will be 23rd of September for the single stage calls and 23rd September/14th April for the 2-stage calls. If you are interested in any of the areas, please get in touch with us.
Destination 1 – Achieving global leadership in climate-neutral, circular and digitised industrial and digital value chains:
Activities under this Destination in 2025 May focus on:
Manufacturing Industry:
1) Integrated approaches for re-manufacturing
2) Physical and cognitive augmentation in advanced manufacturing
3) Advanced manufacturing technologies for leadership of EU manufacturers in products for the net-zero industry.
A New Way to Build, accelerating disruptive change in construction:
1) Enhanced logistics and operations of construction sites.
Energy Intensive Industry Processes Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency:
1) From heat-driven processes to the use of mechanical and electric forces
2) Green and resilient flexible production processes
3) Integrated use of renewable energy carriers in industrial sites
4) Smart integration of net zero technologies into Energy Intensive industries.
Energy Intensive Industry Processes Circularity and Zero pollution:
1) Developing and embedding upcycling technologies into viable business
2) Safe and clean processing technologies and products
3) Towards human-centric, sustainable and resilient energy-intensive industries
4) Demonstrators for clusters of social circular enterprise.
Clean Steel:
1) Solving issues in carbon-neutral iron and steel making processes with diverse input materials of varying quality.
Destination 2 – Achieving technological leadership for Europe's open strategic autonomy in raw materials, chemicals and innovative materials:
Activities under this Destination in 2025 May focus on:
Raw materials for EU strategic autonomy and successful transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy:
1) Technologies for critical raw materials and strategic raw materials from End-of-Life products
2) Strategic Partnerships for Raw Materials: Innovative Approaches for sustainable production of Critical Raw Materials
3) Innovative solutions for the sustainable production for Semiconductor raw materials.
Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) Chemicals and Materials:
1) Development of safe and sustainable by design alternatives to PFAS
2) Accelerate the uptake of life-cycle assessment for SSbD chemicals and materials and resulting products.
Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative:
1) Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for product monitoring, smart maintenance and repair strategies in the construction sector
2) Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for robust, fast curing sealants and coatings for manufacturing and final assembly
3) Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for photonics, enabling low-power and ultra-broadband performance for telecommunication
4) Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for conformable, flexible or stretchable electronics.
Textiles of the Future: Digitally enabled local-for-local textile and apparel production.
DEADLINES: Please contact me to confirm the exact date after publication on the 22nd of May. For the 2-STAGE topics blind evaluation submission will apply at STAGE 1.
OTHER NEWS:
The 2026_27 CL4 Work Programme preparation is underway. Currently the European Commission has circulated the 2026_27 draft Orientations. This is a high level document taking into account the Competitiveness Compass which includes initiatives linked to industry R&I activities in Cluster 4 such as:
· Clean Industrial Deal
· Critical Raw Materials Act, Net-Zero Industry Act, Future Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act
· Advanced Materials Communication and future Advanced Materials Act
· Future Circular Economy Act
· Steel and Metals Action Plan
· Chemical industry package
· Future European Strategy for Housing Construction
· Strategy on research and technology infrastructures
· Contribution to Action Plan on automotive industries
The new approach takes into account R&I investments under previous work programmes and intends to introduce more synergies with other pillars and clusters in Horizon Europe and with other EU programmes. If you are interested in providing feedback to the process, please get in touch with the CL4 Irish National Contact Points.
BROKERAGE AND INFORMATION EVENTS:
· 15th April: Webinar on the new CL4 partnership in Horizon Europe: ‘Textiles of the Future’
This online event aims to inform potential applicants about the new partnership and funding opportunities within the CL4 Work Programme 2025.
· 13-14th May: Cluster 4 Info days – online event
This event aims to inform potential applicants about the funding opportunities within the Work Programme 2025 of Horizon Europe Cluster 4 Digital, Industry and Space.
· 20th May: KETs Brokerage event – Strasbourg - in person
Brokerage event targeting future Horizon Europe Cluster 4 (Industry, Digital) and Cluster 5 (Batteries, H2) calls in 2025.
· 27th May: CL4 Webinar ‘NCP4Industry meets the Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative’ - Online event.
During the webinar, you will get an overview on the services provided by the NCP network ‘NCP4Industry’ targeting proposers in Horizon Europe. Additionally, IAM-I will present the current state and the Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of the new co-programmed European Partnership IAM4EU.
· 2nd-4th June: IndTech2025 – Krakow, Poland – in person
EUIndTech2025 is the European Union's flagship event, a continuation of the cyclical events as Conference on Industrial Technologies (IndTech) and Euro Nano Forum. The event brings together stakeholders from research organizations, industry, NGOs and policymakers to discuss the state-of-the-art technologies, challenges and trends.
· 20th-22nd Oct: The manufacturing partnership days – Brussels - in person
This three-day event will bring together the manufacturing research and innovation community for inspiring presentations, interactive discussions, and valuable networking opportunities. It will be a great occasion to discover and showcase the latest achievements and future goals of the Factories of the Future and Made in Europe funded projects.