Call for Tenders « EU4Ocean Coalition for Ocean Literacy »: Deadline 29 August 2025

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A new EMFAF call for tenders is open!

The main goal of this service contract is to strengthen ocean literacy across the European Union, positioning it as a vital element for advancing sustainable growth within the blue economy. This will be accomplished by continuing, managing, and expanding the initiatives of the EU4Ocean Coalition, which began in 2020.

Aligned with the European Ocean Pact, the contract also seeks to broaden the concept of ocean literacy. It will go beyond raising environmental awareness to emphasize the ocean’s critical role in driving innovation, economic prosperity, climate resilience, and global security.

Estimated budget: € 3,400,000
Maximum duration: 48 Months

For more information visit the funding and tenders portal of the European Commission

Women TechEU | Deadline 4 August 2025

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Women TechEU is a two-year EU-funded project funding and supporting women leading deep tech startup companies from Europe.

Across the two years, the consortium will launch a total of four calls for applications. Applicant startups will undergo a rigorous evaluation and a total of 160 winner startups will receive €75k in non-dilutive grants as well as a personalised business development programme including mentoring, coaching and training.

Women TechEU targets early-stage deep tech start-ups founded, or co-founded, by women holding a top management position (CEO, CTO or equivalent). Women should hold at least 25% of the shares in the company at the time of submission. The company must be registered and established in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country for at least six months and a maximum of eight years from the time of submission.

The current open call is the 4th and last one.

More information: Visit the Women TechEU website for more information

PRIMA 2025 calls | Deadline Section 1 (July 15) / section 2 (July 18)

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We are excited to announce the official launch of funding calls for 2025 PRIMA projects!

The 2025 Work Programme is strategically designed to fill gaps identified in previous funding cycles while responding to emerging regional challenges exacerbated by climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic, among other barriers. Recent climate-related events, including flooding in Southern and Eastern Europe, have disrupted agriculture and resource stability, leaving many Mediterranean countries vulnerable.

Key Focus Areas for 2025

The programme emphasizes environmental resilience through ecosystem restoration, particularly implementing nature-based solutions in farming and water management. These approaches are vital for supporting biodiversity, regulating water resources, and enhancing climate adaptation in the region’s increasingly threatened ecosystems.

Across its three thematic areas, PRIMA is targeting specific gaps:

  • Water Management: Advancing digital tools like AI and IoT for adaptive water management, with greater focus on impact assessments for policy development
  • Farming Systems: Promoting precision agriculture for smallholders and supporting biodiversity, soil health, and inclusive farming practices
  • Agri-food Value Chain: Fostering consumer engagement for sustainable choices, expanding plant-based protein options, and enhancing traceability solutions

Funding Structure
The 2025 Work Programme is organized into two main sections:

  • Section 1 (EU-funded): Three calls covering Water Management, Farming Systems, and Agri-food Value Chain, with approximately 12 projects expected (€2.7 million each)
  • Section 2 (Participating States-funded): A multi-topic call across all thematic areas, with about 20 projects anticipated (€1.5 million each)

For More information visit the prima-med website

MarLEN Funding call for Zero-Emission Waterborne Transport Technologies | Deadline 30 Sept ’25

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Are you working on waterborne transport technologies supporting the decarbonisation of the sector? 

Join our 1st transnational funding call and turn your innovation – from early-stage R&D to full-scale deployment – into impact!

Funded within the Horizon Europe initiative MarLEN (Maritime Low Emission Network), the call will promote research and innovation projects in ZeroEmission waterborne transport technologies across Europe, with the support of 13 ministries and funding organisations from 9 European countries.

The call is open to applicants from MarLEN participating countries — including Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Türkiye, and United Kingdom. Organisations from non-participating countries may also join, provided they can secure national funding and consortium approval.

Projects must involve at least two legal entities from different countries, with industry participation required and SMEs involvement strongly encouraged.

What can be funded?
Innovative projects aligned with the objectives of the Zero-Emission Waterborne Transport (ZEWT) partnership, covering technological innovations – ranging from low to high TRLs – in the following fields:

  • Sustainable alternative fuels
  • Electrification
  • Energy efficiency
  • Design & retrofitting
  • Digitalisation
  • Ports and related infrastructure

Three priority areas

The 1st MarLEN call will focus in particular on three Main Priority Areas (MPAs):

  • MPA1 – Early Concepts & Industrial Research
  • MPA2 – Experimental Development & Innovation
  • MPA3 – End-user Involvement & Demonstration

Funding: Up to €8 million (depending on national rules and availability)
Duration: Up to 36 months
Application deadline for lead proposals: 30 September 2025

For more information, visit the call announcement page

Call for access to Research Infrastructures 2025 | Deadline 29 April 2025

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The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership Transnational Access Call to Research Infrastructures 2025, enables applicants from the pan-European blue economy community to submit a proposal for utilising the Research Infrastructures made available by the Partnership partners as providers.

The call aims to implement the Partnership’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) by addressing key intervention areas, supporting internationalisation, and promoting Open Data and Open Science. It seeks to enhance innovation, align national investments with EU strategies, and improve operational efficiency by optimising the use and sharing of research infrastructures.

The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership offers a portfolio of 49 Research Infrastructure services through the integrated availability of the following typology of RIs:

  • Research Vessels
  • Fixed platforms, auxiliary devices and experimental stations
  • Mobile platforms (AUVs, gliders, aircraft)
  • Portable equipment
  • Analytical labs and Test benches (pressure chambers, pools. calibration/inter-calibration bench, include sample analysis)
  • High Performance Computing Centres

For more information, visit the call website

ProBleu Funding call for schools | Deadline 23 May 2025

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Schools in the EU & 18 associated countries can apply for grants of up to €7,500 for marine & freshwater projects!

ProBleu funding is all about schools taking the lead in teaching kids about protecting our oceans and freshwater. Over three years, ProBleu will offer support to at least 100 schools for exciting projects. Schools can get up to 7,500 euros for projects that last up to a year.

The ProBleu funding initiative supports primary and secondary schools as essential champions in educating children and youth about blue sustainability and safeguarding marine and freshwater ecosystems. Educational institutions are invited to seek grants of up to 7,500 euros to support water literacy and citizen science projects that can extend for up to 7 months.

For more information visit the ProBleu website

startup and scalup strategy call for evidence announcement poster with text only on blue backround

Commission seeks feedback on the future EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy | Deadline 17 March

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The strategy will improve conditions for innovative startups and scaleups, enabling faster and simpler growth within the Single Market. It will address challenges such as access to finance, markets and talent, as well as regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles and market fragmentation. It will also facilitate access to state-of-the-art infrastructure, knowledge and services.

The EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy is a flagship action of the Competitiveness Compass, introduced in January 2025. It will lead to tangible measures, including the future European Innovation Act and a new EU-wide legal status, known as the ‘28th regime’, that will provide a harmonised set of rules to help innovative companies grow.

It would be particularly useful to have blue economy startups and scaleups contribute to this exercise, which is relevant for highlighting:

  • specific barriers and obstacles, including difficulties in accessing private capital, markets, and talent, as well as
  • regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles and market fragmentation in the EU.

The call for evidence is available on the Commission’s ‘Have your Say’ portal in all official EU languages.

Submissions are open until 17 March.

Interreg NEXT MED 2nd Call for Proposals on Green Transition Projects | Deadline 15 April 2025

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The Interreg NEXT MED Programme is pleased to announce the official launch of the Call for Green Transition Projects, providing €83.7 million in European Union’s funding to address climate challenges across the Mediterranean region.

The call aims to support innovative and collaborative solutions to address crucial climate challenges across the Mediterranean region. The deadline for submitting project proposals is 15th of April 2025 (1pm, CET).

Building on the success of the first call for proposals, which saw 630 projects submitted, this second call aims to drive scalable, innovative, and collaborative solutions, reflecting a collective ambition of the 15 participating countries for a low-carbon, climate-resilient Mediterranean. It addresses the region’s pressing climate challenges, as it is warming 20% faster than the global average.

The call focuses on key environmental sectors such as energy efficiency, circular economy, climate adaptation and disaster resilience, and sustainable water management. It also expands to other critical areas, including SMEs’ decarbonization, green innovation, skills for climate resilience, health system adaptation to climate change, and inclusive governance for effective climate policies.

Geographical coverage of the call extends to over 100 territories from 7 European Union and 8 partner countries, namely Cyprus, Greece, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia and Türkiye. To harness the benefits of transnational cooperation for accelerating the Mediterranean region’s green transition, each project must involve a partnership of at least three organizations from three different eligible countries, with at least one partner from a Mediterranean Partner Country.

The call is open to a wide range of stakeholders, including national and regional public authorities, municipalities, non-profit and civil society organizations, universities, research institutions, private companies, and other relevant entities.

The financial dimension of proposals ranges from €700,000 to €3.5 million, depending on the project type – green transformation or eco-youth. These latest, granted €16 million (corresponding to 20% of the budget of the call for proposals), aim to empower youth in the green transition through projects designed  by young people for young poeple and involving youth-led/oriented organizations as key project partners.

The Programmme contribution covers 89% of the total eligible costs, requiring project co-financing of the remaining 11%.

More information:  visit the call website page on the Interreg NEXT MED website

 

Innovation Fund 2024 (IF24) Call | Deadline 20 February 2025

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On 3 December 2024,  the Innovation Fund 2024 (IF24) Call was launched.

This Call aims to provide significant financial support to advance decarbonization technologies across various sectors, including maritime transport and inland navigation. The fund focuses on innovative solutions to help achieve climate neutrality by 2050, with dedicated allocations for different sectors. Total amount: €4.6 billion, including €200 million specifically allocated to support hydrogen projects in the maritime sector.

The Innovation Fund is a key funding instrument for delivering the EU’s economy-wide commitments under the Paris Agreement and the climate and energy priorities put forward in the REPowerEU Plan, the Hydrogen Bank, the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the Net-Zero Industry Act.

Project promoters for the net-zero technologies call have until 24 April 2025, 17:00 (CET), to apply to via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. As regards the renewable hydrogen auction, bidders have until 20 February 2025 to apply via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. Successful bidders will sign Grant Agreements within nine months after the call closure.

Find more information: here.

Join the EU Preparatory Action: Innovation for Place-Based Transformation | Deadline 16 December 2024

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The European Commission has launched the EU Preparatory Action (2024-2026): Innovation for Place-Based Transformation, an initiative designed to empower territories to support policy practitioners in tackling urgent sustainability challenges. By fostering transformative innovation approaches, this action promotes capacity building, experimentation, and policy development to drive systemic change across EU regions and beyond.

Key objectives include:

  • Raising Awareness and understanding of transformative innovation policies.
  • Building Capacity of territories for systemic change through targeted training.
  • Innovating to address complex challenges with collaborative approaches.
  • Shaping the Future by contributing to a sustainable, future-ready EU policy framework.

Who can apply?
Public sector authorities from EU Member States, Candidate Countries for accession to the EU and Horizon Europe Associated Countries are eligible. During the registration process, applicants will choose a focus area from these seven challenges: achieving circularity, climate adaptation, improving healthcare, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and New European Bauhaus.

The application deadline is 16 December 2024

 

Program Highlights
Participants will engage in three stages:

  1.  Awareness-Raising (December 2024): Informative sessions with real-world case studies of innovative policies.
  2.  Capacity-Building (March 2025): Advanced training for policymakers.
  3.  Experimentation Journeys (April 2025): Peer-learning and expert guidance on transformative innovation policies.

How to Apply