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    HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-09

    Energy efficiency and sustainability of AI data processing in Data Centres (IA)

    Opens 17 Nov 2026Live official EU data

    DIGITAL · HORIZON-IA · TRL 6 to 8 · Needs partners

    18 Mar 2027
    Deadline
    17 Nov 2026
    Opens for applications
    €9M to €10M
    Indicative, per project
    ~4
    Grants expected
    86
    Past winners in this family

    What this call funds

    This call funds pilot projects that demonstrate ways to make data centre AI processing more energy efficient and sustainable, such as better chip cooling, novel backup power storage, smarter workload scheduling, and reuse of waste heat. Projects should build open demonstration sites that showcase these innovations to the wider European data centre industry. The goal is to reduce the energy and carbon footprint of AI data processing while improving reliability and resilience.

    artificial intelligence · energy efficiency · energy storage · cloud edge computing · renewable energy · advanced materials

    Who wins this

    This suits a consortium of industrial and research partners with a working prototype at TRL 6 who want to build and demonstrate a pilot site for energy efficient AI data centre technology in real operating conditions.

    Could you win this call?

    Only the website is required.

    The call in detail

    Indicative grant size
    €9M to €10M
    Funding model
    Budget-based. Reimbursement of actual eligible costs
    Submission
    Single-stage submission (full proposal at once)
    Type of action
    HORIZON Innovation Actions
    Partners
    Required. The call asks for a consortium: a group applying together, typically 3+ organisations from 3+ countries.
    Also required
    Entities established in an eligible country but directly or indirectly controlled by China or a Chinese legal entity are not eligible to participate, due to restrictions on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas.
    Sectors
    AI/ML · Deep Tech · Manufacturing · Aerospace
    Eligible countries (45)
    Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Israel, Türkiye, Ukraine, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Tunisia, New Zealand
    Read the full conditions from the official call ›

    General conditions 1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. 2. Eligible Countries described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. 3. Other Eligible Conditions In line with the “ restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas ” delineated in General Annex B of the General Annexes, entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to participate in the action. Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds Described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. 5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. 6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5. described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the topic conditions

    Who has won calls like this

    Organisations that most often win this call family · 86 past winners

    ATOS IT SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES IBERIA SL · ES
    17 wins
    led 2
    TELEFONICA INNOVACION DIGITAL SL · ES
    14 wins
    led 1
    NETCOMPANY S.A. · LU
    14 wins
    led 1
    ECLIPSE FOUNDATION EUROPE GMBH · DE · SME
    13 wins
    FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV · DE
    12 wins
    led 1
    EREVNITIKO PANEPISTIMIAKO INSTITOUTO SYSTIMATON EPIKOINONION KAI YPOLOGISTON · EL
    12 wins
    led 2

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