Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems

Expected Impact: The main impacts of this Challenge will be: A new generation of energetically autonomous systems enabling new services that will improve the life of European citizens through applications in areas such as point of care diagnostics, smart sustainable cities etc. Supporting sustainability in energy consumption and production in keeping with the ambitions of RePowerEU[1] and the Green Deal[2], and Enhancement of the sustainability of IoTs and energetically autonomous systems in general. Expected Outcome: Ambitious proposals put forward under this call will: identify a new generation of advanced materials for miniaturised energy harvesting modules, and achieve TRL 4 for the resulting energetically autonomous systems. Portfolio Approach The portfolio of selected projects should lead to the development of a variety of advanced materials applied to a range of miniaturised energy harvesting modules and final integrated systems. To achieve this objective, the following factors will inform the choice of projects in the portfolio: Phenomena exploited to harvest energy from the environment (e.g. solar, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, nanotribological etc.) Composition of the proposed advanced materials, and Field of application (e.g. agriculture, automotive, health monitoring, wearables, smart city management, energy management, industrial monitoring etc.). The selected projects will be assigned to lead and/or engage in portfolio activities centred on the following priori…bron

De eisen uit de regeling. Uw situatie bepaalt of u voldoet; dit is geen beschikking.

• Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting SystemsEU-portaal (SEDIA) · ec.europa.eu7 jul 2026
  Toon brontekst

  Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems
  
  Topic: HORIZON-EIC-2026-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-01
  Call: HORIZON-EIC-2026-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01 — EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2026
  Programma: Horizon Europe (2021 - 2027)
  
  == Beschrijving ==
  Expected Impact:
  The main impacts of this Challenge will be:
  A new generation of energetically autonomous systems enabling new services that will improve the life of European citizens through applications in areas such as point of care diagnostics, smart sustainable cities etc.
  Supporting sustainability in energy consumption and production in keeping with the ambitions of RePowerEU[1] and the Green Deal[2], and
  Enhancement of the sustainability of IoTs and energetically autonomous systems in general.
  Expected Outcome:
  Ambitious proposals put forward under this call will:
  identify a new generation of advanced materials for miniaturised energy harvesting modules, and
  achieve TRL 4 for the resulting energetically autonomous systems.
  Portfolio Approach
  The portfolio of selected projects should lead to the development of a variety of advanced materials applied to a range of miniaturised energy harvesting modules and final integrated systems.
  To achieve this objective, the following factors will inform the choice of projects in the portfolio:
  Phenomena exploited to harvest energy from the environment (e.g. solar, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, nanotribological etc.)
  Composition of the proposed advanced materials, and
  Field of application (e.g. agriculture, automotive, health monitoring, wearables, smart city management, energy management, industrial monitoring etc.).
  The selected projects will be assigned to lead and/or engage in portfolio activities centred on the following priorities:
  benchmarking to compare proposed technologies, phenomena exploited, advanced materials used and approaches
  sharing scientific considerations, results on the different physical/chemical phenomena studied to advance the knowledge and foster new disclosures in the field with potential shifts in the paradigm
  sharing insights on integration of the modules to solve potential issues and help advance towards delivering effective operational energetically autonomous systems
  developing an integrated approach with different complimentary energy harvesting modules for specific use-cases and to enhance the final energy harvested, and
  communicating to target audiences such as corporates, investors, alongside the broader public to raise awareness on the topic with a view to accelerating the adoption of these radical innovations.
  Objective:
  Applicants to this Challenge must address all of the following objectives:
  The identification and development of innovative advanced materials for energy harvesting, harnessing new physical/ chemical phenomena, leading to a radical shift in application range and performance while reducing the reliance on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs)
  The implementation of the advanced materials in a miniaturised energy harvesting module, such as, but not limited to, miniaturised solar cells, thermoelectric generators (e.g. TEG), nanotribological/ piezoelectric devices, electromagnetic wave harvesting devices
  Integration of the miniaturised energy harvesting modules in energetically autonomous systems (e.g. wireless integrated sensors) and
  Benchmarking the harvesting modules in a representative use case in a laboratory environment (TRL 4) with a view to demonstrating significant efficiency improvements, in terms of energy harvested, compared to the state of the art.
  Leveraging digital tools such as AI to accelerate the process of identifying, designing, fabricating, and characterising these new materials is encouraged.
  All proposals should also identify potential markets and the associated impacts of their innovations.
  Scope:
  Background and Scope
  The exponential rise in the development and deployment of IoT (Internet of Things) systems and of connected objects (~100 billion by 2025 and ~250 billion by 2030[3],[4]) will in turn increase the number of sensor networks required to provide data on the ground, with estimates pointing to ~1Trillion by 2025 and ~10 trillion by 2040
  A consequence of such an expansion is a commensurate increase in energy consumption coupled with detrimental impacts on environmental sustainability: studies point to the total electricity consumed by IoTs in 2040, equalling total global energy consumption at present. Moreover, the sensor networks, generally powered by batteries, will result in 80 million batteries having to be changed each day, with knock-on effects on the wider environment.
  Mitigating the impact of a rising number of such devices calls for solutions that will reduce energy consumption and increase the energy autonomy of connected sensors such as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and of the IoT systems integrating such sensors.
  This Challenge therefore focuses on the development of a new generation of advanced materials[5] to deliver miniaturised integrated energy harvesting devices, with significantly enhanced performance compared to the state of the art, that will give rise to highly effective energetically autonomous devices and systems.
  This Challenge supports the ambitions of the European Commission Communication “Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership[6]”, which identified an urgent need to boost the development of advanced materials to enhance the EU’s strategic autonomy in strategic fields while addressing sustainability, circularity and safety issues.
  [1] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/energy/repowereu_en
  [2] https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
  [3] https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-5584-8_3
  [4] https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/
  [5] Advanced materials are understood as materials that are rationally designed to have (i) new or enhanced properties, and/or (ii) targeted or enhanced structural features with the objective to achieve specific or improved functional performance. This includes both new emerging manufactured materials (high tech materials), and materials that are manufactured from traditional materials (low tech materials). OECD working description on advanced materials https://one.oecd.org/document/ENV/CBC/MONO(2022)29/en/pdf
  [6] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/chemicals-and-advanced-materials/advanced-materials-industrial-leadership_en
  
  == Voorwaarden (topic conditions) ==
  ">
  General conditions
  1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
  In order to apply, your proposal must meet the general eligibility requirements (see Annex 2 of EIC Work Programme 2026) as well as specific eligibility requirements for the Challenge (please see the Topic description above).
  Please check for particular elements (e.g., specific application focus or technology) in the respective Challenge chapter.
  The EIC Pathfinder Challenges support collaborative or individual research and innovation from consortia or from single legal entities established in a Member State or an Associated Country (unless stated otherwise in the specific Challenge chapter). In case of a consortium your proposal must be submitted by the coordinator on behalf of the consortium. Consortia of two entities must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia of three or more entities must include as beneficiaries at least three legal entities, independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
  at least one legal entity established in a Member State; and
  at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
  The legal entities may for example be universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups, natural persons. In the case of single beneficiary projects, mid-caps and larger companies will not be permitted.
  Applications with elements that concern the evolution of European communication networks (5G, post-5G and other technologies linked to the evolution of European communication networks) will be subject to restriction for the protection of European communication networks (see Annex II – Section B1).
  The standard admissibility and eligibility conditions and the eligibility of applicants from third countries are detailed in Annex 2.
  Proposal page limit and layout:
  Described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
  Sections 1 to 3 of the part B of your proposal, corresponding respectively to the evaluation criteria Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation, must consist of a maximum of 30 format A4 pages. Excess pages will be automatically made invisible, and will not be taken into consideration by the evaluators. Please also consult Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
  2. Eligible countries
  Described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
  3. Other Eligibility Conditions
  Described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
  4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
  Described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
  5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
  Described in Section II of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
  5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
  Described in Section II of the EIC Work Programme 2026 and the Online Manual.
  5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
  Described in Section II of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
  6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
  Please refer to the Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement (Lump Sum MGA) used for Lump Sum EIC actions under Horizon Europe.
  Specific conditions
  Described in the EIC Work Programme 2026.
  Call Documents:
  EIC Work Programme 2026
  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  Standard application form (HE EIC Pathfinder Challenges)
  Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Pathfinder Challenges)
  Challenge Guide: Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems
  Model grant agreement (MGA):
  Lump Sum MGA
  Call-specific instructions
  Detailed budget table (HE LS)
  Information on clinical studies (HE)
  Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
  Additional documents:
  HE Programme Guide
  HE Framework Programme 2021/695
  HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
  EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046
  Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
  EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
  Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
  Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
  Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement