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Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe is the main Research and Innovation Funding Programme of the European Commission.

Horizon 2020

Horizon 2020 is the previous Funding Programme. There are no longer calls, but projects can run until 2024.

Digital Europe

Digital Europe is a Funding Programme focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and administrations.

Other EU Funding

There are many other relevant EU funding programmes, managed by several agencies and directorates.

Partnership

EIT Urban Mobility

EIT Urban Mobility

Partnership website: https://www.eiturbanmobility.eu/

The EIT Urban Mobility is one of the younger innovation communities and only started in 2019. Its mission is to create more liveable urban spaces, improve quality of life in the cities and decarbonize the mobility

Community and Programmes overview

EIT Urban Mobility is an innovation community focused on transforming urban mobility systems to make them more sustainable, efficient, and people-centric. It brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including businesses, cities, universities, research centers, and other organizations, to collaborate and drive innovation in urban mobility.

There are various possibilities within the EIT Urban Mobility:

  • The City Club is a collaborative platform for cities, exchange idea, develop solutions. The cities can act as testbeds and living labs and serve as an inspiration to urban areas by addressing urban mobility challenges.
  • The Academy is an educational platform that offers specialized training and development programs in the field of urban mobility. It provides a range of learning opportunities, including online courses, master's programs, and doctoral courses, designed to equip students and professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to tackle urban mobility challenges. The Academy has several subprogrammes:
  • The Innovation Programme aims to resolve urban mobility challenges facing European cities via action-oriented innovation. We co-create ideas that lead to the proposal of projects in response to our annual call for proposals, the demonstration of new solutions in real life and the creation of commercial value. Examples of innovation projects are available through the project portfolio. In preparation of the innovation strategy, over 250 future challenges for cities have been defined and these haven been put in nine challenge areas:
    • Active Mobility
    • Intermodality
    • Mobility infrastructure
    • Mobility for all
    • Pollution reduction
    • Sustainable city logistics
    • Creating public realm
    • Future mobility
    • Mobility and energy
  • Impact Ventures are initiatives designed to support the innovative solutions of start-ups and scale-ups contributing to sustainable cities. These ventures aim to address key challenges and contribute to the transformation of urban mobility systems. They focus on supporting startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators with funding, mentorship, and access to a network of investors and industry experts. The goal of Impact Ventures is to accelerate the market uptake of innovative urban mobility solutions and foster entrepreneurship in the field, ultimately driving sustainable and efficient mobility in urban areas. A typical pre-money valuation ranges from €2M to €15M. Its activities and tools are:
    • Accelerator Programme for early-stage start-up teams
    • Strategic Investments for start-ups and scale-ups currently/already fundraising
    • Scale-up Programme for start-ups with clear, scalable business ideas based on high TRLs
    • Cross-platform Initiatives, periodic programmes with individual characteristics

How to get involved?

The EIT publishes regularly calls for proposals for these different programmes. You can find out the opportunities and latest news at the EIT Urban Mobility webpage.

The headquarter of this innovation community is in Barcelona but there is a regional hub in Helmond which serves as a point of contact for interested parties from Flanders (west@eiturbanmobility.eu).

You can also attend or watch InnovEIT, the annual conference of the EIT where you can meet other members of the communities and EIT experts.

Lastly, for mobility-related inquiries you can contact the National Contact Point (NCP) for cluster 5.

What are partnerships?

Partnerships group the EC and private and/or public partners, to coordinate and streamline the research & innovation initiatives and funding in some selected key domains.

How to use partnerships?

  • orientation
    Partnerships publish strategic documents, e.g. outlining the main research and innovation challenges or key focus points.
  • networking
    Partnerships often organise events, such as info days, brokerage events, etc. Meet potential partners and learn about the nuances that are not visible in the official documents.
  • ecosystem analysis
    Partnerships typically have an advisory board, and publish impact studies of previous actions. These are good sources of information to uncover the main R&D&I players in the domain.
  • steering the agenda
    Partnerships collaborate with the EC on outlining the strategy and the future funding opportunities in their domain, based on input from industry, academia, and other stakeholders.

Testimonial

image of PBNv2 - a MSCA ITN in the field of automotive R&D

PBNv2 - a MSCA ITN in the field of automotive R&D

The Marie SkÅ‚odowska-Curie Action (MSCA) European Innovative Training Network “PBNv2 - Next generation Pass-By Noise approaches for new powertrain vehicles” started in May 2017. Their research has the shared objective of investigating the possibilities to decrease pass-by noise of vehicles.

The project is a collaboration between 17 research institutions and companies in the European automotive R&D and provides a learning environment for 14 PhD fellows. The Belgian partner is the Noise and Vibration Research Group of KU Leuven, and this project is one of the many Horizon 2020 MSCA Innovative Training Networks that the KU Leuven research group participates in.