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HORIZON EUROPE TOPIC · Cluster 5 · Climate, Energy and Mobility

Improved system design for innovative PV applications (EUPI-PV Partnership)

HORIZON-CL5-2026-11-D3-14 — the expected outcomes as checkable statements, what evaluators look for in this topic, and the conditions that shape the proposal.

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OpenIA · lump sumDeadline 1 December 2026around EUR 7.5 million per project

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TopicHORIZON-CL5-2026-11-D3-14
StatusOpen
CallHORIZON-CL5-2026-11 — ENERGY
DestinationEnsuring more efficient, sustainable, secure, and competitive renewable and decarbonised energy supply (2026-27)
Type of actionInnovation Actions · lump sum
Opening4 August 2026
Deadline1 December 2026
Budgetaround EUR 7.5 million per project · 4 projects expected · EUR 30 million in total
TRL at the endTRL 7–8
Part B page limit45 pages (standard application form; check your call)
TemplateWork Programme 2026–2027 application form

Expected outcomes

Projects may contribute to some of the expected outcomes; say which ones and why. The topic says: “Agrivoltaics or the co-location of agricultural activity and PV electricity production is a novel form of PV deployment which could provide farmers with diversified revenue sources and ecological benefits, while reducing land use competition, siting restrictions or adverse impacts on biodiversity and agricultural production. Optimizing system designs and business practices will help to enable…”

  1. EO1 Harvesting of crops and photovoltaic electricity, providing sustainable solutions for energy production/use/efficiency, soil and biodiversity protection and water conservation.
  2. EO2 Reinforce the European PV value chain, introduce new business models and open new markets for novel, bankable agri or offshore/nearshore PV systems.
  3. EO3 Minimise the impact of PV on landscape/sea and environment exploiting its modularity and synergies of use. Promote offshore wind and PV co-location and system integration.
  4. EO4 Significant improvement of designs that reduce both CAPEX and OPEX, maximize energy output and thus reduce LCoE.
  5. EO5 Promote integrated and multi-dimensional policy design to overcome socio-technical challenges for agri and offshore/nearshore PV deployment.

Expected impacts named in the destination

The wider, long-term effects the destination seeks. Your outcomes feed them; they are not project deliverables.

  1. EI1 Energy producers have access to efficient and competitive European renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies with a solid knowledge base and are able to deploy them to enhance the EU’s energy security and reach its climate neutrality objectives, in a sustainable way in environmental (e.g., biodiversity, multiple uses of land and water, natural resources, pollution) and socioeconomic terms, and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
  2. EI2 Technology providers have access to European, competitive, resilient, reliable, sustainable, and affordable value chains of renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies including emerging ones, and with strong export potential to supply both the EU internal and global markets. They benefit also from circular renewable energy technologies that are safe and sustainable by design with reduced and diversified external dependence on critical raw materials.
  3. EI3 Economic sectors benefit from better integration of renewable energy and renewable fuel-based solutions that are, among others, competitive, cost-effective, efficient, flexible, reliable, and sustainable. Such integration is facilitated through digitalisation and integration of artificial intelligence of renewable energy technologies that provide network stability and reliability.
  4. EI4 European industries benefit from a reinforced export potential of renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies, also through international partnerships, and become more competitive in innovative renewable energy technologies in Europe and globally.
  5. EI5 European researchers benefit from a stronger community and from a reinforced scientific basis on renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies including emerging ones, also through international collaborations.
  6. EI6 European citizens have access to an energy market that is fair and equitable, more resilient, uses all different types of local renewable energy resources, and is less dependent on fossil fuels imports. Citizens experience less fuel and energy poverty, and also benefit from new employment and upskilling opportunities. Local communities benefit from a more decentralized, affordable, and secure energy system and from multiple uses of land and water.
  7. EI7 R&I actions will support the just digital and green transformation of the energy system through advanced solutions for accelerating the energy systems integration and decarbonisation. The developed clean, sustainable solutions will contribute to making the energy system work better for actors and supply more reliable, resilient and secure energy – even under increasingly more frequent extreme climate events.
  8. EI8 The solutions developed will contribute to increase flexibility and grid hosting capacity for renewables through optimizing cross sector integration and grid scale storage as well as cover off-grid situations. They will improve the preparedness of the electricity system to support the EU's binding target for 2030 of minimum of 42.5% renewables in the gross final energy consumption (with the aspiration to reach 45%), and full decarbonisation by 2050. They will enable further electrification of demand and will enhance the competitiveness of the European value chain, reduce pressure on resources (also by making technologies ‘circular by design’) and decrease dependencies. Such solutions would…
  9. EI9 The solutions will improve consumer awareness and engagement in the energy transition, via innovative offers and services (e.g. demand response, energy communities) and will target different types of consumers, including “hard to reach” population groups (such as energy poor or low-income households). This will result in increased trust in, and uptake of the new products and services entering the energy system.
  10. EI10 Accelerated deployment of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) as a CO2 emission mitigation option in electricity generation and/or in industry applications, as well as carbon dioxide removal for negative emissions.

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

  • Projects may contribute to some of the expected outcomes; say which ones and why.
  • For each outcome (EO1 to EO5), name who will use or adopt your results (a specific group, not “industry” or “society”), how they get them, and the indicator that shows the change, with baseline, target and date.
  • Use the topic's own words for each outcome, so the evaluator can tick it off.

What the scope asks for

Evaluators check the proposal against these sentences of the scope. Answer each one visibly, in the call's own words.

  • “Proposals must address only one of the two areas (agriPV or offshore/nearshore PV).”
  • “They are expected to demonstrate:.”
  • “Achieving societal acceptance and sustainability in agriPV development requires clarity in permitting procedures, promoting energy justice principles, mitigating agronomic risks, and balancing economic development with environmental conservation (notably biodiversity).”
  • “These dimensions need to be addressed holistically with the involvement of policymakers, industry stakeholders, and local communities working towards a just and equitable deployment of agriPV.”
  • “In the case of offshore/nearshore PV, aesthetic appreciation, as well as possible conflicts of interest related to water areas (with e.g., commercial shipping, fishing, sand extraction, military use, and recreational sailing) or colocation should be looked at.”
  • “Whenever the expected exploitation of project results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or creating and providing a service, the plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results must include a strategy for such exploitation as well as a strong business case and sound exploitation strategy.”
  • “The exploitation plan should include preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan) indicating the possible funding sources to be potentially used (in particular the Innovation Fund).”
  • “This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.”

Conditions that shape the proposal

  • Part B, sections 1–3: 45 pages (standard application form). Text beyond the limit is not read; tables and figures count.
  • Lump sum: the budget is fixed per work package and paid when each work package is completed. Every work package needs activities and deliverables an evaluator can verify, and the effort must match the money.
  • TRL: the topic expects TRL 7–8 by the end of the project. State where you start and the evidence for it.
  • Innovation action: evaluators expect a plausible path to commercialisation and named first users or customers.
  • Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds: “To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to proposals not only in order of ranking but at least also to two proposals that are the highest ranked within the area of agriPV and at least also to two proposals that are the highest ranked within the area of offshore/nearshore PV, provided that proposals…”

Impact pathway and traps

  • The topic asks for social sciences and humanities (SSH) expertise. Evaluators look for SSH partners with a real role in the methodology, not a token task.
  • The scope expects pilots or demonstration. Name the sites, the partners who run them and what is measured there.
  • Standardisation is mentioned. Name the committees or bodies and the partner who engages with them.
  • Market uptake is part of the scope. Evaluators look for a credible route to market with named first adopters.
  • Keep outputs, outcomes and impacts apart: what you deliver, what changes when others use it, and the long-term effect.
  • For each destination impact you claim, show which of your outcomes feeds it. Destination impacts are long-term effects, not project deliverables.
  • Name the barriers outside the project (regulation, markets, user behaviour) that could block uptake, and what you will do if they do.
  • Section 2.3 (the summary canvas) is optional on this call; the old split into scientific, economic and societal impact is no longer required.
The scope, as published

Proposals must address only one of the two areas (agriPV or offshore/nearshore PV). They are expected to demonstrate: A comprehensive (system) modelling for an accurate and reliable energy yield assessment with comparable methodologies for biodiversity, plant-yield and quality in the case of agriPV, as well as power generation. Advanced system components and system concepts/architectures of adequate scale that minimise impact on land/sea/environment while maximizing energy output/optimising connection to the grid. Resilience and adaptation of the systems to climate change impacts (extreme events, or in the case of agriPV, changing agricultural practices and/or crops choices, etc.). Standardisation for module and structure design for these applications. Permitting process definition. System demonstrators of adequate scale (min 5 MW altogether) at different EU climate/sea zones. Achieving societal acceptance and sustainability in agriPV development requires clarity in permitting procedures, promoting energy justice principles, mitigating agronomic risks, and balancing economic development with environmental conservation (notably biodiversity). These dimensions need to be addressed holistically with the involvement of policymakers, industry stakeholders, and local communities working towards a just and equitable deployment of agriPV. In the case of offshore/nearshore PV, aesthetic appreciation, as well as possible conflicts of interest related to water areas (with e.g., commercial shipping, fishing, sand extraction, military use, and recreational sailing) or colocation should be looked at. Whenever the expected exploitation of project results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or creating and providing a service, the plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results must include a strategy for such exploitation as well as a strong business case and sound exploitation strategy. The exploitation plan should include preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan) indicating the possible funding sources to be potentially used (in particular the Innovation Fund). This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

Technology readiness, as published

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.

Other topics in HORIZON-CL5-2026-11

Source and attribution

Topic text from the official topic page on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, retrieved 19 October 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU (CC BY 4.0). Changes: the expected outcomes and impacts are split into numbered statements, long passages are shortened, and the evaluator checklist is GrantWise's own commentary. Your call and the Work Programme always win; check them before you submit. GrantWise is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the European Commission.