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

Thermal energy optimisation and waste heat recovery of high energy demand IT rooms in buildings or small edge data centres

HORIZON-CL5-2027-05-D4-06 — the expected outcomes as checkable statements, what evaluators look for in this topic, and the conditions that shape the proposal.

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ForthcomingIA · lump sumDeadline 15 September 2027around EUR 5.25 million per project

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TopicHORIZON-CL5-2027-05-D4-06
StatusForthcoming
CallHORIZON-CL5-2027-05 — BATTERIES and ENERGY
DestinationUsing energy in buildings and industry in an efficient, affordable and sustainable way (2026-27)
Type of actionInnovation Actions · lump sum
Opening5 May 2027
Deadline15 September 2027
Budgetaround EUR 5.25 million per project · 3 projects expected · EUR 15.75 million in total
TRL at the endTRL 6–7
Part B page limit45 pages (standard application form; check your call)
TemplateWork Programme 2026–2027 application form

Expected outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes. The topic says: “Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:”

  1. EO1 Improved open access to performance data, sharing of best-practices and useful knowledge and information for owners and operators of IT infrastructure, as well as the IT and building sectors.
  2. EO2 New designs of IT rooms in buildings or small edge data centres valorise waste heat through thermal management techniques, processes and tools.

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 The energy performance of the European building stock is improved at an accelerated pace, contributing to the EU's energy security, while the buildings and the built environment have reduced climate and environmental impact throughout their life cycle.
  2. EI2 The energy renovation and construction of buildings are cost-efficient, affordable and less disruptive.
  3. EI3 The buildings are increasingly interacting with the users, energy system and their environment while operating in an integrated, resilient, secure, smart and flexible manner.
  4. EI4 The buildings and the built environment are more climate resilient, accessible, inclusive and delivers multiple benefits which improve the quality of life, health and well-being for all users.
  5. EI5 The energy efficiency of EU energy intensive industries is improved, their consumption of fossil fuel and their GHG and other pollutants emissions are drastically reduced, notably through cost-effective electrification, use of renewable energy, heat recovery, thereby preserving / enhancing their global competitiveness.

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

  • Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes.
  • For each outcome (EO1 to EO2), 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.

  • “The growing energy needs of the ICT sector must be met while aligning with climate neutrality and sustainability goals.”
  • “Moreover, this is expected to change dramatically by 2030, as the overall energy consumption of ICT technologies is expected to increase by 50% over this decade.”
  • “Proposals should address all of the following:.”
  • “Demonstrators should be located in both cold and warm climate Member State or Associated Country to tackle climate specific challenges of thermal management of waste heat.”
  • “Projects funded under this topic are encouraged to build synergies and leverage their outcomes with funded projects from Cluster 4 HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-09: Energy efficiency and sustainability of AI data processing in Data Centres (IA) demonstration pilots.”

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 6–7 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.
  • 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…”

Impact pathway and traps

  • The scope expects pilots or demonstration. Name the sites, the partners who run them and what is measured there.
  • Open science or data practices are named. Make the data management plan concrete: which data, which repository, when.
  • 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

The growing energy needs of the ICT sector must be met while aligning with climate neutrality and sustainability goals. Small IT rooms or small data centres are an essential part of the twin green and digital transition. It is important to address the energy and resources consumption over the full ICT value chain. Solutions already exist, such as re-using waste heat from data centres, or moving towards circular models (longer lifetimes, reparability, reuse and recyclability). Most recent analysis suggests that the energy consumption of consumer devices in 2020 accounted for roughly 50% of the overall energy consumption of ICT technologies, with the two next largest contributors being respectively the production of ICT devices (~20%) and the operation of data centres (~15%). Moreover, this is expected to change dramatically by 2030, as the overall energy consumption of ICT technologies is expected to increase by 50% over this decade. The Commission has set the strategic goal of ensuring that data centres are climate-neutral, energy- and resource efficient by 2030. However, most efforts are directed towards data centres in scope of the Energy Efficiency Directive recast. Proposals should address all of the following: Demonstrate state-of-the-art holistic and cost-effective approaches to thermal management and excess heat recovery (optionally including heat storage and/or upgrade of heat) and re-use in local or nearby site creating effective added value in existing IT rooms in buildings or small edge data centres (in the range of 100-500kW, not covered by Energy Efficiency Directive recast), taking into account thermal envelope/building (by means of simulation or digital twins, among others), integration with building automation and control systems and potential to improve the self-assessment and self-optimisation functionalities at all levels, and integration into existing BMS allowing for further development of energy services. Demonstrators should be located in both cold and warm climate Member State or Associated Country to tackle climate specific challenges of thermal management of waste heat. Develop business cases for state-of-the-art solutions for excess heat recovery & re-use (optionally including heat storage and/or upgrade), for example by re-using excess heat in an existing system in the building (such as heating or water production purposes), or in a local district heating and cooling network, or in any other local or nearby site creating effective added value to the recovered heat. Projects funded under this topic are encouraged to build synergies and leverage their outcomes with funded projects from Cluster 4 HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-09: Energy efficiency and sustainability of AI data processing in Data Centres (IA) demonstration pilots.

Technology readiness, as published

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL. eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52022SC0341

Other topics in HORIZON-CL5-2027-05

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.