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Innovative microgrids for improved energy system integration and efficiency in urban contexts

HORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-01 — 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 7 October 2027around EUR 7 million per project

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TopicHORIZON-MISS-2027-04-CIT-01
StatusForthcoming
CallHORIZON-MISS-2027-04 — Supporting the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission
Type of actionInnovation Actions · lump sum
Opening9 February 2027
Deadline7 October 2027
Budgetaround EUR 7 million per project · 3 projects expected · EUR 20 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 should contribute to all of the expected outcomes. The topic says: “Projects are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:”

  1. EO1 Improved awareness of the potential of Low Voltage Direct Current (LVDC) microgrids to support the goals of the European Green Deal and the Clean Industrial Deal, including as defined under the SET Plan and the Solar Strategy.
  2. EO2 Increased acceptance of LVDC microgrids in Europe, with significant and measurable contributions to human and building safety (notably with respect to DC faults), energy and resource efficiency, integration of renewables & storage and demand response, peak power shaving, resilience, and (where applicable) established proof of concept on how LVDC microgrids can enable energy communities to share energy assets and increase self-consumption of local renewables sources.
  3. EO3 Increased uptake in European cities, facilitated by technical guidelines for installation of LVDC microgrids and recommendations on regulatory alignment to European, national, regional and local authorities, as well as power distribution operators.
  4. EO4 Increased number of regulatory options and standards supporting EU industry leadership in the supply of LVDC solutions, in line with the Competitiveness Compass guidelines for fostering innovation and growth.

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

  • Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes.
  • For each outcome (EO1 to EO4), 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.

  • “In order to reach this goal, proposals are expected to address all of the following aspects:.”
  • “The proposal must already include a review of the local regulatory framework(s) and grid codes and a demonstration that the real-life implementation(s) of the LVDC microgrid will be possible in the local context(s) (possibly through pre-agreed regulatory relaxation or ‘innovation sandbox’).”
  • “Beyond the real demonstration(s), the installation of LVDC microgrid must be demonstrated virtually in other types of buildings, including at least one building under renovation, in the environment of different cities and countries, including at least one vulnerable urban area if possible, by numerical simulation using digital twins, with the objective of assessing the regulatory feasibility and life-cycle costs/benefits (detailed in the first…”
  • “The total number of real and virtual demonstrations must be at least 3.”
  • “This topic requires contributions from social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts and institutions.”
  • “Their contributions should enhance the societal relevance and impact of proposed activities from planning to implementation and especially related to the last two bullets.”
  • “Proposals should build on previous projects, notably Horizon Europe project Shift2DC, as well as HYPERRIDE, TIGON, HYNET and THEUS.”
  • “The collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform must be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded as soon as possible after the project starting date.”
  • “Proposals should ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing clustering activities and cooperation with the Cities Mission Platform are included in the work-plan.”

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.
  • Other Eligible Conditions: “The following additional eligibility criteria apply: At least three cities, represented by a local authority or by an entity with an explicit consent from the local authority, each from a different Member State or Associated Country, must participate as beneficiaries. At least one of the three cities must be one of…”
  • 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…”
  • Legal and financial set-up of the grants: “Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following action(s): HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03”
  • Legal and financial set-up of the grants: “Collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform[[Set up by Horizon 2020 project NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities' transition to net zero emissions by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519, and scaled up through topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the Climate-Neutral and Smart…”

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.
  • The topic expects cooperation with other projects or initiatives. Reserve effort and budget for it in the work plan.
  • Life-cycle or safe-and-sustainable-by-design assessment is expected. Name the method and where in the work plan it runs.
  • Policy or regulation is in scope. Name the policy owners you will reach and what you will give them.
  • Keep outputs, outcomes and impacts apart: what you deliver, what changes when others use it, and the long-term effect.
  • Link your outcomes to the destination's expected impacts in the Work Programme. 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

Most electric appliances in buildings are based on Direct Current (DC): PV panels, stationary and e-vehicle batteries, LED lighting, IT equipment, heat pumps and other appliances. Their connection to a LVDC microgrid inside the building would significantly improve energy and materials efficiency (replacing AC/DC converters by simpler DC/DC converters) and optimise local electrical and/or thermal energy storage and self-consumption of local renewables, contribute to (AC) grids stability through demand response and ancillary services (incl. reactive power support), and increase resilience by enabling islanded operation. The required power capacity of the connection of the LVDC microgrid to the AC (Alternating Current) distribution grid via a central AC/DC converter would be significantly lower than a traditional AC installation, thereby reducing pressure on city grid. The LVDC microgrid could also be implemented at small neighbourhood level (e.g. a street), possibly in parallel to an existing AC grid, enabling more efficient and easier sharing of common energy assets and self-consumption in an energy community. In order to reach this goal, proposals are expected to address all of the following aspects: Develop innovative, safe and sustainable LVDC microgrids design methods and tools, ensuring notably grid monitoring, control and safe handling of DC faults at affordable cost; develop methodologies and assess the life-cycle costs/benefits of LVDC microgrids (compared to traditional AC installations), for the application itself and the overall energy system (including the impacts on the AC distribution grid, for example, due to the injection of harmonics, or contribution to grid stability through ancillary services and demand response over the current and next day), from technical, environmental, economic and social aspects (notably on vulnerable consumers energy bill). Demonstrate in real life an LVDC microgrid, connecting all electrical applications in at least one residential, office or commercial building, or in one neighbourhood. The proposal must already include a review of the local regulatory framework(s) and grid codes and a demonstration that the real-life implementation(s) of the LVDC microgrid will be possible in the local context(s) (possibly through pre-agreed regulatory relaxation or ‘innovation sandbox’). Beyond the real demonstration(s), the installation of LVDC microgrid must be demonstrated virtually in other types of buildings, including at least one building under renovation, in the environment of different cities and countries, including at least one vulnerable urban area if possible, by numerical simulation using digital twins, with the objective of assessing the regulatory feasibility and life-cycle costs/benefits (detailed in the first bullet) in these different environments. The total number of real and virtual demonstrations must be at least 3. Identify regulatory barriers at European, national and distribution system operator levels, and make suggestions to resolve them. Contribute to standardization (CEN-CENELEC, IEC), notably contributing use cases. Develop LVDC solutions awareness, education and training materials (respectively for public authorities and general public, for students, for urban planners, project developers and installers), in collaboration with local academia and research partners. Disseminate project results, engage all relevant stakeholders along the value chain, including residents, users, industry, and researchers, from the planning phase; organise at least one open workshop coupled with site visits. This topic requires contributions from social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts and institutions. Their contributions should enhance the societal relevance and impact of proposed activities from planning to implementation and especially related to the last two bullets. The projects under this topic shall be open to cooperate with each other on relevant tasks such as joint workshops and dissemination events and joint policy briefs and contribution to standardisation process, to maximise the collective impact. Proposals should build on previous projects, notably Horizon Europe project Shift2DC, as well as HYPERRIDE, TIGON, HYNET and THEUS. Collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform is essential. The collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform must be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded as soon as possible after the project starting date. Under the guidance of the Cities Mission Platform, the selected projects will engage in clustering activities with other relevant projects supported under the Cities Mission, such as the ones on PED digital twins, to promote synergies and complementarities. Proposals should ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing clustering activities and cooperation with the Cities Mission Platform are included in the work-plan.

Technology readiness, as published

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. SET Plan LVDC Implementation Plan (europa.eu) COM(2022) 221 final, p14, The European Commission communication on the EU Solar Energy Strategy recognises that increasing the use of DC technologies could be beneficial to the electricity system: as renewable power from solar is produced in Direct Current…

Other topics in HORIZON-MISS-2027-04

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.