Horizon Europe Explained: Opportunities for Engineering Biology
Horizon Europe is the European Union’s flagship research and innovation platform. It provides funding for research, innovation, infrastructure, training and research culture activities. Most Horizon-funded projects include collaborations across multiple European countries, and aim to tackle global challenges. UK-based researchers are now eligible to apply for Horizon Europe funding. The new 2025 work programme was published in May, and includes a range of opportunities relevant to Engineering Biology and the bioeconomy. Below, we’ve provided a quick summary about the funding programme and a list of relevant funding calls.
What type of funding does Horizon Europe provide?
Horizon Europe funding is split across three pillars.
The three pillars of Horizon Europe. From Expanding Horizons (UKRI).
The first pillar aims to promote excellence in European science. It does this through three programmes:
- Providing research funding through the European Research Council (ERC)
- Providing training and mobility opportunities through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCAs)
- Providing infrastructure support through the Research Infrastructures programme
The second pillar provides direct funding to address global challenges. These are organised into six priority areas, or ‘clusters’:
- Cluster 1: Health
- Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
- Cluster 3: Civil Security for Society
- Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space
- Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility
- Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
It also includes several other programmes, including the ‘New European Bauhaus’ and ‘EU Missions’.
The six clusters of pillar two of Horizon Europe. From Expanding Horizons (UKRI).
The third pillar supports innovation through the European Innovation Council (EIC), European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) and European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
Finally it supports two cross-cutting themes of ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ and ‘Reforming and Enhancing the European R&I system’.
A more detailed summary of the programme can be found in the UKRI’s Expanding Horizons document.
Open Funding Calls
In May the new 2025 work programme was published. This included a wide range of funding calls across the six clusters, missions, and other areas. Below we have highlighted some of the most relevant funding calls for the Engineering Biology community.