HORIZON-CL5-2027-07-D3-25

Advanced TSO control rooms to enhance grid observability, stability and resilience

Status
forthcoming
Programme
Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
Action type
HORIZON Innovation Actions
Opens
4 Aug 2027
Deadline
1 Dec 2027
Fetched
15 Jul 2026, 07:18 UTC
Plain-language summary

Innovate TSO control rooms with advanced digital solutions to enhance grid observability, stability, and resilience across EU pilots.

This call funds projects to develop and test new technologies and processes for Transmission System Operator (TSO) control rooms. The goal is to improve grid monitoring, forecasting, and management, including better handling of congestion and renewables integration. Projects must demonstrate solutions in at least two EU or Associated countries and involve multiple TSOs and research organizations.

Likely relevant for

  • Transmission System Operators (TSOs)
  • Energy system digitalization experts
  • Grid technology developers
  • Research organizations in energy systems
  • Technology suppliers for control rooms
  • Distribution System Operators (DSOs)

Project signals

Focus on grid congestion managementDevelopment of interoperable control room solutionsUse of Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS)Demonstrations in multiple EU Member States or Associated CountriesContribution to BRIDGE initiative

What it funds

  • Design and test innovative hardware and software solutions for TSO control rooms
  • Enhance grid observability and operator support with automation and decision tools
  • Integrate Wide Area Monitoring Systems for large-scale real-time control
  • Improve grid congestion management and renewable integration
  • Advance forecasting of energy supply, demand, and flexibility
  • Develop interoperability between TSOs and with DSOs
  • Leverage digital twins, AI, and open-source software
  • Ensure cybersecurity and propose best practices for TSO control rooms
  • Demonstrate solutions in at least two pilots in different EU or Associated countries

Expected outcomes

  • Enhanced reliability, resilience, and efficiency of electricity transmission grids
  • Improved grid observability and forecasting capabilities
  • Modern digital solutions adopted by TSOs for grid management
  • Vendor-agnostic reference architectures and tools for TSO control rooms
  • Better coordination between TSOs and DSOs
  • Contribution to the BRIDGE initiative and knowledge sharing

Who can apply / participate

  • Transmission System Operators (TSOs)
  • Universities and research organizations
  • Technology suppliers for TSO control rooms
  • Distribution System Operators (DSOs)
  • Consortium must include at least two TSOs and two universities/research organizations
  • Collaboration encouraged with technology suppliers, DSOs, and related projects
  • At least two pilots in different EU Member States or Associated Countries required
  • Projects must demonstrate in at least two different EU Member States or Associated Countries
  • Entities controlled by China or legal entities established in China are not eligible
  • Participants must comply with Horizon Europe eligibility rules and restrictions
  • Specific funding rates and maximum budget per participant
  • Exact consortium size limits

Must check before shortlisting

  • Eligibility of participant countries and entities
  • Capacity to form required consortium with TSOs and research organizations
  • Ability to meet TRL 6-8 demonstration requirements
  • Compliance with security-by-design and cyber protection needs

Money

Total budget allocated for this call is approximately EUR 28.5 million for 2027, with expected grants of around EUR 9.5 million each for up to 3 projects.

  • Total budget for 2027 — 28500000EUR
    Allocated for up to 3 grants
  • Minimum and maximum contribution per grant — 9500000EUR
    Per project grant amount

Application notes

  • Single-stage submission procedure with deadline on 1 December 2027.
  • Proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes
  • Eligible countries as per Horizon Europe Annex B
  • Restrictions on entities controlled by China
  • Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data if applicable
  • Financial and operational capacity requirements
  • Evaluation criteria and award process detailed in Horizon Europe Annexes
  • Prepare proposal according to Horizon Europe guidelines
  • Form consortium including required TSOs and research organizations
  • Demonstrate capacity for pilot projects in multiple countries
  • Submit proposal by deadline via Funding & Tenders Portal
  • Check eligibility of all participants carefully
  • Ensure compliance with security and data protection requirements
  • Confirm ability to reach TRL 6-8 by project end

Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 15:43 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.

Related calls

These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.

Official source text

Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.

Topic description

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: Enhanced reliability, resilience, and efficiency of electricity transmission grids. Grid congestion is managed efficiently; Enhanced observability of grids and improved forecasting of supply, demand, grid capacity availability, and flexibility; Transmission system operators (TSO) leverage modern digital solutions and employ improved systems to effectively manage their grids and improve interoperability with other TSOs; Vendor-agnostic reference architectures, solutions and tools are developed to help advancing the TSO control room design and operation. Scope: Projects are expected to address all the following items: Design and test innovative solutions, technologies and processes for advancing the way the TSO control rooms are designed and operated, increasing observability and entailing enhanced support for the operators, providing more automation and enhanced support for decision, faster response times and less room for error. The solutions are expected to incorporate both hardware and software aspects; Analyse and include, as far as possible, solutions for Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS) to extend the real-time monitoring and control capabilities over large areas, while coping with the decentralisation and increased complexity of the system; The novel solutions are expected to help the operators to manage better grid congestion and incorporate more renewables while reducing curtailment. The solutions will facilitate data-driven grid operations, capitalising on real-time analytics and data from smart assets. The solutions may include preparation, recovery and/or restoration from incidents (including extreme weather events); Help the grid operators to update their operational tools in light of the deep transformation of the grids, notably the distributed nature of generation. May include the option to de-centralise the control for increasing the resilience of decision-making; Advance forecasting solutions for energy supply, demand and flexibility made available to the system operator, need for ancillary services, as well as for grid hosting capacity; provide advanced analytics and visualisations; Develop interoperability between the control rooms of different TSOs (and using different vendor solutions) to secure seamless data exchanges and coordination. Develop interoperability between the TSO control rooms and other entities connected to the transmission grids, including the adjacent DSOs. Leverage modern solutions, notably digital twins and artificial intelligence. Use security-by-design and advanced protection mechanisms against cyber threats. Use and/or develop, to the greatest extent possible, open-source software solutions and or software modules; Develop a manual and propose best practices on this matter to be used by other TSOs (including operation instructions). Identify remaining gaps and further needs for research and development. The demonstration, test and validation of the activities should be carried out in at least two pilots in different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Projects are expected to include at least two electricity Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and at least two universities and/or research organisations. Additionally, collaboration is encouraged with the following entities and projects: at least one supplier of technology and solutions for TSO control rooms; at least two distribution system operators, which manage grids that are connected to the grids operated by any of the TSOs that are partners in the project; (at least) one project funded under the separate call ‘Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADSM) for more efficient and flexible distribution grids’ with the view to strengthen TSO-DSO coordination and support interoperable solutions. To that end, the project proposals are expected to describe a credible mechanism to do so. This collaboration (minimum number of entities) is sought per project in total and does not necessarily apply per each pilot in particular. Selected projects are expected to contribute to the BRIDGE initiative [1] and actively participate in its activities. null Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL. [1] https://bridge-smart-grid-storage-systems-digital-projects.ec.europa.eu/

Destination

This Destination includes activities targeting a sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply. In line with the scope of cluster 5, this includes activities in the areas of renewable energy; energy system, grids and storage; as well as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). This Destination contributes directly to the Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations ‘ Green transition ’, ‘ Digital transition ’ and ‘ A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe ’. In line with the Strategic Plan, the overall expected impact of this Destination is to contribute to the ‘Ensuring more sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply through solutions for smart energy systems based on renewable energy solutions’ . This destination contributes to the activities of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and its implementation working groups. The main impacts to be generated by topics under this Destination are: Renewable energy 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. 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 [1] . 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. 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. 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. 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. Energy systems, grids and storage 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. 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 also enable a better EU resilience to climate risks. 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. Carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) 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. Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this destination. For additional information please see “Restrictions on the participation of legal entities established in China” found in General Annex B of the General Annexes. [1] For an example of a methodology for the assessment of sustainability, circularity and contribution to EU resilience and technological autonomy of clean energy technology in the R&I pipeline, please see Study on circular approaches for a sustainable and affordable clean energy transition

Conditions and documents

General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions

If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

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 participate in the action.

Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion

described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes

are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement

described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

Support information

Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant. Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe. Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management. Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’). Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers. Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.

Raw budget overview
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