New EU Grants and Tenders for September 2025 - Environmental, Quantum, Cybersecurity, Construction, Transport, and more

Since it has already been nearly a month since I last wrote about new funding opportunity additions to the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, here is the latest batch of entries for September 2025.

If you want to know more, check out Subsdy which is a grant discovery tool that can help you find your next EU grant or tender!

ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE

Restoration of ecosystem functioning, integrity and connectivity (BiodivConnect)

€40,000,000 massive grant program supporting transnational research consortia for ecosystem restoration across terrestrial, marine, coastal, and freshwater realms, requiring partnerships from at least 3 countries. This represents one of the largest biodiversity research opportunities in the EU, targeting research institutions, universities, and environmental organizations with expertise in ecosystem restoration.

Water4All 2025 Joint Transnational Call "Water and health"

€23,800,000 grant program focusing on waterborne contaminants, health risks, and sustainable water treatment technologies across 31 countries. This comprehensive initiative supports research and innovation projects addressing critical water quality challenges, targeting consortia with expertise in water treatment, public health, and environmental science.

European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA2)

€2,000,000 tender for conducting essential elements of climate risk assessment including data collection, stakeholder engagement, and report writing across EU member states. This framework service contract targets research organizations and consultancies with expertise in climate science, risk assessment, and policy analysis to support EU climate adaptation strategies.

Database, monitoring and research on Renewable Energy Auctions

€1,600,000 tender creating a free online database for renewable energy auctions data and providing empirical analysis of auction design features across the EU. This opportunity targets energy research organizations and data analytics companies with expertise in renewable energy markets and auction mechanisms.

FERRO Open Call for Associated Regions

€300,000 grant initiative supporting the restoration of European lakes through innovative approaches related to nutrient removal, recovery, and reuse. This Horizon Europe program targets regional authorities, research institutions, universities, and SMEs involved in lake restoration and water quality management.

QUANTUM & HEALTHCARE

QuantERA Call 2025 for Transnational Research Proposals supporting the topics of Quantum Phenomena and Resources and Applied Quantum Science

€53,000,000 massive grant program for transnational research proposals in quantum technologies, focusing on Quantum Phenomena and Resources and Applied Quantum Science. This represents the largest quantum research opportunity in the EU, targeting international consortia with individual grants up to €1 million per legal entity.

Funding for SMEs and start-ups investing in innovation in the biofertilizers and biostimulants sector

€1,800,000 grant program supporting SMEs and start-ups in agricultural technology, focusing on biofertilizers and biostimulants innovation across Portugal, Italy, Spain, and French overseas territories. This initiative offers funding from €5,500 to €120,000 across two strands targeting agricultural technology companies and research organizations.

CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT & SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

AMALTEA 1st Open Call - Call for SMEs & Start-ups: Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Construction

€1,500,000 grant program supporting SMEs and start-ups developing innovative solutions for sustainable construction, particularly in facade technology. This Horizon Europe initiative offers funding from €50,000 to €200,000 for software and hardware solutions, targeting construction technology companies and sustainable building innovators.

Empowering Truck Drivers – Revolutionizing European Logistics

€600,000 grant program developing a user-friendly mobile application for truck drivers to access reliable information and community-driven feedback on routes. This initiative targets transport technology companies and logistics service providers capable of developing mobile applications and digital platforms for the transport sector.

DIGITAL, SECURITY POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Building a trustworthy social media sphere: countering disinformation on social media for young Europeans

€5,985,000 grant program targeting young people aged 15-30 to enhance media and digital literacy while addressing disinformation challenges. This comprehensive initiative targets organizations with expertise in digital literacy, media education, and youth engagement programs.

Cyber Resilience Boost: Supporting capacity building for cyber resilience of products

€320,000 grant program enhancing cyber resilience capabilities in line with the Cyber Resilience Act requirements, offering up to €100,000 per project for SMEs, conformity assessment bodies, and accreditation bodies. This initiative supports the establishment of professional infrastructure and practical tools to help organizations comply with emerging cybersecurity regulations.

Resilmesh Open Call 2

€360,000 grant opportunity advancing cyber resilience technologies for complex digital systems, focusing on threat monitoring, intrusion detection, and response in dispersed cyber systems. This Horizon Europe program targets startups, SMEs, and technology companies with Technology Readiness Level 7-8, supporting the development of next-generation cybersecurity solutions.

OTHER

Open Call for Partnership: Strategic Topic Groups 2025

€480,000 grant program supporting EIT Culture & Creativity partnership projects across eight strategic areas in culture and creativity sectors. This initiative targets creative industries, cultural organizations, and innovation hubs with expertise in cultural entrepreneurship and creative technology.

Stakeholders Support Platform

€4,000,000 tender for development and enhancement of Transition Pathways Stakeholder Support Platform to support industrial ecosystems in green and digital transitions. This opportunity targets digital platform developers and industrial transformation consultancies with expertise in stakeholder engagement and digital ecosystems.

EIC Accelerator News

Following my previous newsletters about updates to the EIC Accelerator, here are the latest leaked challenges that will have dedicated funding allocations for the EIC Accelerator in 2026:

• Advanced Materials for Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Systems
• Alternative Concepts and Key Enabling Technologies for Fusion Power Plants
• Biotechnology for Regenerating Agricultural Soils
• Boosting the European Critical Raw Materials Value Chain
• Deep Tech for Climate Adaptation

Get Support

Need help with the EIC Accelerator? Here are some options:

• Starter Pack (lowest-risk entry with AI writer): The Starter Pack contains all the templates you will need and detailed instructional modules in video and text form. This is a very comprehensive package that will tell you everything you need to know based on previously successful applications. This includes free credits for ChatEIC, the EIC Accelerator AI writer. Learn more (Starter Pack).
• Advisory (personalized support): You write in-house but receive personal 1-on-1 support from me, templates, instructions, and reviews of all documents. Personal strategy calls and reviews to perfect every section. This also includes an AI tool for Step 1 as well as guidance on using AI for the proposal writing. Strategy calls cover the specific templates as well as the EIC criteria and use of AI tools. Pitch coaching for the interviews and support for all resubmissions are included as well. Learn more (Rasph).
• Writing (complete end-to-end service): All proposal sections are written for you and submitted on your behalf with minimum input from your side. Pitch coaching for the interviews and support for all resubmissions are included as well. Learn more (Segler Consulting).
• Review (personal review): Get a personal review of your grant proposal with detailed comments. Learn more (Segler Consulting).

Other resources:

• Subsdy: Looking for the perfect grant opportunity in the EU? There are about 1,000 active grants and tenders (usually multiple added a day!), so feel free to try out Subsdy, the AI tool for grant discovery.
• Find the newest Grant Updates here: Subsdy News
• Sharing: Recommend this newsletter to a friend: Newsletter

These tips are not only useful for European startups, professional writers, consultants and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) but are generally recommended when writing a business plan or investor documents.

Deadlines: Post-Horizon 2020, the EIC Accelerator accepts Step 1 submissions now while the deadlines for the full applications (Step 2) under Horizon Europe are listed below. The Step 1 applications must be submitted weeks in advance of Step 2. The next EIC Accelerator cut-off for Step 2 (full proposal) can be found here. After Brexit, UK companies can still apply to the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe albeit with non-dilutive grant applications only - thereby excluding equity-financing. Switzerland has resumed its participation in Horizon Europe and is now eligible for the EIC Accelerator.

Contact: You can reach out to us via this contact form to work with a professional consultant.

AI Grant Writer: ChatEIC is a fully automated EIC Accelerator grant proposal writer: Get it here.

Eureka Network: The Eureka Network delivers various international collaborative R&D initiatives such as Network Projects, Clusters, Eurostars, Globalstars, and Innowwide, providing funding from €50K to €6.75M per project based on the specific initiative. This network emphasizes market-driven innovation and deep-tech advancement across multiple technology sectors including ICT/Digital, Industrial/Manufacturing, Bio/Medical Technologies, Energy/Environment, Quantum, AI, and Circular Economy. Eligible participants include SMEs, large enterprises, research organizations, universities, and startups, with Eurostars particularly focused on R&D-performing SMEs. Get Started

EIC Transition: EIC Transition delivers up to €2.5 million in funding to overcome the 'valley of death' gap between laboratory research and market deployment, emphasizing technology maturation and validation. The initiative supports single legal entities or small consortia of 2-5 partners including SMEs, start-ups, spin-offs, and research organizations. Key technology domains include Health/Medical Technologies, Green/Environmental Innovation, Digital/Microelectronics, Quantum Technologies, and AI/Robotics. Get Started

EIC STEP Scale-Up: EIC STEP Scale-Up delivers significant equity investments of €10-30 million for established deep-tech companies prepared for hyper-growth and large-scale expansion. The initiative targets SMEs or small mid-caps with up to 499 employees who have obtained pre-commitment from qualified investors. Primary focus areas include Digital & Deep Tech (Semiconductors, AI, Quantum), Clean Technologies for Net-Zero objectives, and Biotechnologies. Get Started

EIC Pre-Accelerator: EIC Pre-Accelerator represents a pilot initiative delivering €300,000-€500,000 in funding for early-stage deep-tech development and preparation for the EIC Accelerator program. This program is exclusively accessible to single SMEs or small mid-caps from 'Widening countries' to foster regional innovation development. The initiative encompasses deep-tech innovations across physical, biological, and digital domains. Get Started

EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges: EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges represents a new pilot initiative delivering €300,000 (Stage 1) and up to €2.5 million (Stage 2) for breakthrough deep-tech innovations through ARPA-style staged funding mechanisms with integrated demand-side engagement. This initiative targets single entities or small consortia (2-3 partners) including SMEs, start-ups, and research organizations. Primary focus areas include Physical AI for autonomous robotics applications and New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for animal-free biomedical testing, with TRL 4 entry requirements and demonstrated end-user commitment. Get Started

EIC Pathfinder: EIC Pathfinder delivers up to €3 million for Open calls and up to €4 million for Challenge-based calls to support early-stage research and development with proof-of-principle validation. The initiative requires research consortia with a minimum of 3 partners from 3 different countries, including universities, research organizations, and SMEs. Primary technology focus areas include Health/Medical, Quantum Technologies, AI, Environmental/Energy, and Advanced Materials. Get Started

EIC Accelerator: EIC Accelerator delivers flexible funding options including blended finance (€2.5M grant + €0.5M-€10M equity), grant-only (up to €2.5M), or equity-only arrangements for scale-up and market deployment of breakthrough innovations. The initiative targets SMEs, start-ups, and small mid-caps with up to 499 employees, with MedTech/Healthcare representing 35% of funded projects. Additional technology areas include Biopharma, Energy, AI, Quantum, Aerospace, Advanced Materials, and Semiconductors. Get Started

Innovation Partnership: Innovation Partnership enables collaborative innovation between public and private sectors with typical funding of €1-5 million per project. The initiative supports cross-sectoral strategic technologies through public-private partnerships and consortia. Projects concentrate on addressing societal challenges through collaborative innovation approaches. Get Started

Innovation Fund: The EU Innovation Fund delivers substantial funding of €7.5 million to €300 million for large-scale demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. The initiative targets clean energy, carbon capture, renewable energy, and energy storage technologies to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Eligible participants include large companies, consortia, and public entities capable of implementing large-scale demonstration projects. Get Started

Innovate UK: Innovate UK delivers various programs with funding ranging from £25K to £10M depending on the specific initiative, supporting business-led innovation, collaborative R&D, and knowledge transfer. The organization funds projects across all sectors with particular emphasis on emerging technologies and supports UK-based businesses, research organizations, and universities. Programs are designed to drive economic growth through innovation and technology commercialization. Get Started

Industrial Partnership: Industrial Partnership delivers €2-10 million in funding for industrial research and innovation partnerships focusing on manufacturing, industrial technologies, and digital transformation. The initiative supports industrial consortia and research organizations in developing collaborative solutions for industrial challenges. Projects aim to strengthen European industrial competitiveness through strategic partnerships. Get Started

Eurostars: Eurostars represents a joint EU-Eureka initiative delivering €50K-€500K for international R&D collaboration specifically led by SMEs. The program adopts a bottom-up approach, accepting projects from all technology fields without predefined thematic restrictions. R&D-performing SMEs must lead the consortium and demonstrate significant R&D activities. Get Started

LIFE Programme: The LIFE Programme delivers €1-10 million in funding for environmental protection, climate action, and nature conservation projects across the European Union. The initiative supports environmental technologies, climate adaptation strategies, and biodiversity conservation initiatives. Eligible participants include public authorities, private companies, NGOs, and research institutions working on environmental and climate challenges. Get Started

Neotec: Neotec represents a Spanish initiative delivering €250K-€1M in funding for technology-based business creation and development, supporting the growth of innovative Spanish SMEs and start-ups. The program covers all technology sectors and aims to strengthen Spain's technology ecosystem. Funding is specifically targeted at Spanish technology-based SMEs and start-ups to enhance their competitiveness and market presence. Get Started

Thematic Priorities: EU Thematic Priorities encompass various programs aligned with EU strategic priorities including green transition, digital transformation, health, and security initiatives. Funding amounts vary based on the specific program and call requirements, with projects designed to address key European challenges. Applicant eligibility varies by specific program and call, with different requirements for different thematic areas. Get Started

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