Horizon 2020

• Energy and Natural Resources
• Enterprise and Industry
• Research, Innovation and Technology

Horizon 2020 aims at securing Europe's global competitiveness, strengthening its position in science and its industrial leadership in innovation by providing major investment in key technologies, greater access to capital and support for SMEs.The programme aims at tackling societal challenges by helping to bridge the gap between research and the market. Excellent Science objective:

The program aims at raising the level of excellence in Europe's science base and ensuring a steady stream of world-class research to secure Europe's long-term competitiveness.

It supports the best ideas and the best talents by providing training and career development opportunities, developing future and emerging technologies and EU research infrastructures. Industrial leadership objective:

To make Europe a more attractive location to invest in research and innovation by supporting major investments in key industrial technologies, by facilitating access to risk finance for innovative companies and projects, and providing Union wide support for innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Societal challenges objective:

The program addresses major concerns shared by citizens in Europe and elsewhere and covers activities from research to market with a new focus on innovation-related activities, such as piloting, demonstration, test-beds, and support for public procurement and market uptake.

Non-nuclear direct actions of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) objective:

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the in-house science service of the European Commission.

Its mission is to provide scientific and technical support to EU policy making, thus operating at the interface between research and EU policy and to complement other Horizon 2020 funded research. It provides input throughout the whole policy cycle from conception to implementation and evaluation.

The primary aim of Horizon 2020 is to strengthen the EU's position as a world leader in science, in order to help make Europe a more attractive location for investing in research and innovation and to bring excellent research results to market, with direct benefits for citizens, such as affordable health-care and transition to a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy.

Excellent Science specific objective:

• Strengthening frontier research, through the activities of the European Research Council (ERC);
• Strengthening research in Future and Emerging Technologies;
• Strengthening skills, training and career development, through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (“Marie Curie actions”);
• Strengthening European research infrastructures, including e-infrastructures.

Industrial leadership specific objective:

• Boosting job creation;
• Support innovation, increase market uptake;
• Simulate private investment in R&I;
• Strengthen participation of innovative SMEs.

The Program is accessible to:

• 27 EU Member States;
• Acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation;
• Third countries that fulfil these criteria:

- Have a good capacity in science, technology and innovation;

- Have a good track record of participation in Union research and innovation programmes;

- Have close economic and geographical links to the Union.

Horizon 2020 groups the countries as:

• Industrialised and emerging economies;
• Enlargement and neighbouring countries;
• Developing countries.

Excellent Science supported actions:

• European Research Council (ERC) provides substantial grants to top-level individual researchers working in Europe;
• Future and emerging technologies (FET) opens up new fields of research and innovation;
• Marie Curie Actions develops research and innovation skills through the training, mobility and career development of researchers;
• Funding is also available for supporting access to, and networking of priority research infrastructures across Europe.

Industrial leadership supported actions:

• Development of industrial capabilities in Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) which include:

- ICT - Nanotechnologies

- Advanced materials - Biotechnology

- Advanced manufacturing and processing

- Space;

• Access to risk finance (Debt facility, Equity facility and Specific implementation aspects);
• Innovation in SMEs (Mainstreaming SME support and Specific support).

Societal challenges supported actions:

• Health, demographic change and wellbeing;
• Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research, and the bio-economy;
• Secure, clean and efficient energy;
• Smart, green and integrated transport;
• Inclusive, innovative and secure societies;
• Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials.

For research and development projects the share of the EU contribution can be up to 100% of the total eligible costs. 

For innovation projects up to 70% of the costs, with the exception of non-profit legal entities which can also receive up to 100% in these actions.
In all cases indirect costs will be covered by a flat rate of 25% of the direct costs.