Horizon Europe funding: how UK innovators can win in 2026

Horizon Europe funding remains the largest collaborative R&D programme accessible to UK organisations. This guide explains how it works, who is eligible, where to find calls, and practical steps to submit a competitive bid.

Introduction

If you are a UK SME, university or larger enterprise looking to partner across Europe, Horizon Europe funding is still open to you. UK entities can join consortia, access work programmes and benefit from international collaboration, with routes for both early-stage feasibility and late-stage commercialisation. Below is a concise, action-oriented playbook.

Further reading: FI Group’s funding advisers’ guidance

What is Horizon Europe funding?

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s 2021–2027 research and innovation framework. It finances cross-border projects that tackle scientific and industrial challenges, from health and climate to digital and space. UK participants can coordinate or join consortia, subject to the rules of each call.

The broader UK funding backdrop is shifting, with domestic R&D reliefs tightening, more scrutiny, and claims volumes down. That context makes competitive, non-dilutive grants even more valuable as part of a balanced funding strategy.

How it works

1. Scan the Work Programme. Identify your destination and specific call topics in the relevant cluster or pillar, noting budgets, TRLs, and deadlines.
2. Form the consortium. Typical calls require 3+ independent legal entities from different eligible countries. Map competencies, access to users, and test sites early.
3. Define the value proposition. Align objectives with the call text, KPIs and expected outcomes, and agree a realistic workplan with clear owner per work package.
4. Build the impact case. Evidence market size, adoption path, exploitation and IP strategy, and credible routes to scale across Europe.
5. Finalise governance. Confirm data-sharing, risk, ethics, gender and open-science commitments, plus a conflict-free budget split.
6. Write and submit. Follow the portal template to the letter, respect page limits, and run pre-submission checks for ethics, security, and eligibility.
7. Prepare for grant agreement. If successful, answer clarifications, lock work packages, and mobilise partners for Day-1 delivery.

Eligibility at a glance

In one line: Most collaborative calls require a minimum of three independent entities in three eligible countries, with topic-specific rules for TRLs, end-user involvement and ethics.

Typical criteria:

• Legal entities established in eligible countries (EU Member States and associated countries, which include the UK for most calls).
• Consortium breadth that matches the challenge, e.g., industry, academia, end-users, and sometimes public bodies.
• Fit to the topic scope, TRL bands and expected outcomes.
• Ethical compliance, open science/data, and gender dimension where relevant.
• Financial capacity for co-funding where required.

SME vs large enterprise roles (typical patterns)

Funding scope and benefits

• Costs covered: Personnel, subcontracting, equipment depreciation, travel, consumables, and project management, per the call budget model.
• Rates: Most Research & Innovation Actions fund 100% of eligible direct costs plus a flat-rate contribution to indirect costs (check each call).
• What you get beyond cash: Europe-wide credibility, reference customers, regulatory learning, and consortia you can reuse for later calls.

The current UK environment reinforces the logic of blending grants and tax incentives, particularly as domestic R&D reliefs have seen rate changes, a mandatory Additional Information Form, and a marked fall in SME claim volumes, increasing the need for robust governance and documentation.

Market context: why Horizon Europe matters to UK teams

UK claim volumes in national R&D tax reliefs declined in 2023–24 and compliance requirements increased, while larger claims and RDEC-style activity rose in relative weight. Non-dilutive European funding can offset these headwinds, sustain project pipelines and keep teams on the front foot.

Industry advisers have urged UK companies to combine domestic incentives with European grants to maintain momentum, particularly in capital-intensive sectors.

Application process: timeline and assessment

• Where to apply: EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
• Timeline: Topic publication to deadline is typically 3–6 months; evaluations then take several months before grant preparation.
• Evaluation: Excellence, Impact, and Quality & Efficiency of Implementation, with consensus scoring and thresholds per call.
• UK nuances: Budget and in-kind commitments must be defensible. Keep a clean audit trail that would also support UK tax relief claims where appropriate, given HMRC’s focus on documentation and the AIF requirement.

Common CFO challenges and how to mitigate them

• Consortium risk: Use clear background/foreground IP terms and a lean decision model.
• Budget realism: Align effort to milestones. Avoid overstuffed work packages.
• Impact weakness: Treat exploitation, regulatory and market access as first-class work packages, not afterthoughts.
• Audit burden: Mirror grant reporting with your R&D tax evidence approach to avoid duplication later.
• Cash flow: Map pre-financing and interim payments, and plan bridging finance where needed.

Actionable steps for UK bidders (checklist)

• Map calls that fit your TRL and market timing.
• Lock a credible end-user partner early.
• Write the Impact section first, then back-solve Work Packages.
• Run a red-team review against the three evaluation criteria.
• Build a lightweight exploitation board with industry and investor input.

FAQs

1) Can UK companies coordinate Horizon Europe projects?

Yes, subject to the call rules and consortium composition; UK entities can coordinate or join consortia in most topics.

2) What TRL is expected?

It varies by topic. R&I Actions skew lower TRLs; Innovation Actions target demonstration and scale-up.

3) Do we need an end-user?

Often yes. Many evaluators expect letters of intent or participation from users to validate impact.

4) How competitive is it?

Calls are oversubscribed. Success correlates with strong impact, exploitation, and partner fit, not just technical novelty.

5) Can we combine Horizon Europe with UK R&D tax reliefs?

Yes, but manage interactions carefully to avoid double funding of the same cost item. Maintain rigorous records, which also help under HMRC’s tightened AIF process.