Tools and processes to support stress tests of critical infrastructure

Open

This is the status published by the official source.

Sign in to bookmark this

Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:

• Critical infrastructure operators and authorities have access to efficient, adaptable, resilient and reliable tools and processes enabling or improving virtual and physical stress tests of their respective assets/ and operations;
• Critical entities have broader and deeper understanding of their technical and operational vulnerabilities and adaptive capabilities, improving the scenario building and stress tests exercises;
• Systems allowing notification and collaboration under stress conditions are available for relevant stakeholders;
• Critical entities are better equipped for post-incident investigations, including data collection, analysis and improved learning, management and sharing in a secure manner;
• Improved operational procedures including incidents management and training curricula are developed. Scope:
The resilience of critical entities is of paramount importance as disruptions to these systems can have significant consequences for the whole economy, public health, security or safety. These systems, responsible for providing essential services for modern society, are increasingly complex and interconnected, making them vulnerable to a range of threats, including cyber-attacks, physical attacks, malfunctions, human-induced or natural disasters.
The objective of this topic is to facilitate the stress testing of critical infrastructure by providing specialized tools and methodologies and support validation. This will enable the identification and testing of technical and operational vulnerabilities, inform of effective solutions to mitigate these risks, and facilitate the collection and analysis of data to enhance resilience plans that shall be established by each critical entity. Building on the insights gained from previous exercises, the ultimate goal is to establish more robust and comprehensive stress testing protocols, thereby ensuring the reliability and integrity of critical infrastructure.
The proposed solutions may, among others, support simulation and modelling, multi-hazard and multi-threat scenario building, data analytics, including geospatial information, Digital Twins, assessment of risks and adaptive capabilities, as well as impact of human factors.
These solutions should be designed to be inclusive and accessible, considering the needs of diverse users and stakeholders. Solutions should allow flexible configuration taking into account the evolving nature of threats and hazards. If feasible they should also be adaptable to different sectors and should support stress testing under diverse environmental and geographical conditions, including operation in harsh and remote environments. Moreover, they should comply with the relevant legislative frameworks and allow application of the developed tools under the current regime taking into account the sensitivity and confidentiality of the processed information.
Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic and projects funded under HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-INFRA-01: Open topic for improved preparedness for, response to and recovery from large-scale disruptions of critical infrastructures and HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-INFRA-02: Open topic for role of the human factor for resilience of European critical entities, should be envisaged in order to avoid duplication, share resources and exploit complementarities and opportunities for increased impact.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed only if relevant in relation to the objectives of the research effort.
Where relevant, funded projects are encouraged to liaise with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, for complementary real-scale testing at the Reaction Wall and HopLab of the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA).
Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

Status

Open

Deadline

5 November 2026 (time not stated)

Opens

6 May 2026

Published

12 December 2025

Total budget

€9,670,000

Grant range

€4,835,000 – €4,835,000

Country

European Union (EU-wide)

Programme

Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

Funder

European Commission

Official page

Open at the source portal

What applying involves

15 steps, all of them taken from this call's own documents.

Understand the call

• Read the call on the source portal and download its documents
• Write the proposal against the award criteria and thresholds standard for this programme

  are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §5a

• Check the grant's legal and financial set-up standard for this programme

  The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex — conditions §6

• Check the amount you plan to request against the call's range

Check you are eligible

• Check your country of establishment is eligible

  The source scopes this to EU Member States and Associated Countries. — ai_results.eligibility

• Assemble the consortium this call requires

  The source states at least 3 partners. — ai_results.eligibility

• Confirm your technology readiness level against the range the call states
• Check every partner is established in an eligible country standard for this programme

  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 — conditions §2

• Meet the call's other eligibility conditions

  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. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of … — conditions §3

• Be able to show financial and operational capacity standard for this programme

  described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §4

• Check the conditions for financial support to third parties

Prepare the documents

• Prepare Part B of the Application Form standard for this programme

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

• Complete the detailed budget table standard for this programme

Submit

• Check the submission and evaluation process standard for this programme

  are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual — conditions §5b

• Submit before the closing date shown above

  The source states the closing day but no closing time — check the portal before the last day. — calls.deadline

Sign in to track these

Other calls under Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

• PV based electrification of the economy: Designing & optimising PV systems supporting industrial electrification and promoting participation in electricity markets (EUPI-PV Partnership)Forthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €18,000,000
• Advanced TSO control rooms to enhance grid observability, stability and resilienceForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €28,500,000
• Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADSM) for more efficient and flexible distribution gridsForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €28,500,000
• Community of practice - Data-Driven Decision-Making in EnergyForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €6,000,000
• Industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable and scalable tandem technologies (EUPI-PV Partnership)Forthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €28,500,000
• Integrated Approaches for Retrofitting Infrastructures with Innovative Energy Storage TechnologiesForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €22,500,000
• Demonstration of hydropower technologies for efficient and forward-looking refurbishment of existing hydropower plantsForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €17,000,000
• Delivery of industrial CCUS clusters – Societal Readiness pilotForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €30,000,000

All calls under this programme

Similar opportunities

• Enhancing physical protection of critical infrastructuresForthcoming · deadline 4 November 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €12,000,000 · same sector, same funder
• Targeted innovative capabilities for the resilience of critical entities to natural and human-induced disasters, including hybrid scenariosOpen · deadline 5 November 2026 · European Union (EU-wide) · €9,000,000 · same sector, same funder
• Designing new ways of risk awareness and enhanced disaster preparednessOpen · deadline 5 November 2026 · European Union (EU-wide) · €6,000,000 · same sector, same funder
• Climate security and civil preparedness – new ways to develop pre- and post-crisis climate-change related scenarios for a more resilient EuropeOpen · deadline 5 November 2026 · European Union (EU-wide) · €4,500,000 · same sector, same funder
• Advanced real-time data analysis used for infrastructure resilienceClosed · deadline 20 November 2024 · European Union (EU-wide) · €5,000,000 · same sector, same funder
• Supporting operators against cyber and non-cyber threats to reinforce the resilience of critical infrastructuresClosed · deadline 23 November 2023 · European Union (EU-wide) · €9,500,000 · same sector, same funder