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Horizon Europe · European Union

Secure PQC implementations, Cryptanalysis and Post-quantum Digital Trust

Opens 2 Mar 2027

The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 3 awards of €3 million – €4 million each, from a total budget of €19 million. Applications close on 15 Sep 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time). Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries such as Türkiye can usually take part; the topic conditions control.

Expected outcome

Proposals are expected to contribute one or more of the following:

• Practical robust implementations of PQC schemes that can withstand implementation attacks including side-channel attacks, fault attacks and combined attacks, and design of automated tools for evaluating the security of PQC implementations. Comprehensive guidelines for implementing countermeasures against a wide range of attacks;

• Advances in understanding the quantum hardness of mathematical problem classes; new quantum algorithms and improvements in quantum programming and implementation; security validation methods; design of post-quantum schemes with improved security against quantum and AI-based attacks;

• Post-quantum schemes and protocols to support privacy-friendly applications and services, ncluding the secure and private use of electronic identities. Design of new digital signatures, key encapsulation mechanisms, and other schemes or use of existing ones to build new verification protocols.

Scope

Securing PQC algorithm implementations is vital to protect against implementation attacks, such as side channel attacks, fault attacks and combinations of these, which may be amplified by deep learning. Current countermeasures incur significant overhead, and new approaches are needed to balance security and performance. Formal verification tools and methodologies can help achieve this goal and provide machine-readable evidence. Furthermore, to boost confidence in PQC systems, their security should be assessed, including the potential impact of new quantum algorithms or new optimizations of existing ones, also combined with AI.

Another key research area is digital trust in the post-quantum era, which requires transforming various areas, such as secure identities, data protection, access to essential services, and applications such as backup recovery, browser extensions and others into trusted and reliable solutions, via new post-quantum schemes and advanced building blocks for privacy-enhancing protocols.

Who can apply

Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule). Country restriction: participation in this topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States and Associated Countries.

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-09-15. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

1. Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
2. Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
3. Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries (Horizon Europe standard rule; Türkiye is associated). Confirm in the topic conditions.
4. Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
5. Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.

From the call text

Who can apply

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Company stage

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Single applicant or consortium

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where applicants must be based

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where to apply

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the official source and were last checked 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.

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