Horizon Europe European Union
Neutral-Atom Platform Technologies
This action aims to establish European leadership in neutral-atom quantum simulation and digital quantum computing by delivering: • Fully programmable industry-ready quan…
Horizon Europe · European Union
Cost-effective biodiversity monitoring for EU policies
Open
The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 3 awards of €5 million – €6 million each, from a total budget of €16 million. Applications close on 14 Jan 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.
- Deadline
- 14 Jan 2027 (in 60 days)
- Grant amount
- €5 million – €6 million per project
- Total budget
- €16 million
- Funding rate
- 100% of eligible costs Standard rule for this programme; the call can differ.
- Total budget
- €16 million
- Expected awards
- 3
- Type of action
- HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions · HORIZON Lump Sum Grant
- Likely applicant types
- Companies, SMEs / start-ups, Non-profits, Universities & research, Public bodies From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
- Funder
- Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
- Reference
- HORIZON-NATURE-2027-02-05
- Call
- HORIZON-NATURE-2027-02
- Last checked
- 14 Nov 2026
Expected outcome
Proposals are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
• more precise and more efficient biodiversity monitoring schemes, building on advanced technologies and more abundant data, are available;
• policymakers and relevant competent authorities have more efficient and user-friendly tools at their disposal to implement and evaluate results of the EU environmental legislation, leading to simplification of policy implementation and better protection and restoration of ecosystems.
Scope
The implementation of the EU environmental legislation, in particular the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR), the Soil Monitoring Law (SML) and the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), requires precise monitoring of biodiversity to ensure that objectives are met. For instance, under the NRR, Member States are required to monitor annually the abundance and diversity of pollinator species using a specific monitoring method. Under the WFD implementation, the determination of ecological status of freshwater ecosystems is based on biodiversity monitoring. Under the SML, Member States have to monitor mandatorily the diversity of fungi and bacteria in soil through DNA metabarcoding, and optionally of archaea, protists and other relevant soil organisms. Data from these monitoring schemes, if produced according to the FAIR principle, can contribute to other monitoring frameworks, for instance to monitor the progress of the environmental objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Read the full text
Past and on-going projects [1] , and initiatives such as the European partnership Biodiversa+ or the EU mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, have explored and/or demonstrated the potential of new technologies, tools and methods for in-situ biodiversity monitoring with potential for better accuracy of data, increased efficiency and wider scales for data collection. However, this potential is not fully integrated in current binding biodiversity monitoring schemes, which could benefit notably from the availability of increased data leading to more precise assessment of the status of ecosystems. These innovative solutions still need to be tested, operationalised and piloted in the context of the concrete implementation of the EU legislation.
Proposals should address Area A: Nature Restoration Regulation, namely the EU Pollinators Monitoring Scheme [2] , Area B: Soil Biodiversity for the Soil Monitoring Law or Area C: Water Framework Directive. The area (A, B or C) should be clearly indicated on the application. Proposals under all the 3 areas should:
• develop scalable approaches for biodiversity monitoring with a view to improve the cost effectiveness of legally binding monitoring schemes. Integrate synergically different technologies and methods and engage end-users to tailor the approaches to their needs;
• develop demonstration cases to test, operationalise and pilot different biodiversity monitoring approaches to fulfil practical implementation of monitoring needs under the EU legislation such as NRR, SML or the WFD; where possible, develop and test automated and real-time monitoring frameworks supported by the use of AI;
• assess and compare the different approaches regarding their potential scalability, existing gaps, limitations, or potential drawbacks;
• build and further advance on already identified methods, tools and/or technologies, as well as on their integration, for species identification and quantification, such as DNA approaches, to address the gaps for their…
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).
Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.
Topics
Biodiversity indicators Biodiversity inventory: systematics phylogeny taxonomy Biodiversity monitoring Bioremediation, diagnostic biotechnologies (DNA chips and biosensing devices) in environmental management DNA analysis Environmental monitoring systems Fresh water biodiversity Long-term monitoring Long-term soil monitoring Soil biodiversity Biodiversity Cost-effective technology DNA Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Monitoring NRR Nature Restoration Regulation Pollinator SML
Timing
Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-14. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).
How to apply
- Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
- Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
Where these facts come from
| Fact | Value | How we know | Taken from the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 14 January 2027 “Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-14. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).” | official data field | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Amount per applicant | Unknown — not stated in the source we hold | unknown | — |
| Total budget | €16 million | official data field | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Funding rate | 100% of eligible costs | programme standard rule | 15 Nov 2026 |
| 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). | programme standard rule | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Where to apply | Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route. | read from the official text | 15 Nov 2026 |
Official sources
Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.
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