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Call key data
Enhanced assessment, intervention and repair of civil engineering infrastructure
Funding Program
Horzion Europe - Cluster 4 - Destination 1: Climate Neutral, Circular and Digitised Production
Call number
HORIZON-CL4-2024-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-12
deadlines
Opening
19.09.2023
Deadline
07.02.2024 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 12,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
between € 5,000,000.00 and € 6,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
Regular maintenance and repair of civil engineering infrastructure extends their service life, which in turn reduces the need for their demolition and replacement and the related negative economic, environmental and climate impacts. However, it can be difficult and cumbersome to identify and address maintenance or repair needs, especially in locations that are difficult to access such as large or tall structures, deep shafts, or where elements are hidden from view. Intervention for maintenance and repair can also involve unnecessary risks to health and safety of workers.
Call objectives
Proposals should:
- Develop new technologies and solutions that facilitate timely identification of maintenance and repair issues in existing civil engineering infrastructure. Examples may include structural weaknesses, unacceptable deformation and fatigue, issues related to moisture including mould growth and corrosion, the effects of weathering and of weather-related events, faults in technical systems, leaks of water or chemicals, or other issues.
- Develop new solutions to monitor and to quickly and accurately analyse and assess the need for intervention, for example via digital twin and simulation technology
- Develop solutions that would intelligently recommend and prioritise relevant and timely action to address the identified maintenance and repair issues. This should include a risk assessment and application of state-of-the-art quality controls and documentation.
- Develop solutions that would carry out rapid, cost effective and safe intervention for maintenance and repair of infrastructure, for example using automated or remotely operated tools, or next generation egocentric AR solutions
- Address ways to reduce the risks involved with maintenance and repair, including the health and safety of workers
- Address ways to digitally record and continually update the maintenance and repair status of infrastructure assets and their component parts
- Build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for data sharing should be addressed.
- Present a strategy for skills development, associating social partners where relevant, integrating SSH aspects and including relevant tools such as MOOCs (massive open online courses).
- Build on or seek collaboration with existing projects or solutions and develop synergies with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and platforms, such as the New European Bauhaus.
- Seek to integrate insights from social sciences and humanities to maximise economic and social impact, including considering how workers carry out tasks and respond to safety issues.
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Expected results
- Extension of the service life of civil engineering infrastructure, which reduces the need to replace infrastructure, and ultimately in an overall lower CO-2 footprint for such infrastructure
- Faster and more accurate detection and analysis of maintenance and repair needs in existing infrastructure
- Reduction in time between the occurrence of infrastructure maintenance and repair-related problems and the on-site intervention
- Reduced risks to health and safety of workers in carrying out tasks linked to infrastructure maintenance and repair
- Cost savings in terms of both operational costs and deferred or avoided capital investment costs
Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan), Belarus (Беларусь), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), New Zealand (Aotearoa), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
Education and training institution, International organization, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- third countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- Joint Research Centre (‘JRC’)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.
other eligibility criteria
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
Additional Information
This topic is a two-stage proposal. The deadline for the first stage is 7 February 2024. If invited to submit at the second stage, the deadline is 24 September 2024.
This topic is part of the blind evaluation pilot under which first stage proposals will be evaluated blindly.
Applicants submitting a proposal under the blind evaluation pilot must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos, nor names of personnel in Part B of their first stage application (see General Annex E).
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 50 pages.
Call documents
HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 4 Destination 1HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 4 Destination 1(637kB)
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