There are regular Photonics Calls for Proposals published by the European Commission. The Photonics21 community is the dedicated body to define the European call topics for photonics.
Open European photonics calls under the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025:
Cluster 4 - Digital, Industry, and Space
Core technologies for virtual worlds (RIA) (Virtual Worlds and Photonics Partnerships)
Further open European calls with relevance to photonics under Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025:
Cluster 4 - Digital, Industry, and Space
International cooperation in semiconductors (CSA)
Cluster 6 - Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Further open European calls with relevance to photonics under European Defence Fund Work Programme 2025:
Technologies for optronic detectors
Advanced sensor technologies and multimodal sensor integration for multiple application domains (IA) (Photonics Partnership)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01
Opening date: 10 June 2025
Deadline: 02 October 2025, 17:00 CET
Expected Outcome:
Photonic sensor technologies enable precision and versatility in sensing across multiple domains. The integration into multimodal systems enhances data accuracy, speed and reliability. Advancements in photonic sensors and their multimodal integration aim to elevate diagnostics, monitoring, and sensing by improving efficiency, performance, and reliability while reducing size and manufacturing costs and power consumption.
The development of sensor technologies and multimodal integration is closely aligned with several key EU policies. These include achieving open strategic autonomy in digital and emerging enabling technologies, enhancing Europe's technological sovereignty, and supporting the twin transition to a digital and green economy by promoting energy-efficient, competitive, and resilient digital infrastructures.
The initiative also aims to advance the digital transformation by providing access to high-quality environmental data, supporting the development of technologies for privacy, compliance, and data integrity to empower decision-making and foster a fair data economy.
Lastly, it contributes to the green transition by leveraging photonic sensor technologies for environmental monitoring and sustainable practices. It aligns with the EU's objectives for a green and digital economy, enhancing system operations and promoting innovation in eco-friendly practices, thus strengthening Europe's technological leadership for societal and economic progress.
Projects are expected to contribute to at least three of the following outcomes to fully exploit the potential of photonics for a digital, green and healthy future in Europe:
- Increase the efficiency of developed photonic sensors, surpassing existing technologies in aspects such as energy consumption, data acquisition and processing speed, as well as measurement accuracy.
- Significantly reduce the size, weight, or footprint of the sensors and quantify advancements over current technologies.
- Improve both intrinsic and extrinsic performance metrics to boost measurement accuracy for at least three use-case scenarios.
- Extend the sensing and testing capabilities of photonic sensors by linking optical with non-optical measurement parameters (e.g. for acoustic sensing or electromagnetic sensing).
- Contribute to reducing manufacturing costs and increasing resource-efficiency, while also enhancing reliability and durability of the targeted sensor systems.
They are additionally expected to:
- Help secure the open strategic autonomy for Europe by ensuring intellectual property and production means of key technologies are maintained within the EU, reducing dependencies and enhancing negotiation power in technological cooperation.
- Help maximise international competitiveness by increasing the uptake and translation of photonic technologies into new products and services, guided by key technology requirements.
Scope:
The scope of this topic focuses on the advancement and application of photonic sensor technologies and their integration into multimodal systems. Proposals are expected to address the development of sensor technologies and their validation through trials in realistic use cases. This includes exploring multi-modal sensor capabilities, as well as employing sensor fusion and machine learning approaches for the analysis of sensor data. Techniques should address at least two different technology approaches, i.e. sensor modalities, of which at least one must be photonic from the following areas:
- 3D sensing and imaging such as LIDAR, optical coherence tomography (OCT), optical tomography, interferometry, photoacoustics, etc.
- Communication fiber sensing
- Chemical and gas sensing
- Bio- and medical sensing and/or imaging
- Particle sensing
- Integrated photonic solutions
In addition, the proposals could focus on developing and integrating algorithms designed to enhance the processing capabilities and decision-making accuracy of photonic sensors. These algorithms may help to optimize the interpretation of complex sensor data, enable real-time analytics, ambient intelligence and adaptive responses in dynamic environments.
Furthermore, projects should aim to provide significant improvements in one or more of the application domains listed below and to demonstrate these in at least three use case scenarios. Demonstrators would be expected to reach TRL 4-5 while the photonic techniques would be developed up to TRL 7.
This expectation underlines the call's objective to foster innovations that have a substantial and beneficial impact on society and various industry sectors:
- Healthcare (medical diagnostics, disinfection, treatment through improved imaging techniques and diagnostic accuracy).
- Transportation Safety (enhanced safety features in automotive and aerospace industries through better sensing capabilities).
- Industrial efficiency and sustainability (industrial processes such as manufacturing, quality control, increasing precision and automation through improved sensing technologies).
- Agricultural/Food Sector (precision agriculture, food safety, food waste reduction and supply chain management through improved sensing techniques for monitoring crop health, detecting contaminants, and optimizing production processes and raw material utilisation).
- Environmental Monitoring and sustainable energy (pollution monitoring, climate research, renewable energy infrastructure and natural disaster mitigation).
- Security, safety and resilience of people and critical infrastructure (face identification, long distance observation by day and night, (infra-)structural health monitoring, chemical and gas sensing, explosive detection)
- Protection and efficient operation of optical communications, risk management of data transport and processing including increased resilience to cyber security.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business scenario and exploitation strategy.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Where relevant, interoperability for data sharing should be addressed.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and platforms, in particular the Digital Europe Programme (DEP).
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
Core technologies for virtual worlds (RIA) (Virtual Worlds and Photonics Partnerships)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-14
Opening date: 10 June 2025
Deadline: 02 October 2025, 17:00 CET
Expected Outcome:
Proposals are expected to contribute to developing core technologies for Virtual Worlds, with a focus on better, more realistic and more performant interaction and immersion, at application and components levels. The following outcomes are expected:
- Area A: Better and more realistic immersion through multimodal interaction. Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:
- Improvement of the multimodal immersion experience combining eXtended Reality with advanced and innovative technologies.
- Area B: Innovative photonics technologies for projection, sensing and perception in virtual worlds. Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:
- Improved performance of microdisplays or sensing devices serving Virtual Worlds by using innovative Optics and Photonics technologies.
Proposals are expected to focus on either Area A or Area B. The area should be clearly identified within the proposal. Special attention will be given to proposals (whether Area A or Area B) including transdisciplinary research in order to deliver and enhance uptake of suitable, accurate, ethical and safe solutions.
Proposed applications should aim at increasing awareness, acceptance and adoption of virtual worlds applications across sectors.
Scope:
Virtual worlds will impact the way people live, work, create and share content, the way public administrations interact with citizens as well as the way businesses operate, innovate, produce and interact with customers.
Multimodal interaction and immersion are key dimensions of Virtual Worlds and will be supported by innovative optics and photonics technologies to achieve the full potential of Virtual Worlds core technologies.
A broader adoption of Virtual Worlds will need better and more realistic immersion and interaction, mixing modalities, sensors and actuators for an ever-improved user experience: touch, smell, haptics, etc will be better stimulated, bringing users closer to real-world sensations, serving Virtual Worlds.
Many challenges remain to be addressed to realize optics and photonics technical solutions that offer high-performance, excellent visual quality, high-quality user experience, and sustainable services and devices, for head-mounted displays (HMD), autostereoscopic displays or sensing devices.
Coupled with display and sensing technologies, algorithms and metrics should be considered to exploit the underlying light (transportation) models given the utilized modality and address e.g. scene representation, content generation, compression, transmission, content reconstruction, content-to-display adaptation, or rendering. Moreover, the quality of integration, both from a user and technological perspective, will be essential for a broad adoption of Virtual Worlds.
The Area A proposals under this topic should develop and demonstrate novel applications for Virtual Worlds that combine several modalities and aim to provide seamless and more realistic immersive interactions. Proposals should investigate novel scientific approaches or push the limit of existing ones to improve the synchronization and integration of the different modalities.
Proposals should focus on an enhanced use of multimodal technologies, integrating at least two modalities within an extended reality application. Modalities include haptics and force-feedback, vision, touch, smell, speech, etc.
The Area B proposals should address the development and integration of advanced innovative and high-performance Optics and Photonics technologies for display and sensing devices serving Virtual Worlds.
- For displays further improve current high-end microdisplays regarding power consumption (<1 mW), device efficiency, resolution (8K and beyond, pixel densities > 10kppi), high dynamic range (HDR), colour gamut, contrast and refresh rate holding the promise for truly immersive experiences;
- For sensing devices improve accuracy in diverse lighting conditions and with different eye physiologies.
Special attention should be given to the design and fabrication of suited waveguide optics, holographic elements, diffractive optics, reflective light guides, freeform optics (including micro-optics), or meta-surfaces with optimal optical properties and behaviour; to support the required field of view (FoV), to be lightweight and safe for the user, and provide excellent colour uniformity and high brightness efficiency; to satisfy the use case requirements for both professional use and mass adoption, i.e., be scalable to large volumes and cost-effective; to integrate targeted systems seamlessly into mixed-reality devices without increasing bulk or reducing comfort.
For both Area A and Area B proposals, the quality of integration, both from a user and technological perspective, will be essential for a broad adoption of Virtual Worlds. The proposals should include a focus on human perception and experience, from subjective, objective, and functional perspectives, and take into account EU values such as inclusivity, privacy, security and safety of users and the protection of their personal data, as well as diversity. Solutions should guarantee the privacy and rights of individuals and companies and ensure secure and trustworthy interactions to deliver and enhance uptake of suitable, accurate, ethical and safe solutions.
The Consortium should pay attention to developing solutions that are reliable, robust and interoperable. Proposals should leverage existing open standards and technologies in the domain of eXtended Reality, while contributing to ongoing standardisation work. Applications should be tested and anchored in real world environments and aimed at least one application domain.
We consider that proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations.
Proposals should involve the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and SSH experts, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
This topic is implemented through a joint effort from the co-programmed European Partnership for Virtual Worlds and the Photonics Partnership and all proposals are expected to allocate tasks for cohesion activities with both partnerships, including the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-17: Specific support for the Virtual Worlds Partnership and the Web 4.0 initiative.
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for photonics, enabling low-power and ultra-broadband performance for telecommunication (RIA) (Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe partnership)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-MATERIALS-46
Opening date: 10 June 2025
Deadline: 02 October 2025, 17:00 CET
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Demonstrated added value of Innovative Advanced materials (IAMs) such as Two-dimensional materials and EO polymers for integrated photonic devices and systems, with focus on low power consumption, enabling future telecommunication networks in which Europe can build competitive value chains.
- IAMs for miniaturized and outperforming photonic integrated technologies e.g. in terms of performance, power, cost, novel functionality enabling the development of future-proof, scalable, low-power and high-bandwidth devices.
Scope:
IAMs can be the ideal candidate for several applications in photonics and optoelectronics. These include ultrafast integrated photonic circuits, with modulators, waveguides, detectors, emitters and switches, which play a crucial role in the ongoing quest to increase the speed of data transmission in telecommunications networks. In addition, they find utility in high-frequency transmitter modulators and receiver demodulators, which are essential for advancing wireless telecommunications technologies. They can also serve as integral components in optical interconnects for data centers, high-performance computing (HPCs), and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) computing systems.
The main objective of this topic is to explore innovative solutions based on IAMs, including 2DMs, that offer state-of-the-art performance and low power consumption, while demonstrating scalability for volume production, thus exploiting the semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. The envisioned compact devices are expected to be designed to be compatible with low-power driving electronics and thus reduce energy consumption. Solutions should be compatible with existing photonic integrated platforms and low-voltage electronics.
Proposals are expected to integrate the value chain and include relevant manufacturing technologies required to bring the developed devices to market. Prototypes are expected to be developed using packaged devices, including electronics, to enable testing in relevant environments.
Efforts should be focused on envisioning optimized routes for electronic and photonic design, fabricating photonic circuits, producing IAMs, conducting testing, executing wafer-scale fabrication, and performing co-integration and co-packaging, ultimately leading to demonstrations of the developed technologies and their added values.
Where relevant, proposers are encouraged to take advantage of and connecting to European analytical research infrastructures and services such as the ones in the ARIE network [1].
Proposals should also consider building their innovations on top of relevant existing standards and consider standardisation as part of innovation and dissemination activities.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe (IAM4EU). Proposals funded under this topic are part of the IAM4EU partnership portfolio and are expected to develop synergies with the related stakeholder community and contribute actively to the objectives of the partnership. Proposals should seek collaboration, with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national, or regional initiatives, funding programmes such as the Graphene Flagship [2] for proposals investigating 2D materials. In addition, outreach to relevant national projects in EU Member States and Associated Countries is encouraged. Adequate resources for all these synergies should be foreseen in the proposal.
[2] Graphene Flagship: https://graphene-flagship.eu/
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
Digital enablers and building blocks for Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-31
Opening date: 22 May 2025
Deadline: 25 September 2025, 17:00 CET
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
Preparing demonstration missions for collaborative Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions
HORIZON-CL4-2025-02-SPACE-32
Opening date: 22 May 2025
Deadline: 25 September 2025, 17:00 CET
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
International cooperation in semiconductors (CSA)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-19
Opening date: 10 June 2025
Deadline: 02 October 2025, 17:00 CET
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
Making food systems more resilient to food safety risks through the deployment of technological solutions
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-03-two-stage
Opening date: 6 May 2025
Deadline I: 04 September 2025, 17:00 CET
Deadline II: 18 February 20026, 17:00 CET
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
Technologies for optronic detectors
EDF-2025-DA-SENS-IRD-STEP
Opening date: 18 February 2025
Deadline: 16 October 2025, 17:00 CET
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
EDF-2025-DA-AIR-EPE
Opening date: 18 February 2025
Deadline: 16 October 2025, 17:00 CET
Find all information on the official call topic webpage.
You can find all open Horizon Europe and EDF calls on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Open Calls from the European Innovation Council:
EIC Accelerator: It focuses on scientific discoveries or technological breakthroughs, which need significant funding over a longer timeframe before returns can be generated. Such innovations often struggle to attract financing because the risks and time involved are generally too high. This funding enables the innovators to attract the full investment amounts that are needed to scale up in a shorter timeframe.
EIC Pathfinder: Interdisciplinary teams of researchers can apply for research and innovation grants that will support them to realise their breakthrough ideas and have a transformative positive effect on our economy and society.