Energy efficient urban and sub-urban public transport, complemented by shared mobility
European Commission · Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)
Posted 4 Feb 2026 · 8 days left
In plain terms
The European Commission funds 36-48 month projects helping cities reduce transport emissions through energy-efficient public transport and shared mobility services, with 6 to 10 million euros per project. Applicants must form consortia including at least three lead cities from different EU or associated countries (with at least one from the EU's 112 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities), applications in English are due by 8 October 2026.
A generated summary of the donor's text; the original wording is below.
Summary
Expected Outcome:
This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing to the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission by accelerating the transition towards climate neutrality in cities. To this end, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
Cities involved in this action advance in achieving their climate neutrality targets, reducing greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions by improving energy efficiency in urban and sub-urban public transport systems, complemented by urban mobility service car fleets – taxis, ride-hailing, car sharing and other active and shared mobility services.
Comprehensive inventory and assessment of existing instruments and measures to foster electrification and attractiveness of urban and sub-urban public transport systems, urban mobility service car fleets and shared mobility, accompanied by targeted guidance for responsible authorities, operators and providers through integration of measures to improve energy efficiency in public transport and new shared mobility services.
Upscaling of innovative and sustainable integrated mobility solutions, identifying gaps and shortcomings in…
Excerpt from the donor's page. The full text, annexes and forms are on the original call.
Eligible regions
- eu_only
Who can apply
- ngo_cso
- academia_research
- private_company
- government
- consortium_required
Eligibility and conditions
Show the eligibility text from the source
">General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries
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.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
At least three lead cities, represented by a local authority or by an entity with an explicit consent from the local authority, from different Member States or Associated Countries along with at least three follower cities, must participate ensuring a good geographical balance. Follower cities can be from the same Member State or Associated Country as the lead cities. At least one of the three lead cities must be one of the 112 cities selected for the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities[[ The EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities aims to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 and ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050. On 28 April 2022, the Commission announced the 100 EU cities that will participate in the Mission. In addition, 12 cities have been selected from countries associated or expected to be associated the Horizon Europe programme.]].
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following action(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03
Collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform[[Set up by Horizon 2020 project NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities' transition to net zero emissions by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519, and scaled up through topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform.]] is essential and projects must ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing this collaboration are included in the work plan of the proposal. The collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform must be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding or a collaboration agreement to be concluded as soon as possible after the project starting date.
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
Not applicable.
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
HE Programme Guide
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
HE MGA
HE Unit MGA
Call-specific instructions
Not applicable.
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme…