On 6 May 2025, Digital for Planet participated in, in the words of Beatrice Coda (Head of Unit, CINEA – European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency), “the first physical Horizon Europe Info Day since the Covid times”, focusing on Cluster 5: Climate, Energy, and Mobility. This high-level event, organised by the European Commission, served as a pivotal platform for researchers, innovators, policymakers, SMEs, NGOs, and stakeholders to exchange insights on funding opportunities and collaborative research within Horizon Europe’s most ambitious cluster in the sense that it fully integrates SSH with hard sciences and addresses the twin green and digital transitions.
Europe's leading stakeholders
The event brought together over 270 participants representing a diverse spectrum of organisations: 68 SMEs, 60 universities, 44 R&D institutions, 24 industry companies, 19 associations, 17 other entities, 11 public authorities and governments, 10 consultancies, 10 national contact points, and 10 start-ups.
Among this broad network, Digital for Planet was honoured to be one of only 15 organisations selected to pitch during the highly competitive plenary pitching session. This opportunity allowed us to showcase our innovative contributions to Cluster 5 research and innovation, focusing on the integration of energy and climate solutions with sustainability, policy, and digital innovation. Our full presentation is available here, and the brokerage event—organised by the GREENET project, the network of Cluster 5 National Contact Points (NCPs)—can be accessed here.
Key Insights from the Event
- The 13 substantive sessions of the event outlined major 2025 Cluster 5-Climate, Energy and Mobily research and innovation topics in areas such as climate science, clean energy technologies, sustainable mobility, climate adaptation, and cross-sectoral solutions. As per the pre-published Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, the upcoming calls are expected to focus on decarbonisation, renewable energy integration, zero-emission mobility, smart cities and buildings, and climate resilience, among others.
- The Horizon Europe Strategic Plan (2025–2027) framed the policy context, emphasising R&I investments that support the European Green Deal, digital transformation, and EU industrial competitiveness. Cross-cutting priorities such as sustainability, digitalisation, security, and social resilience were recurrent themes.
- Societal readiness, and a broader SSH research, including a session on Societal Readiness Pilot, were recurring topics of discussion: in the words of Elena Dufour (DG Research & Innovation), “societal readiness is not about acceptance, because [societal] acceptance is more like the end line of a technological solution.” In her presentation, Elena Dufour further explained that it doesn’t make sense to quantify societal readiness, but rather gather diverse social and cultural perspectives to underline gaps and propose a way forward.
- The Horizon Europe Programme Guide provided crucial insights on proposal preparation and project management for prospective applicants.
- The session on the Participant Identification Code (PIC) clarified administrative procedures vital for accessing EU grants, a useful resource for organisations navigating the funding landscape.
D4P in Action
D4P was represented by Dr Anna Aseeva (who also delivered D4P’s pitch) and Rafael Rodrigues (who met with numerous engineers, as well as other researchers and innovators to solidify potential Cluster 5 collaborations). Both Anna and Rafael, as well as these both activities (the pitch and the dedicated bilateral meetings organised by topic) facilitated the networking opportunities for prospective project partners: they gave the possibility to present our organisation and project ideas.
The Horizon Europe Info Day provided an invaluable opportunity to deepen our understanding of forthcoming EU research priorities and to strengthen our collaborative networks. D4P remains committed to advancing innovative, sustainable, and impactful solutions across climate, energy, and mobility domains in Europe.
For more information about our Cluster 5 Brokerage Event presentation, visit this link.
