Autonomous vessels in short sea shipping and inland waterways
- Funder
- European Commission · Horizon Europe
- Award amount
- Up to €7,500,000
- Deadline
- April 14, 2027
- Eligible countries
- European Union, United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Israel, Global
Summary
Forthcoming EU call topic HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-16 · HORIZON Innovation Actions. Part of call HORIZON-CL5-2027-03: MOBILITY. Opens 2026-12-15; next deadline 2027-04-14. Topic page: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL5-2027-03-D5-16
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: - Demonstration of remote-control operation of vessels without crew, controlled remotely (degree three[1]).
- Development of concepts for fully autonomous ship where the operating system on the vessel is able to make decisions and determine actions by itself (degree four[2]).
- Strengthen market confidence in the integration of remote and automated navigation in ship types and services that may see a shortage of workforce in the next decade. - Contribute to the EU Port Strategy and the EU Industrial Waterborne Strategy, as well as the EU AI Continent Action Plan[3] and the upcoming EU Apply AI Strategy.
Scope: Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) have been the focus for several projects both with EU-funding and individual countries but a major breakthrough leading to extensive deployment and widespread commercial maturity are still not achieved. Autonomous vessels can offer safer and more efficient operations and cost savings. New skills and training needed for MASS is a critical issue to ensure safe operations. Projects are expected to address all the following aspects: - Demonstration of two different remotely controlled vessels without seafarers on board, considering the most promising areas of operation and types of ships towards market adoption. The demonstration should be performed in at least one short-sea shipping vessel. - Demonstration of two different fully autonomous operation in at least one inland waterway vessel. - Demonstrations and concept studies should address the whole navigation voyage, including port calling, mooring, and…
Summary as listed by the funder. Always read the full announcement for eligibility, limits and how to apply.
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- Most Horizon Europe calls score three criteria (the ERC uses excellence alone). Excellence: clarity and ambition of the objectives, and the soundness of the methodology.
- Impact: credible pathways to the expected outcomes, and measures to communicate and exploit results.
- Quality and efficiency of implementation: the work plan, resources and the consortium's capacity.
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