The Horizon Europe 2026–2027 Work Programmes include a significant number of calls closing in the autumn. This post summarises the major call deadlines for Cluster 2 (Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society) and Cluster 5 (Climate, Energy and Mobility) – two clusters with deadlines concentrated between September and December 2026.
A separate post covering Clusters 3 and 6 will follow – stay tuned.
For a broader overview of Horizon Europe 2026 call deadlines across all clusters, see our earlier article: Upcoming Horizon Europe 2026 Calls and EC Information Days. Please note that the earlier post was written when the official Work Programmes were published.
Major Horizon Europe Call Deadlines in Autumn 2026
Below is a summary of the major Horizon Europe call deadlines for Clusters 2 and 5. Each call typically includes a number of specific topics.
Cluster 2 – Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
Call deadline: 23 September 2026
Call: Democracy and Governance HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-DEMOCRACY
- Tackling gender-based violence against politically active women and LGBTIQ people
- Understanding the forms of local democracy in low-income and lower-middle-income countries
- Government in transition – how governments change the way they work and prepare the civil service for the future
- Sustainable paths to media viability
- Research and Innovation Network for a Union of Equality
- Governing global commons sustainably
- Supporting post-conflict democracy and reconstruction
- Electoral integrity in the digital context
- Citizenship education as part of lifelong learning
- Digital and media literacy as drivers for democratic and civic resilience
Call: Cultural Heritage and Cultural and Creative Industries HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE
- “Artistic intelligence”: harnessing the power of the arts to address complex challenges, enhance soft skills and boost innovation and competitiveness
- Boosting creative startups for disruptive innovation
- AI integration in CCSI work practice: catalysing innovation and competitiveness
- Towards a fair and transparent market for cultural and creative content in the era of generative AI
- Creative alliances: fostering global partnerships in cultural policies and CCI innovation
- Safeguarding linguistic diversity in Europe
- Preventing and fighting illicit trafficking of cultural goods
Call: Social and Economic Transformations HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-TRANSFO
- Open topic: strengthening Europe’s social model and sustainable competitiveness through productivity
- Tackling child poverty and ensuring disadvantaged children’s access to Early Childhood Education and Care
- The impact of digital tools used outside school and for communication on educational outcomes and mental health
- Contribution of basic skills to productivity, innovation, competitiveness and economic growth
- Making Europe a global magnet for talent – attracting and retaining students, researchers and high-skilled workers from outside the EU
- Fostering competences for the green transition
- Strengthened implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum with a focus on inclusion, integration and health
- Rethinking long-term care policy in the face of EU demographic shifts
- Fostering cooperation and integration between SSH and STEM research and innovation in the EU
Cluster 5 – Climate, Energy and Mobility
Call deadline: 15 September 2026
Call: Cross-Sectoral Solutions for the Climate Transition HORIZON-CL5-2026-09-D2
- Producing battery-grade materials for electrodes through sustainable processing and refining of raw materials, or developing bio-based materials (BATT4EU Partnership)
- Coordinated topic with India on recycling of EV batteries
Call: Sustainable, Secure and Competitive Energy Supply HORIZON-CL5-2026-09-D3
- Innovative technologies and solutions to improve wind energy systems supporting the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan on wind
Call: Efficient, Sustainable and Inclusive Energy Use HORIZON-CL5-2026-09-D4
- Researching the technical, social and economic factors impacting the energy performance of smart buildings (Built4People Partnership)
- Low-disturbance prefabrication approaches for deep renovation of multi-storey buildings (Built4People Partnership)
- Advanced data platforms to integrate whole-life carbon in building information tools, assessments and certification (Built4People Partnership)
- Validating policies and business models for affordable and sustainable housing (Built4People Partnership)
- Full-scale demonstration of heat upgrade solutions in industrial processes
Call deadline: 8 October 2026
Call: Cross-Sectoral Solutions for the Climate Transition HORIZON-CL5-2026-10-D2
- Integrated production and product development for next-generation lithium-based batteries for mobility (BATT4EU and Made in Europe Partnerships)
Call: Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility Services for Passengers and Goods HORIZON-CL5-2026-10-D6
- Flagship pilot: large-scale demonstrations of CCAM (CCAM Partnership)
- Geopolitical competition and socioeconomic resilience in CCAM: an innovation and policy roadmap for EU leadership (CCAM Partnership)
- Generative AI for smarter CCAM: enhancing perception, decision-making and validation (CCAM Partnership)
- Increasing competitiveness and resilience of multimodal freight transport and logistics for competitive supply chains
- Supporting sustainable and smart urban mobility in Europe (CIVITAS)
- Road safety and resilience of rural areas
- Enhanced resilience in multimodal passenger transport through digital technologies and generative and discriminative AI
Call deadline: 1 December 2026
Call: Sustainable, Secure and Competitive Energy Supply HORIZON-CL5-2026-11-D3
- Demonstration of solid biofuel supply and conversion to high-efficiency CHP from fully sustainable regional value chains
- Resource assessment for deep sedimentary and basement reservoirs
- Improved system design for innovative PV applications (EU-PV Partnership)
- Data sharing to support the training and development of AI foundation models in the energy sector
If any of the calls listed above have caught your interest, the links in the call titles will take you to the relevant page on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. All calls listed are collaborative calls under Pillar II of the Horizon Europe Programme.
The call and topic documents provide a useful starting point for searching for partners and planning your application. However, with only around three months remaining until the autumn deadlines, it may already be too late to build a new consortium and begin preparation from scratch.
If You Need Support
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