HORIZON EUROPE JU – Digital European Sky Exploratory Research 03 – 2025

Objectives

• To increase the body of knowledge on the impact of ATM on areas such as noise and air quality pollutants (nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and unburnt hydrocarbons (HC))
• To bring new knowledge encouraging scientists to develop innovative ideas, concepts, emerging technologies, methods, and theories that explore the current boundary of knowledge on ATM/U-space and that have potential for the evolution of the future air traffic management / U-space system
• To analyse how previous research performed in SESAR 2020 PJ.13, PJ.13-W2 and ongoing project IRINA and provide foundational conceptual work to support the development and validation of a new flight rules concept (“digital flight rules”) to complement VFR and IFR, to be applied in environments where all aircraft are equipped with cooperative surveillance
• To explore how quantum computing could be applied in air traffic management and how it could impact ATM
• To introduce aircraft powered by hydrogen (combustion and/or hydrogen fuel cells), electric batteries and hybrids
• Support the evolution of the future regulatory framework addressing the impact of automation on the human role, providing insight on the challenges and potential solutions to design AI and non-AI based automation tools

TOPICS:

Forthcoming

• HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-1: ATM impact on climate change
• HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-4: Fundamental research for other topics
• HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-2: Digital flight rules
• HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-3: Investigate quantum sensing and computing applied to ATM
• HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-2: Integration of the next generation aircraft for zero/low emission aviation
• HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-1: Research to help shape the future regulatory framework for a DES

Additional information

To find your National Point Contact (NPC) : Click here

Useful

• Guidelines: Click here
• Other call documents: Click here
• Executive agency website: Click here
• More information: Click here

• Total budget of the call: 24 million euros
• Budget per topic:
  • Topic 1: 10 million euros
    • HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-2
    • HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-1
    • HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-3
    • HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-4
  • Topic 2: 14 million euros
    • HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-2
    • HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA2-1
• Funding rate: up to 100% of the total eligible costs