ENFIELD Open Call 2025 offers €600K to fund 10 cutting-edge AI projects in health, energy, manufacturing & space. Open to startups, SMEs, corporates & research teams in the EU & associated countries. Apply now!
About ENFIELD Open Call
ENFIELD (European Lighthouse to Manifest Trustworthy and Green AI) is a Horizon Europe-funded project aimed at developing a European Centre of Excellence for Adaptive, Green, Human-Centric, and Trustworthy AI. Projects will last up to 6 months and contribute to advancing Europe’s competitiveness and socio-economic well-being through innovation in AI.
The ENFIELD – Innovation Scheme Open Call aims to attract research/industry entities to conduct applied research related to specific scientific/technological challenges within the industrial domains of Healthcare, Energy, Manufacturing, and Space. These efforts will contribute to the creation of the ENFIELD network and promote the adoption of AI technologies to boost overall EU competitiveness.
The following challenges are addressed in the call, divided by industrial domain:
Industrial Domain 1: Healthcare
- 1- Enhanced AI-powered remote patient monitoring
Industrial Domain 2: Energy
- 1- Early Signs of Energy Poverty
- 2- City Sustainability Index
Industrial Domain 3: Manufacturing
- 1-Enhancing robotic disassembly of electronics and household appliances with adaptive AI
- 2-Metrics and tools for assessing dataset reliability and robustness in Smart Manufacturing
- 3-Computer Vision for feet recognition
- 4- Transitioning to Industry 5.0 by enhancing worker safety and well-being in the manufacturing industry
Industrial Domain: Space
- 1- Space-based maritime surveillance
- 2- Robust vision-based autonomous navigation for low SWaP UAVs
You can find more information on each specific challenge in the following link.
Statistics from 1st Innovation Scheme Open Call
The first ENFIELD Innovation Scheme Open Call (oc1-2024-TIS-01) attracted a total of 123 applications, comprising 108 from individual applicants and 15 from consortia.
Applications were distributed across the four verticals as follows: Healthcare: 50; Manufacturing: 36; Energy: 27; and Space: 10
From this round, 9 projects were selected for funding. All verticals had 2 funded proposals except healthcare, which had 3.
All selected projects came from individual applicants. The success rates were:
- Space: 20.0%
- Energy: 7.4%
- Healthcare: 6.0%
- Manufacturing: 5.6%
A total of €499,760 was allocated in this open call.
Why Apply to ENFIELD Second Open Call?
- Receive up to €60,000 in funding for your AI research project
- Gain a unique opportunity to lead pioneering applied research in one of Europe’s strategic AI sectors
- Engage with peers and industry experts for feedback, knowledge-sharing and collaboration
- Increase visibility through EU-wide promotion and dissemination via the ENFIELD network
- Explore potential exploitation routes with the support of a tailored Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) strategy
Who Can Apply?
Eligible applicants include:
- Private-for-profit organisations (including start-ups, SMEs, and large companies)
- Research centres (universities, institutes)
Eligible applicants must be established in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country
Applicants must also meet the following conditions:
- Must not be declared bankrupt or undergoing bankruptcy procedures
- Must not have convictions for fraudulent behaviour or unethical business practices
- Must not have any conflict of interest with ENFIELD partners, as specified in the official guidelines
- Only one proposal can be funded per applicant (multiple submissions are allowed)
How to Apply to ENFIELD Open Call
Proposals must be submitted electronically via https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/oc1-2025-TIS01. Submissions through any other channel will not be accepted.
The proposal includes an application form and a budget template, with the following requirements:
- The application form is composed of the following sections:
- Part 1 : Applicants Information (Organisation details, Contact person information)
- Part 2: Technical Description of Project
- Challenge/Use Case Identification
- Proposal Title (75 characters)
- Proposal Abstract (750 characters)
- Duration
- Novelty and advancement beyond the state-of-the-art (max 3000 characters)
- Technical Approach (max 3000 characters)
- Technological Readiness Level (TRL)
- Dissemination and Communication (max 1750 characters)
- Team Expertise in the Field of Research (max 1750 characters)
- Budget template: The budget template must be completed and uploaded in PDF format. For consortia, each entity should submit its template, and all templates should be merged into one file. A budget allocation should include costs for at least one person to attend an ENFIELD innovation workshop (estimated to be held in Brussels).
Proposal Requirements for ENFIELD Open Call
Projects should focus on one of the following topics and/or subtopics:
- Topic 1: Activity Recognition
- 1 Human Activity Recognition Using Non-wearable
- 2 Human Activity Recognition Using Wearable Sensors
- Topic 2: Long-term memory
- 1 Memory Consolidation and Forgetting Mechanisms
- 2 Lifelong and Continual Learning for Personalized Adaptation
- Topic 3: Enhancing Robotic Intelligibility Through Directional Audio and Visual Effects
- 1 Spatialized and Adaptive Audio for Robot Communication
- 2 Visual Cues for Enhanced Intelligibility
- Topic 4: Multimodality semantic segmentation/perception
More details about the specifications of the topics can be found within Annex 1 FORTIS Technical Specifications
The proposal should be prepared following the FORTIS Proposal Template.
Evaluation and Selection Process for ENFIELD Open Call
An initial eligibility verification will be done to filter out and discard non-eligible proposals. Proposals must meet all the following eligibility criteria:
- The proposing entity (or consortium) is eligible for funding according to the rules outlined in section 3.1 [Y/N].
- All required sections of the proposal are completed [Y/N].
- The proposal aligns with the defined open call challenges [Y/N].
- The proposal is submitted in English [Y/N].
- Required documentation is provided:
- Application Form [Y/N]
- Budget Template [Y/N]
Proposals marked as non-eligible will be rejected and notified with justification.
Eligible proposals are then evaluated based on:
- Advancement beyond the state of the art
- Soundness of the technical approach
- Dissemination and communication strategy
- Technical, creative, and business capacity of the team
Each criterion is scored from 0 to 5. Proposals must score at least 3 per criterion, with a total threshold score of 12. Proposals failing to meet these thresholds will be rejected. The final score is the average of three evaluations.
Within the current ENFIELD – Innovation Scheme Open Call, approximately 10 proposals will be selected for funding.
Additional Support Beyond Funding
Selected startups will also benefit from:
- Networking opportunities with peers and industry experts
- Access to AI research infrastructure
- Promotion through EU and ENFIELD channels
Important Dates
- Application period: 1st April 2025 – 4th June 2025
- Evaluation & Selection: June-July 2025
- Contracting: July-August 2025
- Project implementation: September 2025 – June 2026
Final Thoughts on ENFIELD Open Call
The ENFIELD Innovation Scheme Open Call 2025 offers an excellent opportunity to turn ideas into impactful applied research. With a focus on real-world challenges in strategic sectors and backed by expert industry experts, ENFIELD is an ideal platform for driving innovation and growth. Don’t miss the chance to join a vibrant and collaborative European AI community and contribute to a trustworthy, green, and human-centric digital future.
More Information
The ENFIELD Innovation Scheme Open Call 2025 offers an excellent opportunity to turn ideas into impactful applied research. With a focus on real-world challenges in strategic sectors and backed by expert industry experts, ENFIELD is an ideal platform for driving innovation and growth. Don’t miss the chance to join a vibrant and collaborative European AI community and contribute to a trustworthy, green, and human-centric digital future.
H3: More Information
ENFIELD will create a unique European Centre of Excellence that excels in fundamental research in the pillars of Adaptive, Green, Human-Centric, and Trustworthy AI. These areas are new, strategic, and essential for the successful development, deployment, and public acceptance of AI technologies in Europe. ENFIELD also aims to advance research in the verticals of healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and space by engaging top talents, cutting-edge technologies, and strategic resources from leading research and industry stakeholders. The consortium is composed of 30 partners from 18 different EU countries.
For more information:
- Project website
- Open Call details
- Support email : enfield.opencall@inova.business
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