Open Call Analysis: AENAON 1st Open Call

Up to €100,000 for Operators, Cybersecurity Providers, SMEs and Research Organisations

AENAON’s first Open Call, Cybersecurity Technology Enhancement for Offshore Wind Energy Operators, funds third parties to enrich, integrate and test cybersecurity solutions on a Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform, with up to €100,000 per legal entity from an indicative €2,100,000 envelope.

About AENAON

AENAON’s mission is to strengthen the cyber-resilience of offshore wind installations and the interconnected grid infrastructure around them. To do this, it builds three main assets:

A Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform
An interactive cyber range training programme built on attack-and-defence scenarios and red-team/blue-team exercises
A set of ex-ante preparedness services (e.g., penetration testing, threat and risk assessment, risk monitoring, cybersecurity awareness and coordination support among operators).

The project also supports alignment with the NIS2 Directive, and the platform will be tested in pilots in advanced offshore renewable regions, including the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

About AENAON Open Call 1

AENAON runs two Open Call rounds to extend its reach beyond the consortium. Open Call 1 is the technology-focused round supporting content enrichment, integration and testing of the platform and its services, so that they reflect the real needs of offshore wind operators. Round two, on scaling resilience across the wider ecosystem, follows in 2027.

OC1 pursues three goals: broadening uptake of AENAON assets, validating its services in realistic operational contexts, and producing replicable results for the sector. Funded projects contribute to one or more capability areas:

Cyber range training and scenario-based exercises aligned with offshore wind operations.
Preparedness services, such as vulnerability discovery, penetration testing, threat and risk assessment, and risk monitoring or cyberattack management.
Validation and enhancement of the Cyber Range Platform through integration, testing and feedback.

The call places particular weight on solutions that improve automation, user experience, interoperability and security validation across OT and IT environments, and on contributions to NIS2 and CER-related resilience.

Why apply to AENAON Open Call 1

OC1 offers up to €100,000 per legal entity from an indicative OC1 budget of €2,100,000 (part of a €4,100,000 total across both rounds). Support is a lump-sum sub-grant covering 50% of the eligible budget, so the maximum corresponds to an action budget of around €200,000, with beneficiaries covering the other half from own resources or other eligible co-funding. Payments follow a 30%-40%-30% structure: pre-financing at signature, mid-term review and final report.

Who can apply?

OC1 targets organisations that can contribute to offshore wind cybersecurity preparedness:

Offshore wind energy operators and other relevant offshore renewable energy actors.
Supply chain and critical infrastructure stakeholders.
National Coordination Centres (NCCs) and, where relevant, regulatory or national cybersecurity entities.
Cybersecurity and technology solution providers.
SMEs and start-ups.
Research and innovation organisations.

Applications can come from a single organisation or a small consortium. A consortium needs a lead beneficiary, who submits the proposal, signs the Sub-Grant Agreement, receives the payments and consolidates reporting. The €100,000 ceiling applies per legal entity, not per consortium.

Applicants must be established in an EU Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Other countries qualify only if they are fully associated with the Digital Europe cybersecurity objective and appear on the official OC1 list of eligible countries.

How to apply to AENAON Open Call 1

Proposals go through the official AENAON submission portal in English and PDF, using the mandatory templates. A complete application contains:

The online application form, with the requested lump sum, a short proportionality justification and confirmation of the 50% co-funding.
The technical proposal on the Annex 3 template (maximum 10 pages), including the resource justification and the confidentiality designation.
Legal entity information (PIC or equivalent, VAT number where applicable, registration extract where requested).
Declaration of Honour (Annex 5).
Consortium / Partner Declaration (Annex 6), if more than one entity is involved.
Ownership and Control Declaration (Annex 7).
No Double Funding Declaration (Annex 8) from each entity, disclosing any prior AENAON funding.
IPR and Background Declaration (Annex 9).
Details of planned subcontractors, where relevant.

Important dates

14 July 2026: OC1 Info Day.
1 September 2026: submission period opens.
31 October 2026: submission period closes (exact closing time to be confirmed in the Open Call Notice).
November–December 2026: admissibility and eligibility checks, evaluation and selection.
January–August 2027: implementation of funded projects (8 months).

Proposal requirements

A valid proposal presents an innovative cybersecurity use case for offshore wind, linked clearly to AENAON’s services and, where applicable, the platform. It must set out the technical approach, work plan, milestones, outputs and risks, and show feasibility within 8 months and the budget. Activities must fall within a closed and exhaustive list. Anything outside it, including generic marketing, unrelated R&D or capital investment not strictly needed, is ineligible:

A1.1 Integration of cybersecurity technologies: offshore wind security requirements, AI-driven threat detection, OT security analysis, predictive analytics
A1.2 Testing in real-world pilots: evaluation of digital twin simulations, SCADA security assessments, validation of penetration-testing mechanisms
A1.3 Compliance and resilience: best-practice validation and content delivery through the platform, with demonstrable NIS2 and CER alignment evidence
A1.4 Dissemination and communication: targeted plans that raise the visibility of AENAON and the funded action
A1.5 Collaboration and impact: contribution to AENAON KPIs

Each project must propose measurable KPI targets, and meeting them is a condition for the mid-term and final payments. The project-wide OC1 targets are more than 20 offshore wind risk scenarios, more than 10 penetration tests and more than five engaged industry stakeholders, with each project’s share agreed at contracting.

Evaluation and selection process

Stage 1 is an admissibility and eligibility check where failing proposals get a rejection letter without technical feedback. Stage 2 is a quality evaluation by at least two independent experts.

Each sub-criterion is scored 0 to 5. Sub-criteria are averaged into a category score, then the OC1 weights apply:

Implementation (40%): work plan coherence, management and governance, resource allocation and budgeting, risk identification and mitigation, team experience and capacity, monitoring and quality assurance, and gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
Excellence (30%): technical and methodological quality, innovation potential, alignment with AENAON objectives.
Impact (30%): expected outcomes and benefits, dissemination and exploitation strategy, contribution to the AENAON ecosystem.

Thresholds: at least 3 out of 5 on each criterion and an overall weighted score of at least 3.33 out of 5. Large scoring gaps between evaluators trigger a consensus process within five working days, with a third evaluator if needed.

Above-threshold proposals that cannot be funded go on a reserve list. Applicants receive an Evaluation Summary Report, and redress is limited to procedural errors.

Additional support beyond funding

Selected projects receive:

Access to the Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform and associated preparedness services.
Technical guidance from consortium experts in OT/IT security, digital twins, cyber range operations, threat and risk assessment and regulation.
Mentoring and capacity-building support where applicable, with scope confirmed in the Sub-Grant Agreement.
A dedicated onboarding process covering platform access, integration and reporting.
At least two coordination or review sessions, plus ad hoc support.

Final thoughts on AENAON Open Call 1

AENAON OC1 supports third parties in strengthening and testing cybersecurity solutions for offshore wind, using the project’s Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform as the validation environment. Selected projects receive co-funding of up to €100,000 per legal entity and work on realistic offshore wind scenarios in a short, milestone-driven implementation period. The call is best suited to cybersecurity SMEs and technology providers whose OT/IT, penetration-testing or simulation tools are mature enough to be integrated within the eight-month timeframe, as well as operators and research organisations looking to validate threat scenarios in a realistic setting.