Horizon Europe newsletter

Ireland's performance in Horizon Europe
Ireland's success in winning Horizon Europe funding is at a relatively healthy level kicking off 2026 with the current overall award at €1.06bn according to the European Commission's Horizon Dashboard. However, this is not the time for any kind of slowdown as we enter the penultimate year of the seven-year programme. 552 Irish organisations have signed 1605 grant agreements - almost half of those (261) have been awarded more than €250k each. There are many, many more opportunities for participation in the 2026-2027 work programme.

Information events
As you will see from the list of upcoming information events at the end of this newsletter, the main action starts on 20 January with a Horizon Implementation Day focusing on novelties in the 2026-2027 work programme and the remainder of the month will see numerous information days and brokerage events taking place. It's estimated that 50% of projects for the remainder of Horizon Europe will be lump sum projects so the "Lump Sum Funding in Horizon Europe" webinar on 11 February will offer people the chance to find out more about lump sum-specific simplifications and to ask the Commission questions directly.

Success Stories series
We are delighted to highlight two more women-led projects as part of our Irish success story series. This week, we have published a case study on a COST-funded project called DIVERSICROP led by UCD Associate Professor Dr Sónia Negrão which aims to identify climate-resilient crop lines and their potential nutritional and health benefits. And on the housing front, the EqualHouse project led by Professor Michelle Norris (also from UCD) is working to empower policymakers and other stakeholders in the development of affordable, inclusive and sustainable housing solutions across all EU member states. Scroll down to find more on these stories further below.

National Support Network team updates

We'd like to welcome back National Delegate (ND) and National Contact Point (NCP) for Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Yvonne Halpin, who has returned to her role in recent weeks. A big thank you to Blanca Suarez-Bilbao and Monica Lechea for all their work with MSCA applicants over the last year. We're also saying goodbye to our Cluster 6 NCP Darragh O'Neill in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who gives his final newsletter update below. He will be replaced by Caroline Wynne, Senior Manager for Research at the EPA.

In addition, our International Technical Expert Jean-Michel Portefaix outlines the possibilities for France and Ireland collaborations on space projects while Civil Security for Society National Delegate Michael Murphy examines the shift to defence-related funding and the challenges and opportunities for Ireland. And have you subscribed to the very popular Horizon Europe Health Research newsletter? Health NCP Martha Cahill gives all the reasons why you should!

Contact us
The Horizon Europe National Support Network team is here to help - get in touch! You'll find all our contact details in our directory here.

Darragh O’Neill, National Contact Point for Cluster 6 - Environment, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

In his final update for the Horizon Europe Newsletter, Darragh shares the EPA’s achievements in Horizon Europe and outlines €14 billion in new funding for 2026–2027. Key opportunities include Cluster 6 calls on biodiversity, circular economy, and climate action, plus the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe.” He also highlights recent successes in Water4All and Biodiversa+ and points to upcoming info days and events for applicants. You can read the full report here.

Michael Murphy, National Delegate and National Contact Point for Horizon Europe Cluster 3 - Civil Security for Society, Enterprise Ireland

Europe’s next budget signals a major pivot toward security and competitiveness, with €1.76 trillion proposed for 2028–2034 and huge increases in defence-related funding. For Ireland, this shift is both a challenge and an opportunity and developing a national strategy is critical to capture value in emerging dual-use technologies. Read Michael's report here.

Jean-Michel Portefaix, Expert Innovation & Applied Research,
Expertise France – seconded to Enterprise Ireland

Europe’s space ambitions are accelerating, with ESA’s record €22.1 billion budget and Ireland committing over €170 million through 2030. Horizon Europe calls for 2026–2027 will open new opportunities in space data, exploration, and critical technologies. This is perfect timing for Irish organisations to partner with France and lead in this strategic domain. Get in touch with Jean-Michel to explore partnership opportunities with France - more details here.

Upcoming events:

20 Jan - Novelties in the 2026-2027 Horizon Europe work programme. Details here.
20-21 Jan - Horizon Europe info days - EU Missions. Details here.
21 Jan - Cluster 6 Brokerage event. Details here.
22-23 Jan - Horizon Europe Cluster 6 info day. Details here.
26 Jan - Health Horizon Europe Brokerage Event 2026 (online). Details here.
28-29 Jan - NCP4Missions’ Brokerage event. Details here.
28 Jan - AI – Data – Robotics: Info Day and Brokerage Event. Details here.
28 Jan - Virtual Worlds Connect: Brokerage Event. Details here.
29-30 Jan - Cluster 4 Info days. Details here.
3 Feb - ALICE Europe's Technology Platform for Logistics - Brokerage Event 2026. Details here.
4 Feb - ECS Brokerage Event. Details here.
10 Feb - RTR 2026 Results from Road Transport Research - Details here.
11 Feb - Lump Sum Funding in Horizon Europe: How does it work? How to write a proposal? Details here.
2-6 Mar - European Ocean Days. Details here.
23 Mar - European Robotics Forum 2026. Details here.