International Call for Projects M-ERA.NET

prima-visuel-appel-de-projets - M-ERA.NET 2025 EN

CALL FOR PROJECTS – M-ERA.NET

FUNDING OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF ADVANCED MATERIALS

ABOUT M-ERA.NET

M-ERA.NET started in 2012 under FP7 with 37 partners from 25 European countries. It continued as M-ERA.NET 2 from 2016 to 2022 with 43 partners from 29 countries and is now running in its third phase as M-ERA.NET 3 until 2026 under the Horizon 2020 ERA-NET COFUND scheme with currently 49 public funding organisations from 35 countries. The diverse and experienced network comprises national and regional funding programmes from 25 EU member states and 5 associated countries and includes 5 non-European organisations (https://m-era.net/about/consortium).

M-ERA.NET seeks to address societal challenges and technological needs through an interdisciplinary approach, providing a flexible umbrella structure that covers new themes in materials research and innovation, including materials for low-carbon technologies and related production technologies. Its main activities involve the launch of a series of joint calls for transnational R&D projects. These calls provide the European R&D community with a chance to access coordinated funding across Europe, along with premium information from around the world.

OBJECTIVE

In an effort to support collaborative research and development (R&D) in advanced materials, PRIMA Québec is launching a new international call for projects under PSO-International. PSO-International helps support international activities conducted by Quebec universities, colleges, institutions and industries working in various research and innovation niches. For this purpose, the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) supports the participation of PRIMA Québec in the 2024 M-ERA-NET call for projects. Under this call, 38 funding agencies from 29 countries participate with a total budget of approximately €35 million. Advanced materials involve any new or significantly improved material that provides a considerable performance advantage (physical or functional) over conventional materials.

ELIGIBLE PROJECTS

In accordance with its strategic plan, PRIMA Québec seeks to promote the submission of projects intended to develop advanced materials for use in key sectors across Québec, such as transportation and infrastructure, energy, environment, textiles, electronics and health.

Horizontal objectives for the Call 2025:

Supporting the European Green Deal by increasing attention to clean energy technologies and future batteries:
M-ERA.NET aims to strengthen the contribution of materials RTD for clean energy-related applications, energy generation and harvesting, energy storage (battery technologies), electrolysers and fuel cells. M-ERA.NET will support the transition towards a circular economy by addressing aspects like eco-design, design for recycling, durability of products and process efficiency through reduced energy and materials consumption, resulting e.g. in light-weight products.

Supporting the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG):
M-ERA.NET will contribute to a wider public debate on the impact of materials research and its potential to achieve the SDGs. In particular, M-ERA.NET will support in particular SDG 6 (“Clean water and sanitation”) through the development of materials and processes for water treatment, SDG 7 (“Affordable and clean energy”) through fostering research on sustainable energy storage technology, SDG 9 (“Industrial innovation and infrastructure”) by upgrading the technological capabilities of industrial sectors and SDG 12 (“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”) through an environmentally sound management of natural resources and reduced waste generation.

Creating socio-ecological benefits in the context of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI):
M-ERA.NET joint calls will address EU areas of socio-ecological relevance, illustrating the leveraging effects materials research and innovation have on areas that reflect meaningful societal needs. M-ERA.NET will develop responsible research and innovation processes to systematically address socio-ecological, ethical and political dimensions of material research, development and use. Please refer to the topic descriptions and the M-ERA.NET RRI guidelines included in the call documents.

Supporting the innovation chain, strengthening interdisciplinarity and widening:
Making the best use of the interdisciplinary network, the calls in M-ERA.NET will facilitate the generation of knowledge along the innovation chain, from excellent science and research to innovative industrial applications. M-ERA.NET as a platform uses an integrative approach across disciplines and across application fields, making the initiative an attractive and efficient tool for transnational joint projects that were unlikely to be realised before. Measures to ensure gender balance in the project consortia should also be considered.

Strengthening interdisciplinarity:

M-ERA.NET as a platform uses an integrative approach across disciplines and across application fields, making the initiative an attractive and efficient tool for transnational joint projects that were unlikely to be realised before.

Digitalisation and data management:
M-ERA.NET aims to integrate digital technologies and data management frameworks to accelerate technological transfer to the market. Inclusion of digital tools and data spaces from design to validation are encouraged. An open operability and data sharing secure approach will encourage international cooperation in the field. In line with the principle “as open as possible, as close as necessary” it will ensure the provision of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) results and supporting the need for uniform data structures, uniform data processing (exchange, evaluation, further processing) and uniform concepts for handling materials data in the so-called digital workflows across all borders. Special attention will be given to ethical considerations, security measures, and fostering inclusivity to ensure responsible and impactful digital transformation.

The following six topics are defined for the Call 2025 (see the M-ERA.NET guide for more details):

Sustainable materials for energy applications
Innovative surfaces, coatings and interfaces
Advanced composites and lightweight materials
Functional materials
Materials addressing environmental challenges
Next generation materials for electronics

The pre-proposal submission deadline will be May 13, 2025 (6:00 am, Montreal time, 12 pm, Brussels time).

MAIN ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The list above includes the main criteria, all of which can be found in the guide. The call for projects is funded by PSO-International. Proposals must meet all PRIMA and M-ERA.NET criteria.

Minimum requirement: Project consortia must consist of at least 3 partners (all requesting funding from a funding organisation listed in Annex 3) from at least 3 different countries (at least 2 EU member state or associated country) participating in the M-ERA.NET Call 2025. In addition to the minimum consortium the participation of further partners is possible.
Coordinator must request funding from a funding organisation listed in Annex 3 of the M-ERA.NET guide.
Proposal must address appropriate TRLs for selected M-ERA.NET Call 2025 topics;
The total effort of a single applicant cannot exceed 60% of the total project effort (measured in person months) in the proposal;
The total effort of applicants from one country cannot exceed 70% of the total project effort (measured in person months) in the proposal;
Mandatory proposal forms must be used (provided for download at https://www.m-era.net/joint-calls/joint-call-2025). Proposal must be written in English.
Proposal must be recommended for Full-Proposal submission by M-ERA.NET after Pre-Proposal stage.
Project applicants may be universities, CCTTs or public research centres;
Proposers must provide their respective PIC2-numbers in the proposal; proposers without a validated PIC will be able to use a temporary PIC for submission.
Minimum of one company (primarily an SME), the company needs a presence in Québec (production or R&D); Partner participation is the subject of a signed letter of support.
The theme of the project must concern the theme of one of the 4 innovation zones in Québec.
Minimum 20% cash contribution from the company;
Maximum 50% contribution from PRIMA Québec;
Additional sources will not include MEIE or Mitacs funding;
Maximum 80% public funds;
Other M-ERA.NET consortium partners must contribute at least 30% of the project’s total cost;
5% of all direct research costs and management fees (3% company, 2% MEIE);
Maximum duration of 3 years with a PRIMA contribution of up to $500K, including MEIE and IRC management fees.

If you are looking for partners, visit the NMP Partner Search website: https://www.m-era.net/joint-calls/partnersearch

It is strongly recommended to contact a consultant before submitting a project to ensure that all rules are respected.

WEBINARS

M-ERA.NET will hold a webinar on March 25, 2025 at noon. (Brussels time), link to come

CALENDAR

March 5, 2025: Call launch
March 15, 2025: M-ERA.NET Webinar at 11 a.m. (Brussels time)
May 13, 2025, at noon (Brussels time): Pre-proposals submission deadline and PRIMA pre-proposal form
End of September 2025: Feedback to candidates, project recommended or not to submit the full proposal.
November 19, 2025: Full proposal submission deadline
January 15, 2026: Deadline to submit a copy of the additional funding request
Early February 2026: Feedback to candidates
March-June 2026: Start of funded projects