Objective of the call
The objective of Open Call #1 is to validate, extend and strengthen the COP-PILOT Collaborative Open Platform (COP) by engaging third-party innovators, primarily SMEs and startups.
The call supports the onboarding of new innovative services and the integration of new infrastructure domains into the COP-PILOT ecosystem. Applicants are expected to deploy, integrate and validate their solutions using the platform’s core components, contributing to cross-domain collaboration across heterogeneous IoT–edge–core environments.
Scope of activities
The scope of this call is to:
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Integrate new IoT, AI, edge, cloud or orchestration solutions into existing COP-PILOT cluster infrastructures
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Extend or enhance current pilot use cases
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Introduce complementary technologies, services or datasets
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Validate interoperability through COP-PILOT’s Secure Integration Fabric
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Demonstrate cross-domain, scalable, and secure deployment of distributed applications
Proposed solutions must be technically integrated within one of the defined clusters and operate within the existing architectural framework (Domain Orchestrator, FIWARE-based data management, Kubernetes environments, secure federation mechanisms).
Projects are expected to:
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Deploy containerised services or interoperable components
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Use or extend available IoT data streams
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Validate real-time or near-real-time processing capabilities
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Demonstrate measurable technical and/or operational improvement within the selected domain
The Open Call does not fund standalone research. It supports validation and integration in operational environments.
Available Clusters:
Applicants must select one cluster for integration.
Cluster 1 – Business Integration in Mining (Sweden)
Domain: Mining digitalisation and autonomous systems
Focus areas:
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Industrial IoT in underground environments
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Predictive maintenance
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Seismic monitoring and asset tracking
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Secure IoT–Edge–Cloud orchestration
This cluster validates interoperable digital mining infrastructures combining edge processing, cloud analytics and secure service orchestration.
Cluster 2 – Smart Sustainable IoT Solutions (Valencia, Spain)
Domain: Smart cities, ports, buildings and urban monitoring
Focus areas:
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5G-connected traffic and radar systems
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Flood monitoring
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Waste and environmental sensing
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Smart building management
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Port traffic optimisation
This cluster provides real urban infrastructure including private 5G networks and FIWARE-based data environments.
Cluster 3A – AgriTech Transformation & Sustainability (Greece)
Domain: Smart agriculture and food systems
Focus areas:
This cluster supports integrated farm-to-fork digital agriculture ecosystems.
Cluster 3E – Edge Intelligence for Grid Reliability (Western Greece)
Domain: Energy systems and distributed energy resources
Focus areas:
This cluster provides edge computing environments and AI-capable infrastructure for energy applications.
Cluster 4 – Smart Vineyards & Sustainable Winery Ecosystems
Domain: Viticulture and winery production
Focus areas:
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Smart irrigation and water efficiency
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IoT sensor lifecycle management
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Winery production optimisation (OEE monitoring)
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5G-enabled agricultural robotics
This cluster integrates vineyard monitoring, winery production and AI-driven optimisation across multiple EU pilot sites.
Eligible applicants
Eligible applicants are Single SME or SME-led consortia of at least 2 partners no maximum and don’t need to be from different countries. While the leading partner must be an SME, the other eligible partners can be as defined below:
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- Large enterprises
- Research institutions and universities
- Non-profit organizations
- Public entities (where permitted)
Your organisation must be registered in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country (described in General Annex A, General Annex B, General Annex C)
Eligible costs
- Personnel: Salaries for project staff
- Travel: Meetings, conferences, site visits, webinars
- Equipment: Computing hardware, sensors, software licenses
- Subcontracting: Outsourced services (with clear justification and maximum 20%)
- Other Direct Costs: Consumables, services, publications
- Indirect Costs: Maximum 25% of direct costs
Funding conditions
Type of action:
Cascade funding
Funding rate:
100% lump sum
Funding is performance-based. 50% pre-financing is paid at project start and 50% after successful validation and acceptance of deliverables.
EU contribution per project:
Up to €200,000
Number of funded projects:
8 (1-2 per cluster)
Project duration:
8 months execution + 2 months for reporting
Expected start: June 2026
Technology Readiness Level (TRL):
Projects must start at minimum TRL 5-6 and reach TRL 7-8 by completion
*Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) describe the maturity of a technology, from basic research (TRL 1) to fully deployed, market-ready solutions (TRL 9).
Deadline for submission
17 April 2026