CFAs: Preparing the Advancement of the State of the Art of Submarine Cable Infrastructures

Scope

• Enabling technologies applicable to submarine connectivity infrastructures and systems, including its secondary use for pre-warning systems against natural hazards, are increasingly important to ensure Europe’s strategic autonomy as well as economic security. Achieving such goals requires that Europe remains at the technological edge not only with regards to the cable technology itself but also all the other critical elements composing the submarine cable infrastructure such as repeaters, landings stations, operational control centres, underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASN) or cable communications cybersecurity.
• While some of the necessary research is indirectly conducted through mainstream research activities in generic technologies (e.g., optical communications or network management software), more specific research is needed to address the particular needs and advancement of submarine cable infrastructures and systems. However, the specific research needs still need to be identified, which supports the need to develop a specific roadmap and SRIA for research and innovation in submarine cable technologies. Such research efforts may address some of the following (non-exhaustive) domains:
  • Multi-core fibre (MCF) technology, Digital Signal Processing, repeater systems, intelligent sensing, advanced Digital Acoustic Sensing (DAS), strain and temperature sensing, oceanographic sensors for continuous, real-time trans-oceanic measurements (monitor water body), logical layer and cable network management systems, underwater robotics to improve the construction, maintenance and repair of submarine cable infrastructures, and other innovations, such as wireless sensor networks (WSN) to monitor permanently submarine cable infrastructure and to detect possible threats.

Funding Information

• Budget (EUR) – Year 2025: 2 100 000
• Contributions: 1900000 to 2100000

Expected Outcomes

• Defining specific R&I roadmap at EU level to enhance the cooperation between the EU authorities and other stakeholders and establish leadership in all relevant submarine cable technology domains (EU research roadmap on submarine cables infrastructures, i.e. including any infrastructure related to its construction, operation, maintenance and repair). This CSA should be prepared, managed and coordinated by the key stakeholders in this field, including industry, research and academic stakeholders.
• Τhe project should take into consideration the overarching challenges of:
  • Reinforcing European leadership and cooperation in submarine cable connectivity, with European capabilities and best practices shaping future connectivity standards, promoting their secondary use (e.g. for a pre-warning system of natural hazard) as well as synergies and collaboration with CEF-Digital backbone projects;
  • A digital and green transition towards low carbon footprint of connectivity platforms through principles of the circular economy, including reduction of pollution, regenerating natural systems etc. while targeting long-term sustainability, resilience and security of submarine cable networks;
  • Ensuring resilience for the most demanding cases requiring a very high grade of quality of service (QoS) and performances, and
  • Risk evaluation, preparedness and prevention against any future natural or man-made damage or deliberate sabotage.
• Against this background, the objectives of the target support actions are outlined below:
  • Analysis and definition of the expected critical hardware and software components of future submarine cable infrastructure systems, and indication on where Europe should seize opportunities and strengthen its capabilities, taking into account the characteristics and architectures, including components, security, and operations of future submarine connectivity infrastructures;
  • Definition of the main required R&I work and assessment of associated research investment needs related to the identified domains;
  • Definition of an appropriate industry roadmap (SRIA), in close partnership with relevant EU actors both from industry and academia, indicating research & innovation actions to be undertaken in priority, their scope, and a timetable showing the main milestones and targets. The project could envisage organising thematic workshops to consult all interested communities. The results of this action will feed into the work of relevant groups working on submarine cable infrastructures, such as the European Submarine Cable Expert Group, the NIS 2 Coordination Group or the CER Group.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entities eligible to participate:
  • Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from nonassociated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
  • A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
• To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.
• To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
  • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
    • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
    • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
  • countries associated to Horizon Europe;
    • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

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