Deadline Date: November 5, 2026
The European Commission is inviting grant applications to strengthen stress testing of critical infrastructure systems, improving their resilience to a wide range of threats and disruptions.
The focus areas include stress testing of critical infrastructure, simulation and modelling tools, multi-hazard and multi-threat scenario building, data analytics including geospatial information, digital twins, risk and vulnerability assessment, operational resilience, incident management, training development, and post-incident analysis and learning systems.
The funding available for this topic is €9,670,000, with individual project contributions expected to be around €4,835,000.
The objective of this topic is to strengthen the resilience of critical entities by enabling more effective stress testing of infrastructure systems that provide essential services to society. These systems are increasingly complex and interconnected, making them vulnerable to cyber-attacks, physical threats, natural disasters, human-induced disruptions, and technical failures.
The programme aims to provide tools and processes that allow operators and authorities to perform virtual and physical stress tests of critical assets and operations. These tools should help identify technical and operational vulnerabilities, improve scenario-building exercises, and support the development of mitigation strategies to strengthen resilience planning.
The initiative also supports systems that enable communication, notification, and collaboration among stakeholders during stress conditions. It promotes improved post-incident investigation capabilities, including secure data collection, analysis, and knowledge sharing to enhance learning and response mechanisms.
In addition, the topic focuses on improving operational procedures, incident management systems, and training curricula to better prepare stakeholders for managing disruptions in critical infrastructure environments.
Proposed solutions should support flexible and adaptable configuration to address evolving threats and hazards. They should be suitable for different sectors and operational environments, including harsh and remote conditions, and comply with relevant legal and confidentiality frameworks governing sensitive information.
Any legal entity may participate, including those from non-associated third countries or international organisations, provided Horizon Europe eligibility requirements are met.
For more information, visit European Commission.
