Horizon Europe 2025 EU Missions: Restore Our Oceans and Waters
Funding available through Horizon Europe to restore, protect and preserve the health of our ocean, seas and waters, with up to €15m for the largest projects.
Opportunity Details
When
Registration Opens
06/05/2025
Registration Closes
24/09/2025
Award
Up to €15m per project, which can fund up to 100% of project costs depending on call type.
Organisation
Horizon Europe
The Mission ‘Restore our ocean and waters by 2030’ will provide a systemic approach to restore, protect and preserve the health of our ocean, seas and waters. The Mission is designed to deliver on the European Union’s 2030 quantified and measurable targets for protecting and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity, for achieving zero pollution, and for decarbonising and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions from the blue economy towards climate-neutrality, within the EU’s seas and waters.
The Mission will support many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): in particular restoring our ocean and waters related actions will directly contribute to SDG 14 – Life below water and SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation, as well as to SDG13 – Climate action. The Mission will also contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development by fostering research and cooperation across European sea basins, including the EU Outermost Regions and beyond, and mobilise scientists, as well as citizens for a sustainable and healthy ocean, seas and waters.
Potential applicants are invited to sign up for the EU Missions Info Days on 22-23 May and the related Brokerage Events on 26-27 May.
Horizon Europe Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility and Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment also include several calls related to this topic.
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In line with Horizon Europe, all the actions supported by this call are open to actors from EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State;
- and at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries (this includes the UK).
Our European team can help you find eligible partners to form a consortium.
There may be further eligibility conditions for specific topics. Please check the Work Programme and talk to our team to ensure your eligibility before applying.
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Potential applicants are invited to sign up for the EU Missions Info Days on 22 May (8.30am-5pm CET / 7.30am-4pm GMT) and 23 May (8.30am-3pm CET / 7.30am-2pm GMT), and the related Brokerage Events on 26-27 May.
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These are all single-stage calls with a deadline of 24 Sep 2025:
Blue Parks – Towards a coherent European network of strictly protected areas for restoring healthy and productive marine ecosystems – €4-5m for a single project
A toolbox for public authorities to address marine plastics and litter from river-to-ocean – total budget €22m, c.€4.5-5.5m per project
Digital technologies and energy transition in fisheries and/or aquaculture – total budget €23.3m, c.€5-5.825m per project
Restoring Ocean and Waters in Regions – c.€15m for a single project
Restoring Ocean and Waters in waterfront Cities and their Ports – c.€15m for a single project
Restoring Ocean and Waters on Islands – c.€13.5m for a single project
Mission Lighthouses coordination and support activities – total budget €14.2m, c.€3-3.55m per project
EU Digital Twin Ocean: Contribution to the EU DTO core infrastructure through applications for sustainable ocean management – total budget €12m, c.€6m per project
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These funded actions will also be available to apply for as part of the Mission:
Services to Communities to support the achievement of the objectives of the Mission Ocean and Waters – procurement (Q2 2025), €3.98m for a single project
Ocean Observation Platform – procurement (Q4 2026), €1.5m for a single project
Study to provide evidence for EU actions on wetlands – procurement (2025), €0.9m for a single project
Communication actions and events for Mission Ocean and Waters – procurement (Q3 2025), €0.2m for a single project
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The following cross-cutting actions will also be funded as part of all EU Missions, opening in Dec 2025 with a closing date of 31 Mar 2026:
- Strengthening skills and capacity for the deployment of EU Missions – c.€1m for a single project
- Understanding and overcoming barriers to the scale-up of innovations supporting EU Missions – c.€2m for a single project
- Advancing lead markets and proof-of-concept for deep tech solutions contributing to EU Missions – total budget €8m, c.€4m per project
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