Pre-announcement 2026 Call for AU-EU collaborative research and Innovation projects on sustainable Energy – LEAP-SE Joint Call 2026

General Call information:

LEAP-SE consortium members are launching the second edition of a transnational joint Call for proposals in 2026, co-funded by European and African national/regional research funding agencies (members of the LEAP-SE consortium), following the first call launched in 2025. The selected projects will focus on achieving goals of mutual benefit based on a balanced and cooperative approach. Particular attention will be given to strengthening the impact of R&I-supported activities for the well-being of society in Europe and Africa.

The total indicative call budget is around €12 million, provided by funding organisations, plus €3.5 million from the EC’s contribution. 

Information on the LEAP-SE Joint Call 2026:

Project consortia must consist of project partners from a minimum of four countries from the two continents. At least two independent legal entities from two different Member States from the European Union or Horizon Europe associated countries participating to the Cofund Call should ask and be eligible to receive support from the relevant participating funder and at least two independent legal entities from two countries from the African Union. At least one partner from the African Union should ask and be eligible to receive support from the national/regional participating funder.

African research and innovation Organisations from countries/regions not participating in the Call are eligible to apply for funding, although the resources available for this are limited.

The consortium must include at least one partner from the institutional research sector (academic, public research center, non-profit organisation, etc.) coming from participating countries (remind the list here of the countries) and one partner from the private sector (commercial company) coming from participating countries must be part of the consortium (remind the list here of the countries).

Total requested funding of each project consortium should not exceed 1.5 million €, and the maximum funding per partner in one project is set at 500 k€. However, not all funding agencies will apply these amounts. Partners must refer to their funding agency’s limit.

The eligibility criteria might be slightly adapted; the final eligibility criteria will be on the call text.

Scope of the Call and Priority Areas for Collaboration:

LEAP-SE Joint Call 2026 can fund basic research, industrial research, applied research and experimental development projects (covering all innovation steps) that are 12-36 months long.

Applicants should be aware that each funding agency participating in the LEAP-SE Joint Call 2025 will apply its own rules and regulations regarding eligibility and criteria (nationality, theme, nature of project, TRL, rate of subsidy etc.).

The range of activities recommended for collaboration under LEAP-SE will focus on 7 identified multi-annual roadmaps:

1. Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources and integration of RES in sustainable energy scenarios
2. End‐of‐life and second‐life management and environmental impact of RE components –
3. Smart stand‐alone systems (SAS)
4. Smart grid (different scale) for off-grid application –
5. Processes and appliances for productive uses (PRODUSE)
6. Innovative solutions for priority domestic uses (clean cooking and cold chain)
7. Production and utilisation of green hydrogen

Project call presentation/webinar :

Two webinars of Call presentations will be held in two languages, French and English, for all interested participants.

The English session is organised for November 24th 2025, at 10:00 CET. Registration to the webinar (mandatory): https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zx3hrH-PR7W3f82wxrTq2g'); return false;" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; outline: 0px; background-color: transparent; transition: 0.2s ease-in-out; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(64, 195, 218);">https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zx3hrH-PR7W3f82wxrTq2g

The French session is organised for December 8th 2025, at 13:30 CET. Registration to the webinar (mandatory) :https://anr.webex.com/weblink/register/r1620eae12ad77a58b6b4a3cf314373c1'); return false;" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; outline: 0px; background-color: transparent; transition: 0.2s ease-in-out; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(64, 195, 218);">https://anr.webex.com/weblink/register/r1620eae12ad77a58b6b4a3cf314373c1

Indicative Call calendar