Horizon Europe Opens to UK Leads in 2025: What Grant Teams Need to Know
Horizon Europe lead eligibility for UK organisations is back on the table in 2025. This briefing breaks down the funding calls, deadlines, and risk controls you should tackle now so Crafty can help you build winning bids fast.
TL;DR
- Association confirmation means UK organisations can once again coordinate Horizon Europe projects from Work Programme 2025.
- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will run a “support for applicants” window through September 2025—book consortium surgeries early.
- Update your consortium MoUs, risk registers, and evidence bank so Crafty can generate compliant submissions at pace.
What changed with UK Horizon Europe association?
The UK formally associated to Horizon Europe on 1 January 2024 following the bilateral agreement announced in September 2023 by the UK Government and the European Commission. While UK partners could participate during 2024, lead eligibility resets with the 2025 Work Programme. That means UK entities can coordinate consortia, access full budgets, and draw on UKRI’s Horizon Europe Guarantee only for transitional cases.
Which 2025 calls prioritise UK leads?
UKRI’s January 2025 briefing highlights mission clusters where UK strengths align: climate resilience (Cluster 5), digital and industry (Cluster 4), and health (Cluster 1). The table below summarises key deadlines and budgets.
| Call | Deadline (indicative) | Budget (€) | Why UK leads matter |
|---|---|---|---|
| HORIZON-CL5-2025-D3 | 8 Oct 2025 | €40m total / €8m per project | UK offshore wind + grid integration track record |
| HORIZON-CL4-2025-TWIN-TRANSITION | 18 Sep 2025 | €56m total / €7m per project | Advanced manufacturing clusters in Midlands & North |
| HORIZON-HLTH-2025-DISEASE | 11 Feb 2026 (two-stage) | €60m total / €6m per project | UK biomedical consortium strength, NHS data access |
Always confirm budgets and deadlines through the Funding & Tenders Portal and the UKRI Horizon Europe hub.
How should UK teams prepare bids in March–June?
Start with consortium alignment. Use our consortium MoU kit to capture partner roles, data-sharing, and intellectual property clauses. Run a 90-minute kick-off workshop to lock success metrics, then populate Crafty with the storyboard and prompt library.
The UK National Contact Points are offering thematic clinics every fortnight—book quickly via the UKRI Horizon Europe hub.
What compliance and financial rules should you revisit?
Reconfirm audit readiness. Horizon Europe coordinators must evidence financial viability and risk mitigation at the proposal stage. Update your audit preparation checklist and digital evidence pack. Familiarise yourself with the 2024 Annotated Grant Agreement via the European Commission guidance.
Next steps and resources
Download our Horizon Europe call tracker, consortium MoU template, and Crafty prompt pack designed for EU frameworks. Coordinate with your finance team to align Full Economic Costing models before budgets lock.
Action plan
- Shortlist three Horizon Europe calls aligned to your mission and partners.
- Book UKRI or National Contact Point advisory sessions for Q2 2025.
- Load consortium assets into Crafty to accelerate proposal drafting.