European Calls for Cascading Funding. October 2026

The most interesting calls for proposals selected in October.

Restack Open Call

Description: Topics directly related to Restack and the objectives set forth in the call for proposals:

• design and development of open-source software and open hardware
• validation or constructive analysis of existing or innovative technical solutions
• software engineering aimed at adapting to new areas of use or improving software quality
• Formal security testing, security audits, software test design and configuration, and continuous integration
• documentation for researchers, developers, and end users, including educational materials
• standardization activities, including membership fees for standards organizations
• understanding user requirements and improving usability and inclusive design
• measures needed to facilitate greater (or broader) implementation capabilities, e.g., packaging
• scientific research
• participation in technical, developer, and community events, such as hackathons, IETF, W3C, and RIPE meetings, FOSDEM, etc. (registration fees, travel expenses, and living expenses)
• other activities relevant to adhering to sound software development and deployment practices
• project management
• ongoing infrastructure expenses essential to achieving the above

Eligibility Requirements and Consortia: Anyone may submit an application, including individuals and organizations of any kind

Maximum amount that can be requested per proposal: between €5,000 and €50,000

Deadline: November 3, 2026

Website: https://nlnet.nl/restack/

FIERCE's 2nd Open Call

Description: This program supports the hiring of external service providers to help beneficiaries design, scale up, or commercialize eco-friendly solutions based on spatial data, or to adopt those already available on the market, thereby contributing to the transition toward more sustainable and circular business practices, processes, and partnerships.

This open call is aimed at applicants interested in using secondary-use spatial data to create solutions that have a positive environmental impact, whether: for their own company (for example, by improving current processes to minimize resource consumption, waste, pollution, etc.):

– Type A transformation project or one focused on its users (for example, creating new products or improving existing ones to enhance resource management, environmental monitoring, etc.)

– Type B Transformation Project: Applicants must demonstrate their potential to leverage secondary-use spatial data, such as Earth observation (EO), remote sensing, satellite navigation, etc.

The program places special emphasis on supporting solutions in areas such as:

• Improving circularity in terms of better resource use and waste management
• Safe, resource-efficient, and environmentally responsible management of primary, secondary, and critical raw materials
• Improving Environmental Monitoring

Eligibility Requirements and Consortia: Individual entities submitting an application as: self-employed individuals, microenterprises, small businesses, and medium-sized enterprises, including startups and growing companies.

Maximum amount requested per proposal: Up to 50,000 €

Deadline: November 9, 2026

Website: https://2nd-financing.project-fierce.eu/

I3FLOAT: 1st Open Call

Description: Supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing innovative technological solutions that help strengthen the European value chain for floating offshore wind energy and accelerate the transition of promising technologies toward market deployment (specific and open-ended challenges are defined).

Eligibility Requirements and Consortia: A single SME or two SMEs collaborating with each other

Maximum amount requested per proposal: up to €60,000 per SME

Deadline: November 10, 2026

Website: Open Calls - I3Float

CodeSupply Open Call

Description: Open data on software packages is essential for the automation and scale required to address software supply chain management and tackle security, regulatory, and open-source compliance challenges. CodeSupply collects and curates comprehensive software metadata, including information on origin and licensing, security vulnerabilities, and quality metrics from distributed and trusted data sources across all software ecosystems and software types. This metadata is grouped into reference datasets, federated into a unified data catalog to ensure digital sovereignty and independence, and distributed as open data, freely accessible to all, under an open-source data license. The open call for proposals funds projects that contribute to this goal.

Eligibility Requirements and Consortia: Any individual or entity

Maximum amount requested per proposal: 5,000–50,000 €

Deadline: November 3, 2026

Website: https://nlnet.nl/codesupply/

Fortis OC2

Description: This initiative aims to fund innovative projects that improve collaboration between humans and robots, thereby increasing efficiency, safety, and productivity in industrial settings.

Topic OC#2.1: Moving Toward Implementation (8 technical subtopics):

• Subtopic 1: HRC Optimization / Task Assignment
• Subtopic 2: Flexible Interface Digital Twin
• Subtopic 3: HRI Watchdog (AI Law and Safety Oversight)
• Subtopic 4: Digital Twin of HRI Activities
• Subtopic 5: Omnidirectional Deployment of the FORTIS Solution
• Subtopic 6: The Human Condition and the Context of Interaction from an Ergonomic Perspective
• Subtopic 7: Interfaces with XR (AR/MR smart glasses)
• Subtopic 8: Multisensor Localization and Mapping with Confidence Consideration

OC Topic #2.2: Application of FORTIS in Other Key Sectors (open topic): Technology transfer of FORTIS tools to new areas of civilian application (e.g., agriculture, healthcare, airports, forestry, logistics).

Eligibility Requirements and Consortia:

• SMEs, mid-sized companies, universities, and research institutions that develop innovative solutions in collaborative robotics, AI-driven automation, or digital twin environments.
• Organizations seeking funding to create prototypes, test, and scale up their human-robot interaction (HRI) technologies.

Maximum amount that can be requested per proposal:

• OC Topic #2.1: €250 ,000 per project
• OC Topic #2.2: €170 ,000 per project

Up to 100% of total costs for nonprofit organizations; up to 70% of total costs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and for-profit organizations, including mid-sized companies.

Deadline: November 4, 2026

Website: https://fortis-project.eu/open-call-2/

AENAON Open Call No. 1

Description: Focuses on the initial validation, integration, and testing of AENAON technologies and services in realistic environments. Activities may include the development and validation of sector-specific cybersecurity scenarios, the identification and assessment of vulnerabilities relevant to offshore wind energy, integration with simulation and cyber testbed environments, cybersecurity testing and training activities, and the validation of cybersecurity tools, services, and preparedness capabilities.

Eligibility requirements and consortia: SMEs and startups, large companies and technology providers, research organizations and universities, cybersecurity service and technology providers, offshore wind farm operators, manufacturers and supply chain actors, stakeholders in the energy and critical infrastructure sectors, and other relevant innovation stakeholders.

Maximum amount that can be requested per proposal: starting at a maximum limit of €60,000, with up to €100,000 allowed per individual third party (only in the case of offshore wind farm operators and manufacturers, which are considered large critical infrastructure or essential service operators) and up to €150,000 per action (in the case of small consortia).

Deadline: November 13, 2026

Website: https://aenaon-project.eu/info-day-aenaon-project-open-call-round-1/

Innowide Call for Proposals

The 5th Innowwide call for market feasibility projects opened on October 1, 2026, and will close on December 1, 2026.

Innowwide helps innovative small and medium-sized enterprises assess the feasibility of their business or research goals for international expansion into a target country.

Through this initiative, SMEs can develop market feasibility projects for their innovative solutions over a six-month period, in collaboration with local organizations based in the selected destination country (Africa, the Americas, Asia, or Oceania).

The fifth Innowwide call for proposals has a budget of 4.2 million euros, earmarked to fund 70 projects, with a grant of 60,000 euros per market feasibility project.

This is an open-theme (bottom-up) call for proposals, which means that participating companies are free to define the scope and focus of their projects.