How to structure the consortium and budget in the Clean Industrial Deal call

Companies considering submitting an industrial pilot project (TRL 7–8) under the new Clean Industrial Deal call – endowed with €275 million in 2026 and with a deadline of 15th September – must consider two decisive elements: the design of the consortium and the structuring of the budget. These grants for industrial pilots, newly introduced under Horizon Europe, offer a major opportunity to finance near-to-market technologies, but proposals must be carefully aligned with specific rules.

Unlike the Innovation Fund, where applications may be submitted individually and the budget follows the usual industrial CAPEX and OPEX logic, projects under the Clean Industrial Deal call must be structured around relatively small consortia – generally five to ten partners – and comply with a specific budgetary framework.

Our experience at Zabala Innovation in financing TRL 7–8 projects under Horizon Europe shows that these requirements are not an obstacle, provided that the design is approached strategically from the outset.

The consortium in the Clean Industrial Deal call

Which entities in the value chain should be represented?

In near-to-market demonstrator projects, evaluators look for industrial coherence and credibility in future exploitation. It is therefore advisable to structure the consortium around three pillars:

• The industrial company that will own or operate the plant.
• The technology developer, or several developers if the solution integrates different modules.
• The end customer or user who will validate the solution under real operating conditions.
• This structure demonstrates that the project is not a theoretical exercise, but a genuine step towards industrialisation and market uptake.

Which technical partners add value at TRL 7–8?

Although the project is at an advanced stage, complementary capabilities are still required. The following may add value:

• Technology centres or universities that have participated in earlier development phases and can optimise final process adjustments.
• Specialists in specific fields (such as digitalisation, materials, process integration, waste treatment or energy efficiency) who can help address critical technological challenges.
• Experts in industrial scale-up, particularly relevant when the challenge is moving from pilot to demonstration scale.

The key is that each partner has a clear and necessary role. In these projects, large consortia are not valued for their size, but for their coherence and complementarity.

Which cross-cutting profiles should be included?

In addition to industrial and technological actors, certain strategic profiles can strengthen the proposal:

• Specialists in dissemination, exploitation and communication of results, which are mandatory in this type of project.
• Experts in certification or regulation where market access depends on complex regulatory frameworks.
• Consultants in life-cycle analysis, biodiversity impact or public acceptance, if the technology faces specific barriers.

These profiles should not be included automatically but justified in line with the business model and real market conditions.

The budget in the Clean Industrial Deal call

How should the main demonstrator costs be structured?

Understanding the required cost structure from the outset makes it possible to size the project correctly and avoid deviations. In TRL 7–8 projects, the budget is usually concentrated in three main blocks:

• Engineering. The engineering company does not necessarily need to be part of the consortium as a partner; it may be contracted as an external provider and charged either as subcontracting or as a purchase cost, depending on the specific scope of work.
• Equipment. The full purchase cost is not funded; only depreciation over the duration of the project, in accordance with the company’s accounting rules, is eligible. If the standard accelerated depreciation period for industrial demonstrators in your company is five years and the project trials last three years, 60% of the cost may be charged.
• OPEX. Raw materials, electricity, fuels and consumables may be included as eligible costs, provided they can be clearly identified and linked to the specific implementation of the project.

As a rule, an additional 25% is applied to eligible direct costs to cover indirect costs.

What other costs may be included?

In addition to CAPEX and OPEX, the following may also be charged:

• Personnel costs for staff assigned to the project. The actual cost to the company must be used, not the commercial billing rate.
• Related expenses such as travel, audits, laboratory testing or minor external services.

Sound financial planning not only improves the evaluation score but also facilitates subsequent project implementation.

Is it possible to generate revenue during implementation?

Yes, it is. Horizon Europe does not prohibit demonstrators from generating revenue. The only condition is that the sum of the justified grant and the profit does not exceed the eligible budget.

For example, taking as a reference an overall funding rate of 72% – a common proportion in consortia combining for-profit entities (funded up to 70%) and non-profit entities (up to 100%) – a project with a total budget of €34 million could receive a grant of €24.5 million. In this scenario, if revenue generated during implementation is less than €9.5 million, the grant would not be reduced.

Moreover, if revenue is generated after the project has been completed, it does not affect the awarded funding.