European Partnership Chips JU ECS 2025 calls

The ECS (Electronic Components and Systems) part of the European Chips Joint Partnership Undertaking, ensures the continuity of the R&I activities of the Key Digital Technologies Partnership (KDT), combining co-financing from the European Union (EU) and co-financing from Participating States.

As in previous KDT calls, global (or “bottom-up”) topics will be covered in accordance with the Strategic Agenda for Research and Innovation in Electronic Components and Systems (ECS SRIA 2025).

In addition to global topics, there are also priority topics (“focus topics”) corresponding to areas of outstanding strategic importance for the Participating States, the EU and Private Members.

The Chips JU implements a multiannual Work Programme 2023-27. The ECS component of the 2025 Work Programme includes the following calls:

Horizon-Chips 2025-1-IA – Innovation Actions:

• HORIZON-JU-Chips-2025-IA: Global IA call – “bottom-up” according with the ECS SRIA 2025
• HORIZON-JU-Chips-2025-IA FT1: RISC-V Automotive Hardware Platform
• HORIZON-JU-Chips-2025-IA FT2: Focus Topic on AI-assisted Methods and Tools for Engineering Automation
• HORIZON-JU-Chips-2025-IA-HIA: Heterogeneous integration for high-performance automotive computing

Horizon-Chips 2025-2-RIA – Research and Innovation Actions:

• HORIZON-JU-Chips-2025-RIA: Global RIA call – “bottom-up” according with the ECS SRIA 2025

Horizon-Chips-2025-CSA** – Coordination and Support Action

• HORIZON-Chips-2025-CSA: Boosting R&I cooperation between EU and Japan on semiconductors

(**) CSA: The international cooperation topic with Japan will be funded 100% by UE, without national co-funding.

National beneficiaries who coordinate or are partners in an international Chips JU consortium:

1. Non-business entities of the R&I system (ENESII), also known as RTOs;
2. Companies.

All national participations must include at least one Portuguese company. Applications that only include ENESII will not be considered eligible for national funding.

• Horizon-Chips 2025-1-IA – Global IA and Focus Topics e HORIZON-JU-Chips-2025-RIA – Global RIA calls, applications must be submitted in two phases:
  • 1st phase: submission of Project Outline (PO) by 29 April 2025;
  • 2nd phase: submission of Full Project Proposal (FPP) by 17 September 2025.
• HORIZON-JU-Chips-2025-IA-HIA calls: applications will be submitted in a single phase (FPP) by 29 April 2025.
• Submission of proposals must be done electronically, through the EU proposal submission platform – Funding & Tenders opportunities. The links are available in Chips JU page (see “Important Links” below). For questions about the calls, including on the submission of applications, please contact Chips JU via email at calls@chips-ju.europa.eu.
• Portuguese beneficiaries don't need to fill in the “National Part” (formerly “Part C”) of the application.
• To participate in Chips JU calls, it is not necessary to be a member of AENEAS, Inside or EPoSS associations.

The information contained on this page only constitutes a summary of the call information and does not exempt you from carefully reading all the call documents available on this page and on the Chips JU website (see “Important Links” below).

The evaluation of applications submitted by international consortia will be carried out by panels of experts convened and organised by the Chips JU for each of the calls.

For each call, a ranking list of applications will be created resulting from the evaluation of the corresponding panel of experts.

It will be up to the Public Authorities Board of the Chips JU to decide which proposals in the ranking list will be selected for funding, i.e., placed in the main list, or placed in the reserve list.

“Focus topics” take precedence in the distribution of funding during the proposal selection process and may also, in some cases, receive higher EU co-funding rates compared to global topics (as indicated in the Work Programme).

The formal national co-financing decision will be taken later by each funding agency of each Participating State and subsequently communicated to the Chips JU, which, in turn, will transmit the results to the coordinators of each consortium.

• FCT's financial commitment for the 2025 calls: 3.500.000,00€
• Maximum FCT co-financing per entity and per project: 250.000,00€

The national co-financing rates through FCT for the 2025 calls vary according to the type of action and the nature of the national entity, and are calculated on the basis on the eligible costs determined by the Chips JU:

• In Innovation Actions:
  • Large Companies: 30%
  • Small and Medium Businesses: 25%
  • ENESII/RTOs: 65%
• In Research and Innovation Actions:
  • Large Companies: 25%
  • Small and Medium Businesses: 30%
  • ENESII/RTOs: 65%

The HORIZON-Chips-2025-CSA call will only receive public funding from the EU.

European Union co-financing rates, through the Chips JU, are indicated for each topic in the Work Programme.

The applicable Regulation to determine the eligibility of costs will be the Horizon Europe Regulation, and national beneficiaries are expected to report the execution of projects (including financial execution) to the Chips JU, in accordance with the terms of the Model Grant Agreement that will be signed between the beneficiaries and the Chips JU.

Chips JU webpage on the ECS calls

Strategic R&I Agenda (ECS SRIA)

Multi-Aannual Work Programme of 2023-27 (see Appendix 5 2025 – ECS)

ECS Collaboration Tool

Filipa Coelho

filipa.coelho@fct.pt