Thursday, November 5th, 2026
The European Commission has allocated an additional €500 million to Horizon Europe for 2026 and 2027, bringing the programme’s total budget for the two years to approximately €14.8 billion. The amendment introduces new funding opportunities, with a stronger emphasis on connecting European research and innovation with investment, market deployment and wider adoption.
ALICE is reviewing these developments to identify funding topics and collaboration opportunities relevant to its members. This work is closely connected to ALICE4IMPACT, ALICE’s approach to accelerating the uptake of logistics innovation and turning research results into practical applications and measurable impact.
A particularly relevant development is the new Bridging Actions 2027, with €260 million in funding. The European Commission presents these actions as preparation for Horizon Europe 2028–2034 and its links with the future European Competitiveness Fund.
The actions introduce an innovation-to-investment journey intended to help promising research results progress towards commercialisation and deployment. Sixteen actions will address advanced technologies and innovation scaling, with opportunities spanning different research and innovation areas.
For the logistics sector, this approach addresses a familiar challenge. Successful research projects and demonstrations do not automatically lead to widespread implementation. Solutions often require further development, investment, interoperable systems, regulatory alignment and cooperation between multiple stakeholders before they can be deployed at scale.
As part of its work to identify opportunities relevant to the logistics innovation community, ALICE has highlighted four topics under the Horizon Europe Bridging Actions 2027 for further consideration by members.
Under Innovative Europe – European Innovation Ecosystems, this Research and Innovation Action (RIA) focuses on valorising results from Horizon Europe projects through innovation ecosystems. ALICE has identified this as a high-priority topic, particularly relevant to connecting research results with stakeholders and opportunities for wider uptake.
This Innovation Action (IA) addresses results from collaborative research across Horizon Europe’s Pillar II clusters. With a starting Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6, it focuses on advancing promising research outcomes through the innovation journey. ALICE has identified this as a medium-priority topic, relevant to the further development and deployment of project results.
Under Digital, Industry and Space (Apply AI), this Innovation Action (IA) focuses on AI-driven digital platforms for the European energy system, with indicated TRLs of 7-8. ALICE has identified this as a medium-priority topic for further consideration, particularly in relation to digitalisation and energy-system innovation.
Under Climate, Energy and Mobility, this Coordination and Support Action (CSA) addresses the advancement of climate preparedness and resilience solutions towards market uptake. The topic indicates TRL 7 and has been identified by ALICE as a lower-priority opportunity within its initial selection.
These topics represent an initial selection of opportunities identified by ALICE. Members are encouraged to review the relevant calls, assess their applicability to their activities and consider potential collaboration opportunities. ALICE will continue sharing information and exchanging with members as the opportunities develop.
The emphasis on advancing research results towards deployment aligns with ALICE4IMPACT, which connects European research and innovation with logistics industry needs, policy priorities, emerging technologies and market uptake.
Through this approach, ALICE works to identify relevant innovation developments and funding opportunities, facilitate collaboration between stakeholders and support the exploitation and wider adoption of promising solutions. The selection of Bridging Actions topics is one example of how ALICE is translating European funding developments into information that members can use when considering their next research and innovation activities.
This is particularly important in logistics, where innovation often depends on the coordination of infrastructure, data, standards, regulations and multiple organisations. Funding opportunities that support the progression from research results to practical implementation can help address some of these barriers.
The additional Horizon Europe funding comes within a substantial European research and innovation programme. According to the European Commission, since 2021 Horizon Europe has invested €61 billion in grants and €1.3 billion in equity across nearly 23,000 projects involving more than 34,000 organisations.
The Commission also reports that 55% of beneficiaries are newcomers to EU research and innovation programmes, with businesses accounting for two-thirds of these newcomers. However, the average newcomer participates in only one project, underlining the importance of sustained engagement and stronger connections across the innovation ecosystem.
For ALICE members, the new Bridging Actions offer opportunities to explore how existing research results could be developed further, connected with innovation ecosystems and brought closer to deployment.
ALICE will continue identifying and sharing relevant Horizon Europe topics, encouraging members to review opportunities and exchange ideas on potential collaboration. Through ALICE4IMPACT, this work supports the broader objective of ensuring that European investment in logistics research and innovation translates into practical solutions, market uptake and measurable impact.
Further information: European Commission announcement on the Horizon Europe funding amendment