Ensuring the safety, resilience and security of waterborne digital systems
Coordinators Horizon Europe
Driving a just transition: PED strategies in social and subsidised housing
- All sectors
- EU Open Calls
- Coordinators: Driving Urban Transition - Positive Energy Districts
- Allocated budget: Most projects are expected to have a total budget request of around €1–2 million.
- End of applications: 23 April 2026
- Project duration: 36 months
- Project submitted on: Open calls
Objective
Develop integrated housing and energy strategies in public and social housing to drive climate-neutral, affordable, and inclusive urban transitions, leveraging PEDs and energy communities for systemic impact.
Priorities
➡️ Integrate PEDs in public housing strategies by embedding net-zero standards, retrofitting, and smart financing models, ensuring alignment with energy networks, policies, and regulatory frameworks.
➡️ Empower housing providers and residents through context-sensitive, scalable PED solutions, fostering co-planning, fair cost distribution, and inclusive community engagement in energy transitions.
➡️ Advance equitable PED deployment with technologies for collective heating, energy efficiency, and demand-side flexibility, ensuring energy cost reductions and climate-neutral, resilient neighbourhoods for all social groups.
Eligibility
Legal entities such as (but not limited to):
- research organisations (higher education institutions including universities, university colleges; research institutes or other entities with research undertakings),
- companies and commercial organisations,
- urban government authorities (such as local and regional government institutions, municipalities and municipal organisations, city authorities, urban public administrations, infrastructure and service providers),
- consumers and civil society representatives (e.g. local and community organisations, non-governmental organisations, not-for-profit organisations, advocacy and activist groups, citizens’ representatives, neighbourhood initiatives, social innovators, social entrepreneurs, etc.).
- From the culture and creative sectors (e.g. artists and designers).
Each proposal must be submitted by a consortium consisting of at least three eligible Applicants from at least three different participating countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden (funding agencies Formas and SWEA have confirmed their participation and will publish their National Annexes at a later date), Switzerland, Tunisia More confirmed countries will be added continuously up until the call opens on 1 September.)
At least two of the eligible Applicants must be from different EU Member States (MS) or Associated Country (AC).
Eligible activities
➡️ Development of scalable models for embedding PED principles into public, social, and subsidised housing strategies.
➡️ Development of adaptable PED models suited to diverse urban contexts, ensuring replicability across different European cities.
➡️ Policy recommendations and innovative financing mechanisms to support PED adoption in housing.
➡️ Practical frameworks for public housing providers, housing associations and similar housing providers to implement and manage PED solutions, including resident engagement strategies.
➡️ Demonstration of PED solutions in terms of energy efficiency strategies, local energy generation and flexibility services reducing energy costs, mitigating energy poverty, and ensuring accessibility for low-income groups.
➡️ Strategies for fostering Energy Communities, enabling resident participation in planning and implementation, and ensuring fair benefit distribution.
➡️ Deployment of collective heating systems, electrification strategies, and integration of mobility and smart technologies.
➡️ Strategies for strengthening local community projects and engagement initiatives, as well as for improving neighbourhood-oriented quality of life trough added social infrastructure, quality public space and similar to enhance public trust and support for renewable energy transitions.
