Advanced innovative solutions for improved competitiveness and sustainability in controlled environment agriculture

 

SCOPE & EXPECTED OUTCOMES :

 

This call focuses on developing advanced innovative solutions for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) : agricultural systems that control environmental variables (temperature, light, humidity, nutrient levels) to boost productivity, sustainability and competitiveness of crop production.

Projects selected under this topic should:

• Develop novel or improved CEA technologies, systems and practices that enhance crop performance, competitiveness and sustainability.
• Integrate advanced sensing and digital tools, including AI/ML models, for real-time monitoring, decision support and predictive control of environmental conditions and plant growth.
• Address resource efficiency (energy, water, nutrients), climate adaptation and mitigation aspects in controlled agriculture processes. 
• Demonstrate technology readiness close to practical use (TRL 6-7), showing that the proposed solutions can be piloted and scaled in real CEA environments (greenhouses, vertical farms, etc.).

Examples of topics include hyperspectral/NIR imaging for crop quality, AI-driven predictive analytics for stress and yield forecasting, and smart automation of greenhouse/vertical farm systems.

 

The consortium should gather at least 3 independent legal entities. These partners must be from 3 different countries (EU or Associated), with at least one from an EU Member State.

Must be established in an EU Member State or Associated Country, or a third country as explicitly eligible in Horizon Europe.

Any legal entity with operational and financial capacity can participate: 

• Research organisations and universities;
• Private companies, especially agritech, CEA-related SMEs and technology developers;
• Farms and producer organisations involved in CEA;
• NGOs and other entities with relevant expertise.