Horizon Europe Budget Breakdown
On this page you can view the Horizon Europe budget breakdown for the Horizon Europe Programme. Running from 2021-2027, the Horizon Europe programme is the successor of Horizon 2020. Catalyze has gathered all the officially published budget information to create this Horizon Europe budget breakdown.

Horizon Europe Budget allocation
The preliminary structure of Horizon Europe is divided over 3 pillars and 1 horizontal focus area. There is a total budget of €95.5 billion that will be divided over these pillars.
- Excellent Science
- Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
- Innovative Europe aims to improve SME growth and the European innovation landscape.
The horizontal pillar will focus on Widening Participation, throughout the entire Horizon Europe program. The aim of this is to widen the participation in Horizon Europe throughout the entire continent and improve the participation of low R&I performing Member States in Horizon Europe. This pillar is expected to include programs like: Teaming, Twinning, Cost and ERA Chairs.
Read on below to view the estimated Horizon Europe budget breakdown across all pillars and work programmes.
Pillar 1: Excellent Science
Within Pillar 1: Excellent Science, three work programmes have been included in the preliminary structure. For those work programmes there have been no official budget estimates made available since the budget was changed in July 2020. But by looking at the Horizon 2020 budgets, we can get rough estimates.
- European Research Council (ERC). Funding frontier research designed and driven by the best researchers in Europe. The 2021 ERC work programme is now open with a total budget of €1.9 billion. Some of the first calls are already closed, but the tentative deadlines for 2022 are available.
- Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (MSCA). Funding fellowships and mobility of researchers. A preliminary deadline for MSCA-ITN has been published. No budget information available.
- Research Infrastructures (RI). Funding new world-class research infrastructures. No budget information available.
Pillar 2: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
Focusing on funding research addressing societal challenges, reinforcing technological and industrial capacities. Furthermore, this pillar aims to set and reach European goals concerning the biggest challenges (climate change, health clean energy and digital). Within this pillar partnerships of European countries, industry and stakeholders will be funded to perform joint R&D activities. This is divided over multiple clusters:
- Health.
- Total estimated budget: 2021: €948M and 2022: €914.3M
- Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society
- Total estimated budget: 2021: €158.75M and 2022: €264.27M
- Civil security for society
- Total estimated budget: 2021: €219.69M and 2022: €193.29M
- Digital, Industry and Space
- Total estimated budget: 2021: €1762.58M and 2022: €1677.10M
- Climate, Energy and Mobility
- Total estimated budget: 2021: €1465.24M and 2022: €1541.51M
- Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
- Total estimated budget: 2021: €923.4M and 2022: €910.30M
- Joint Research Centre: supporting policymakers, both European and national, with independent scientific evidence and support.
Pillar 3: Innovative Europe
The goal of this third pillar is “stimulating market-creating breakthroughs and ecosystems conducive to innovation”.
- European Innovation Council (EIC). Focusing on market-creating innovation and SME growth. In the past years a pilot for the EIC program has been released, including EIC accelerator and EIC Pathfinder calls. Total estimated budget, 2021: €1141.80M
- European Innovation Ecosystems. Aims at connecting with regional and national innovation actors.
- European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Focusing on integrating research, higher education, business and entrepreneurship.
Get Horizon Europe budget updates with Catalyze Alerts
Staying up-to-date on funding programs is important, but takes a lot of time. With Catalyze Alerts you will receive all relevant updates on upcoming funds: Horizon Europe, but also EIC and Eurostars 2021.
Visit the official Horizon Europe website