Horizon Europe: Advanced cryptographic schemes and High-Assurance high-speed cryptographic implementations

Status2 - Open for application
ThemeCyber risk managementImplementation of - EU - cybersecurity legislation(Post-quantum) cryptographySecure and robust connectivitySystem and chain securitySecurity by designSecure data-driven working
Organisation typeStart-up / SMELarge enterpriseEducational institutionResearch institutionGovernment agencyFoundation / non-profit
Development phaseTRL 1-3 Research phaseTRL 4-6 Development phaseTRL 7-8 Deployment phase

This European call is meant for the development of new digital signatures and advanced cryptographic schemes, tailored specifically to the use cases and requirements in the context of wallets/eIDs, for privacy and business applications.

Practical information

Application period: 3 March 2026 – 15 September 2026
Budget: € 15 million
Expected funded projects: 3 - 4
Estimation project time: 3 years
Grant programme: Horizon Europe Cluster 3

Conditions

The results of this call should lead to:

design and implementation of advanced PQC schemes and protocols for improved security and privacy, including schemes other than lattice-based approaches, if relevant;
development of a uniform specification language to formalise and document cryptographic security and safety requirements in software implementations; development and improvement of tools and methodologies that can be used to evaluate both the implementation and use of cryptography in software applications and provide formal, machine-verifiable guarantees of correctness and safety.

Submission criteria

Proposals should consider improving existing HACS tools and integrating them into such software implementations.
Proposals should also include recommendations that balance security, performance, and usability in practical applications and are based on reusable open-source software libraries.