Summary
- Profile Type
- Research & Development Request
- POD Reference
- RDRES20260724015
- Term of Validity
- 24 July 2026 - 24 July 2027
- Company's Country
- Spain
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
General information
- Short Summary
- An international consortium led by a Spanish university with expertise in civil engineering and decarbonisation is preparing a LIFE Programme proposal to help SMEs manage rising fuel costs under the EU Emissions Trading System for buildings and road transport (ETS2). It is seeking two SME associations in EU countries, excluding Spain, with access to an existing national SME network to run pilot workshops and training; associations including construction-sector SMEs are of particular interest.
- Full Description
-
Small and medium enterprises across many sectors will face a new source of cost pressure: from 2027 onwards, a European carbon pricing mechanism (the Emissions Trading System for buildings and road transport, known as ETS2) will apply a price to the fuels used to heat buildings and power vehicles. This is expected to raise energy and fuel costs across sectors and will trickle down to final consumers. However, most SMEs have little practical guidance on what the change means for their business, how to plan for it, or how to reduce their exposure through energy efficiency or lower-carbon alternatives. This information gap also leaves smaller businesses vulnerable to misleading narratives about the reform, which can lead to poor decision-making.
A consortium led by a Spanish university with expertise in civil engineering and decarbonization, together with startups, non-governmental organizations and academic partners from Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic, is preparing a proposal to address this gap. Rather than a generic information campaign, the project will deliver hands-on, co-designed support directly to SMEs across sectors, including practical workshops, peer-learning groups where businesses can share experience, and individual accompaniment to help each business understand its own cost exposure and identify concrete savings opportunities. Activities will be channeled through the EU's European Climate Pact Ambassador network, as well as through the national networks provided by the associations, so support reaches businesses through contacts they already trust, rather than through open campaigns that tend to reach only already well-informed audiences.
Beyond the funded period, continuity is built into the project's design: it aims to establish a lasting network and support ecosystem among participating organizations, offering ongoing added value to any SME network that chooses to join, so that guidance and peer support continue after the project ends.
The proposal will be submitted under LIFE-2026-SAP-CLIMA-GOV, under the topic of climate governance, co-financed at 60% of eligible costs, with an indicative budget of EUR 0.8-1.2 million.
Key dates: expression of interest needed before the end of July, or by the first week of August at the latest; call deadline 22 September 2026; project duration of 3 years.
The consortium is seeking two SME associations, based in EU countries other than Spain, able to provide access to an existing national network of SME members from any sector, although with initial preference for the construction sector. The expected contribution includes mobilizing SME participants for local workshops and pilot activities, adapting materials to the local business and regulatory context, and supporting monitoring of pilot results. No prior research experience is required — the priority is genuine reach and trust within the local SME community. - Advantages and Innovations
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The project's core innovation lies in its delivery model: rather than a one-off information campaign, it combines co-designed workshops, peer-learning networks and individual accompaniment, channeled through business contacts SMEs already trust. This targeted approach is expected to reach genuinely under-informed businesses more effectively than open-call formats, which typically attract audiences that are already well informed.
Potential impact includes: for society, greater resilience among small businesses to climate-related cost shocks and to misleading narratives about the reform, supporting a fairer and better-understood transition; for the market, improved SME capacity to plan investment and access funding for decarbonization, translating into measurable long-term cost savings; and for the environment, wider uptake of energy-efficiency and low-carbon measures across the construction sector.
The project also generates a lasting network of business associations and support organizations, designed to keep delivering guidance and peer support once EU funding ends, extending impact well beyond the funded period. Direct engagement is expected to reach around 50 SMEs through hands-on workshops and individual accompaniment, with a further 150 businesses engaged through broader co-design and outreach activities. - Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
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The consortium is seeking two SME business associations, based in EU countries other than Spain, with the following profile:
• Established and active outreach channels to small and medium enterprises, ideally including businesses in sectors directly exposed to rising fuel and energy costs (e.g. transport, construction, building maintenance, facilities management);
• An existing national or regional network of SME members that can be mobilized for workshops, peer-learning activities and individual accompaniment;
• Experience delivering training, advisory or capacity-building activities to member businesses, and willingness to co-design activities together with the rest of the consortium rather than deliver a pre-defined programme;
• Interest in connecting their national SME network with a pan-European network of grassroots climate advocates, and in contributing to a lasting cross-organizational support network that continues beyond the funded period;
• Capacity and willingness to act as a formal beneficiary of an EU grant, including corresponding co-financing, budget management and reporting obligations.
No prior participation in EU-funded research or innovation projects is required. What matters most is genuine reach and credibility within the local SME community, and the ability to actively engage member businesses rather than act as a passive dissemination channel. - Stage of Development
- Concept stage
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Goal 13: Climate Action
- Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- IPR status
- No IPR applied
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
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The partner will act primarily as a facilitator, integrating the project into its existing SME network rather than building new activities from scratch. Its core responsibility is to organize and deliver a total of four workshops within its network, two delivered in person and two delivered online, using content and methodology co-designed jointly with the rest of the consortium. Workshop themes will cover practical topics such as understanding upcoming carbon pricing changes, estimating cost exposure, and identifying available funding and energy efficiency measures. Design and preparation of these workshops remain a shared task across the consortium, so the partner is not expected to develop content independently; its responsibility is local delivery, logistics, scheduling and mobilizing participants from its own network, which keeps the additional workload for the organization limited and manageable alongside its regular activities.
Beyond workshop delivery, the partner will support recruitment of SME participants for related pilot activities, provide light local adaptation of communication materials to reflect national language and business context, and contribute basic monitoring data on participation and outcomes within its network, feeding into the project's overall evaluation.
The partner's estimated contribution corresponds to approximately four to five person months, reflecting the light, facilitation focused nature of the role rather than a research or coordination workload. Its share of co financing, corresponding to 40% of eligible costs, can be met entirely through in kind personnel time dedicated to these activities, without requiring any cash contribution from the organization. - Type and Size of Partner
- R&D Institution
- SME 11-49
- Big company
- SME <=10
- SME 50 - 249
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Call details
- Framework program
- Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials
- Call title and identifier
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LIFE-2026-SAP-CLIMA-GOV
- Submission and evaluation scheme
-
Single-stage submission and evaluation
- Anticipated project budget
-
1.2 million
- Coordinator required
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No
- Deadline for EoI
- Deadline of the call
- Project duration in weeks
-
156
- Web link to the call
- https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/LIFE-2026-SAP-CLIMA-GOV?isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094502,31094503&frameworkProgramme=43252405&callIdentifier=LIFE-2026-SAP-CLIMA&order=DESC&pageNumb
- Project title and acronym
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LIFE-Climate Ready SME (LIFE-CRSME)
- Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 10002013 - Clean Production / Green Technologies
- 10002004 - Climate Change mitigation
- 11002 - Education and Training
- 04007001 - Energy management
- 02006005 - Construction maintenance and monitoring methods & equipment
- Market keywords
- 09007004 - Engineering and consulting services related to construction
- 06006002 - Metering and monitoring
- 06010003 - Energy for Industry
- 09003007 - Other services (not elsewhere classified)
- 09007001 - Construction companies
- Sector Groups Involved
- Construction
- Energy-Intensive Industries
- Targeted countries
- All countries