A total of 377 cities expressed their commitment to climate neutrality through the Cities Mission call published last year. The 100 cities selected by the European Commission cover all 27 Member States, and further 12 cities have been selected from countries associated or negotiating association with Horizon Europe.
The Cities Mission will receive EUR 360 million in funding from Horizon Europe for the period 2022-2023. Research and innovation activities will primarily focus on clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning.
The selected cities will soon start working with the NetZeroCities consortium – the first consultation with the selected cities is expected to take place on 11 May 2022. The Mission Platform, run by the consortium, will provide cities with tailored advice, but will also offer them the opportunity to join other funding programmes and large-scale innovation projects. The Mission Platform also promotes networking and citizen involvement.
Given the overwhelming interest shown by 377 cities to join the Cities Mission, the Commission will also support those cities that were not selected in this round – including such Hungarian cities as Érd, Kaposvár, Kecskemét, Nyíregyháza and Szeged. These cities are eligible for support through the Mission Platform and through the funding opportunities announced in the Horizon Europe’s Mission Work Programme.
Read the detailed Commission press release on the result at https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2591
Watch the video accompanying the result at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbzPpUnzLzo
An infographic with the most important information is available at
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/ec_rtd_he-cities-mission-meet-the-cities-factsheet.pdf
For information on Horizon Europe funding opportunities, please contact the national contact person for the Cities Mission: Orsolya Küttel (orsolya.kuttel@nkfih.gov.hu, +36 30 375 73 82) and Dóra Boldizsár (boldizsar.dora@xiagency.hu, +36 30 096 62 15).