CITADEL is one of the 16 Euroclusters initiatives co-funded by the European Commission under the Single Market Programme and has been built to support innovation, networking and adoption of new processes and advanced technologies on the security value chain.
On 24th February the CITADEL Euroclusters project will launch its first Open call for innovative security projects, distributing € 1M to consortia led by European SMEs (up to € 60K per project). Applications will be open until 5th May 2026 on the following platform: https://citadel.grantplatform.com/.
The open call is dedicated to companies having already developed a prototype for the security sector and including digital technologies such as IoT and Edge, Photonics and Optics, AI and data analytics, cybersecurity, communication, interoperability and emergency response.
CITADEL will select up to 17 projects aiming to develop new demonstrators/pilots displaying security solutions on a large scale in a real or near-real environment, within a testbed, for purpose of innovation uptake and further adoption in three identified security application domains: Critical infrastructures, Resilience to natural and technological disasters and Urban environments.
9-month projects should start at a min. TRL of 5 and aim to reach 6-7 or higher by the end of the funding programme, and address challenges identified within at least one stage of the security value chain including Risk assessment and threat identification, Prevention and mitigation, Detection and monitoring, Response, Recovery and business continuity.
Only SMEs are eligible for funding.
To help applicants get prepared and submit their proposals, CITADEL partners will organize online info days and matchmaking sessions, the first event taking place on 5th March 2026, from 11:00 to 18:00 CET.
The agenda will be two fold: informative webinar in the morning and prescheduled meetings with potential project partners in the afternoon.
Register now and schedule meetings with your future partners!
https://server.matchmaking-studio.com/en/CITADEL-march-2026/