Net-Zero AI4Permitting (PPPA-2026-NETZERO): EU Grant for AI-Powered Industrial Permitting Authorities
A closed European Union Pilot Projects & Preparatory Actions call for public permitting authorities in Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys to deploy AI or other digital systems that improve industrial permitting processes.
Net-Zero AI4Permitting (PPPA-2026-NETZERO): EU Grant for AI-Powered Industrial Permitting Authorities
The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) ran Net-Zero AI4Permitting under the Pilot Projects & Preparatory Actions (PPPA) framework. The official EISMEA call page marks reference PPPA-2026-NETZERO as closed. It records the final application deadline as 9 June 2026 at 17:00 CEST. The page currently provides no announcement of a later round, so this entry is an archive of the 2026 call, not an open application opportunity. Readers should check EISMEA and the Funding & Tenders Portal for any future call before planning a submission.
The call was intended to strengthen the administrative capacity of local authorities that handle industrial permits in established or potential Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys. It supported procurement or development of artificial intelligence systems and, in exceptional cases, systems using other digital technologies. The purpose was to help authorities manage permitting requests under the streamlined requirements associated with the Net-Zero Industry Act. This was a public-administration implementation call: a software concept on its own did not meet the stated purpose without an authority, a real permitting workflow, and a plan to deploy and assess the system.
Key details of the closed call
| Field | 2026 call information |
|---|---|
| Funding body | European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) |
| Call reference | PPPA-2026-NETZERO |
| Framework | Pilot Projects & Preparatory Actions (PPPA) |
| Status | Closed; no later round is announced on the official call page |
| Publication and opening | 1 April 2026 |
| Final deadline | 9 June 2026 at 17:00 CEST |
| Submission model | Single-stage electronic submission through the Funding & Tenders Portal |
| Total call budget | EUR 7,150,000 |
| Maximum grant per project | EUR 1,500,000 to EUR 2,400,000; up to four projects indicated |
| Indicative project duration | 24 to 30 months, with projects expected to start in January 2027 |
| Intended setting | Local authorities and industrial permitting in EU Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys |
The EISMEA call page is the source for the final status and deadline. The 13 April information-session presentation displayed an earlier indicative cutoff of 3 June 2026 at 17:00 CET, while the live EISMEA call record gives the final cutoff as 9 June 2026 at 17:00 CEST and marks the call closed. For historical reference, the live call page is the authoritative deadline record; the earlier slide date should not be treated as the submission cutoff.
The problem the call addressed
The call focused on the public processes required to authorize industrial activity. Examples described by EISMEA include environmental impact assessments, integrated pollution prevention and control permits, and construction or operational permits. These processes may require coordination across multiple authorities and the handling of technical material, regulatory checks, applicant communications, and procedural milestones.
The call situated that work in Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys: regional or local industrial clusters intended to attract manufacturing investment in net-zero technologies. The call description referred specifically to valleys in coal regions and to the responsibilities established under the Net-Zero Industry Act. The implementation question was therefore concrete: could digital tools help the relevant permitting authorities handle requests more efficiently while maintaining compliance with applicable EU and national rules?
EISMEA’s information-session materials described possible activities such as system analysis, procurement or deployment of digital and AI-based solutions, enhancement of existing IT systems, user-centred front-office services, staff training, consultation, cooperation between authorities, and packaging outputs so they could be reused elsewhere. These activities were illustrative areas within the call scope, not a promise that any particular technology or project design would receive funding.
Who could participate
The published eligibility presentation described applicants as legal entities, whether public or private, established in an eligible country, meaning an EU Member State for this call. Applicants had to be registered in the Participant Register before proposal submission. This did not mean that every type of organisation could coordinate or satisfy the call alone: proposals had to be submitted by a consortium, and several requirements specifically concerned the public permitting authorities involved.
A compliant consortium needed at least four independent beneficiary applicants from at least two different Member States. Affiliated entities could participate, but they did not count toward the minimum consortium eligibility requirement. At least two public authorities from established or potential Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys had to be included and recognised in the relevant endorsement letter or letters. The coordinator had to be one of those public authorities.
For local, regional, or national permitting authorities, the materials required involvement in industrial permitting procedures in an established or potential valley. The relevant national authority responsible for designating the valley had to provide an endorsement letter recognising the permitting authorities in the consortium. The information-session presentation described this as a mandatory annex for those authorities. A technology company could therefore contribute expertise or a solution, but a vendor applying by itself would not meet the required consortium structure.
These rules made partnership formation a substantive part of the proposal. The authority partners needed to be real participants with a role in deployment, not names added to meet a numerical threshold. The consortium also needed to show that each beneficiary could carry out its tasks and that the participating authorities had the legal and operational connection to the permitting process the project proposed to improve.
What a proposal was expected to do
The call materials connected technical activity to measurable public-service improvements. They described goals including shorter processing times, greater transparency, better use of staff resources, easier tracking of procedures and follow-up actions, and more user-friendly permitting systems. They also emphasised compliance with EU and national legislation, interoperability with existing systems, and cooperation so that useful methods could be replicated in other regions.
A proposal needed to explain the permitting process it would address, the current administrative challenge, the intervention to be deployed, and how authorities and applicants would experience the change. The call’s scope included both new deployments and improvements to existing IT solutions. A credible plan would identify the authority responsible for each operational step, how the tool fits with current systems, how staff would be trained, and what evidence would show whether the intervention improved the process.
The official presentation listed three award-criterion areas: relevance, quality, and impact. Relevance concerned fit with the call’s objectives and priorities, including the EU context and transnational dimension. Quality covered the project design and implementation, feasibility, cost effectiveness, the team, and cooperation arrangements. Impact concerned benefits for permitting authorities and applicants, transferability, sustainability, and uptake beyond pilot sites. These criteria make a clear link between the problem, proposed work, budget, and intended results essential to understanding a proposal.
Historical application package and submission route
Applications were submitted electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The call’s presentation described a two-part application. Part A was completed online and covered general proposal information, the proposal abstract, partner declarations, administrative information for participating organisations, and budget figures by partner. Part B used the portal template, was converted to PDF, and contained the technical description. The presentation specified a maximum of 70 pages for Part B.
The required annexes included a detailed budget table using the official template, a list of the applicants’ previous key projects, and endorsement letters. The endorsement letter or letters had to come from the authority responsible for designating the Net-Zero Acceleration Valley and recognise the relevant consortium authorities as permitting authorities involved in industrial permitting. The session materials stressed that applications had to be complete and that uploaded application documents had to be readable, accessible, and printable. They directed applicants to upload PDF documents and warned them to check the detailed budget table after conversion.
The financial presentation also described a summarised budget table in Part A and a detailed budget table attached to Part B, with matching financial figures required across the two. Applicants were expected to use the call’s official templates, include eligible costs, and provide estimates. For this call, the financial session stated an EU contribution rate of 80 percent, indirect costs at a 7 percent flat rate, and pre-financing equal to 70 percent of the maximum grant amount after grant agreement signature. It also said there would be no interim payments, with the balance paid or recovered after approval of the final financial report. These details are a record of the 2026 call materials; the signed grant agreement would govern any awarded project.
A practical sequence for applicants at the time would have been to confirm that each entity was eligible and registered, agree the independent beneficiary consortium and coordinator, establish the valley authorities’ roles, obtain the required designation-authority endorsement, and prepare the Part A and Part B forms with consistent budget information. Partners would then check annex completeness and PDF legibility before submitting through the portal before the published deadline. The administrative sequence here describes the closed call’s requirements and is not an invitation to submit now.
Timeline and archive status
EISMEA published and opened the call on 1 April 2026. The live call page gives the final submission cutoff as 9 June 2026 at 17:00 CEST. The information-session presentation’s earlier indicative timeline listed evaluation from June to September 2026, grant preparation and signature from September to December 2026, and project starts in January 2027. It indicated implementation for 24 to 30 months and final reporting and payments from January to August 2029. Those later stages were planning estimates in the presentation, not an active application window or confirmation that a particular project was selected.
The 2026 call has ended. No deadline should be inferred for a future round from the archived timeline or expected project duration. If EISMEA publishes a successor opportunity, applicants should follow that new call’s own eligibility rules, budget, forms, and dates; this page records only PPPA-2026-NETZERO.
Official sources
- EISMEA call page: Net-Zero AI4Permitting (PPPA-2026-NETZERO) — status, reference, final deadline, publication and opening dates, and call description.
- Funding & Tenders Portal topic page — portal record and application route.
- EISMEA information-session presentations linked from the call page — call scope, budget, eligibility, forms, annexes, award criteria, and indicative project timeline.
Archive note
This page preserves the documented requirements of the closed 2026 round. Its date field intentionally retains the real deadline, and the historical-reference flag prevents the page from appearing as an open opportunity. The EISMEA page is the primary place to verify whether a new call has been announced. Do not reuse this round’s consortium conditions, grant range, or forms for a later opportunity without checking the new official call materials.