The Long-Term Joint EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on Sustainable Energy (LEAP-SE) is a 6-year program co-funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe. It aims at developing a long-term partnership between Europe and Africa on Research and Innovation (R&I) in sustainable energy. The program is conducted by a consortium of 26 partners from European and African countries. The total budget of the program is around 30 Million Euros, including 10 Million Euros from the European Commission. Activities of LEAP-SE are within the framework of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy (CCSE) partnership of the AU-EU High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on Science, Technology and Innovation.

 The LEAP-SE group of funding organisations gathered for this call consists of 10 funding organisations from Africa and 10 funding organisations from Europe. The final list of the participating countries is:

African Union : Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia.  

European Union Member States and associated countries to HE : Austria, Belgium France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Türkiye, United Kingdom

SCOPE AND PRIORITY AREAS FOR COLLABORATION

The range of activities recommended for collaboration under LEAP-SE will focus on seven identified multi-annual road-maps presented in the Call.

• Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources and integration of RES in sustainable energy scenarios;
• End-of-life and second‐life management and environmental impact of RE components;
• Smart stand‐alone systems;
• Smart grid (different scales) for off-grid application;
• Processes and appliances for productive uses (agriculture, mobility and industry);
• Innovative solutions for priority domestic uses (clean cooking and cold chain);
• Production and utilization of Green Hydrogen.

The LEAP-SE Joint Call 2026 will fund basic research, applied research, and experimental development projects that are 12-36 months in duration. However, applicants should be aware that each funding agency participating in the Call will apply its own rules and regulations regarding eligibility and criteria (nationality, thematic, nature of project, TRL, rate of subsidy, etc.).

IMPORTANT DATES

PRESENTATION MEETING WEBINARS

Two webinars of Call presentations will be held in two languages, French and English, for all interested participants.

The English session is organized for November 24th 2025, at 10:00 CET. Registration to the webinar : https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zx3hrH-PR7W3f82wxrTq2g

The French session is organised for December 8th 2025, at 13:30 CET. Registration to the  webinar ):https://anr.webex.com/weblink/register/r1620eae12ad77a58b6b4a3cf314373c1     

INQUIRIES

For more information,  please visit the LEAP WEBSITE.

For inquiries, contact the secretariat at projects.leap-se@agencerecherche.fr