EU-India and India-UK Launch New Calls to Boost Innovation and Urban Sustainability

Two major international programs—the EU-India Matchmaking Event 2025 and the India-UK PACT Urban Planning & Mobility initiative—have opened fresh calls for collaborative projects, aiming to foster innovation partnerships and promote climate-focused solutions in energy, mobility, and urban development across India and partner countries.

Key Takeaways

New funding and matchmaking opportunities are available for clusters, businesses, and organizations in Europe, the UK, and India.
Focus sectors include renewable energy, clean mobility, urban sustainability, and climate-integrated planning.
Both initiatives encourage multi-stakeholder and cross-sector collaboration to address climate and development challenges.

EU-India Matchmaking: Uniting Clusters for Clean Energy Growth

The European Commission, via the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, has announced a call for expressions of interest for the EU-India Matchmaking Event 2025. Scheduled for late October in New Delhi and Greater Noida, this event targets cluster organizations seeking partnerships in sectors like renewable energy, energy storage, smart grids, electric mobility, and green finance.

Who Can Join?

EU and Single Market Programme cluster organizations
Indian clusters and business networks
Innovators specializing in solar, wind, hydrogen, clean energy, and mobility infrastructure

The event offers funded opportunities for select cluster representatives, allowing participants to build links for cluster-to-cluster, cluster-to-business, and business-to-business projects. A staged evaluation process ensures flexibility: if slots remain unfilled after each application round, further submissions may be considered until capacity is reached.

Funding and Application Timeline

Three application cut-off dates (May, June, September 2025)
Notifications issued within a week after each cut-off
Participation may be self-funded for eligible applicants not selected for funding

India-UK PACT: Urban Planning and Mobility for Tier-2 Cities

In a parallel initiative, the India-UK PACT program is backing urban planning and mobility projects with an emphasis on integrating climate action into city governance and development. While the initial call has closed, the program’s scope provides valuable insights into current trends and future opportunities.

India’s cities, especially in Tamil Nadu’s Erode and Thoothukudi, are rapidly growing, facing increasing demands for sustainable mobility and climate-resilient infrastructure. The projects funded under this initiative aim to:

Develop climate-proof urban plans and policies.
Integrate data-driven approaches for smarter city management and transport planning.
Improve access to climate finance for urban projects.

The focus is on empowering cities to lower emissions, boost economic growth, and enhance the quality of life for diverse populations, especially women and vulnerable groups. Selected proposals can receive substantial grants to support activities over nearly two years, provided they emphasize climate integration and do not focus solely on hard infrastructure.

Cross-Border Partnerships: A Step Forward for Climate Innovation

Both the EU-India and India-UK programs reflect a strong trend toward international cooperation to solve urban and energy challenges. By facilitating knowledge sharing, joint ventures, and strategic networking, these initiatives aim to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy systems, smarter cities, and more sustainable forms of mobility and urban planning.

The calls underline the importance of public-private partnerships and the integration of environmental and economic priorities in the path toward sustainable development. Organizations interested in future funding and collaboration opportunities should stay tuned for further calls and updates from both programs.