COST-Action EU-MACE is pleased to announce the opening of the Conference Grant Call for the 3^rd Grant Period (3GP). During this period, three types of Conference Grants will be supported. This call outlines the priority research areas and selected conferences identified by the Grant Award Committee, in alignment with the Action’s overarching objectives and planned activities for 3GP.

Prior to submission, all applicants are required to consult:

• the “Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)” (https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA22123/) to understand the R&D methodologies and the Action’s objectives, and
• the “Annotated Rules For COST Actions” (Funding Documents & Guidelines | COST) to verify eligibility criteria and requirements.

Applications that do not align with the Action’s objectives or fail to meet eligibility requirements will not be considered.

Action objective:

The overarching objective of EU-MACE is to establish a novel form of collaboration across the entire innovation value chain for materials in clean energy applications. This will be achieved by overcoming fragmentation in materials research and technology development, and by enabling informed decision-making among diverse stakeholders.

More specifically, EU-MACE aims to develop a systemic approach centred on Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs), facilitating the accelerated integration and scale-up of advanced, sustainable functional materials for low-carbon technologies. A detailed description of the Action’s objectives is available in the MoU (https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA22123/).

The target audience includes participants at major international conferences in:

• materials science (particularly those including energy-related sessions),
• data science and open science,
• renewable energy technologies (e.g. photovoltaics, batteries),
• industrial innovation forums, particularly those engaging manufacturers in the renewable energy sector.

Example research topics:

• Materials Acceleration Platforms (e.g. software development, robotics, automation, simulation integration, system operation, etc.) and/or how they can be connected to legacy equipment and simulations
• Activities related to the Action’s transversal tasks:
  • Materials data (metadata science, management, etc.)
  • Sustainability
  • Experimental automation (workflow)
  • High throughput (ML assisted) materials simulation, design and characterization
  • Digital Twin, materials integration, scale-up production, etc.

Types of Conference Grants (CGs) supported

• Inclusiveness Target Country Conference Grants (ITC-CG) support an oral presentation of the applicant’s own work, aligned with EU-MACE objectives, at a high-level conference organised by a third party (i.e. not organised or co-organised by the Action). Applicants must be affiliated with an institution in an Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC) or a Near Neighbour Country (NNC)..
• Young Researchers and Innovators Conference Grants (YRI-CGs) Support an oral or poster presentation by a Young Researcher or Innovator (YRI), presenting their own work aligned with EU-MACE objectives at a third-party conference.
• Dissemination Conference Grants (DCG) Support an oral presentation by an active Action participant (no age or geographical restrictions) aimed at disseminating the outcomes and activities of the Action at a third-party conference.

ITC-CG Eligibility (cf. Funding Documents & Guidelines | COST)

Applicants must be members of EU-MACE affiliated with a legal entity located in an ITC or NNC participating in the Action.  

• ITC (Inclusiveness Target Countries) – Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine^*.
• NNC (Near Neighbour Countries) – Algeria, Azerbaijan, [Belarus]^*, Egypt, the Faroe Islands, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, [Russia]^*, Syria, and Tunisia.
• Specific COST measures are taken regarding the participation of researchers/innovators from certain countries. Please consult: Annex-I-level-A-Country-and-Organisations-Table-Version-1.7.pdf (cost.eu)for more information.

Additional rules specific to EU-MACE COST Action:

• All eligible conferences must take place before October 1st, 2026 to ensure timely submission of the report and the grant payment within 3GP.
• Grants are reimbursed after the conference, upon submission of all required documentation. Pre-financing is not available.

• Acknowledgement of COST Action EU-MACE and the European Union as funding sources is mandatory in all presentations (poster and oral).
• ITC-CG and YRI-CG recipients must include a one-page description of the Action (to be provided) in their presentation materials.

• YRI-CG recipients are expected to present their work in the bi-monthly Young EU-MACE webinar series.

• ITC-CG and YRI-CG recipients must submit a report within one month of the conference. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of the grant. Reports may be published on the Action’s website and social media channels.

How to acknowledge COST funding?

• All outputs resulting from a Conference Grant must include the following acknowledgement: “This article/publication is based upon work from COST Action EU-MACE, CA22123, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).”

Priority conferences (Special provisions):

The following conferences have been identified as particularly relevant for 3GP.

• Materials Science and Engineering Congress 2026, September 29^th – October 01^st 2026, Darmstadt, Germany (https://mse-congress.de/). Priority will be given to Symposium D09: Materials Acceleration Platforms: Digital Workflows for Accelerated Material Discovery and Deployment will be supported. This symposium will bring together researchers and practitioners working on Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs), digital workflows, automation, AI-driven discovery, and accelerated deployment of advanced materials.
• Artificial Intelligence for Advanced Materials, May 19^th – May 21^st 2026, Madrid, Spain (https://ai4am.net/2026/about.php). All topics of the conference are relevant, provided that the work presented are in line with the EU-MACE objectives (see example research focus above and the Action MoU).
• European Conference on Thermoelectrics, September 14^th – September 18^th 2026, Edinburg, UK (https://iop.eventsair.com/ect2026/). All topics of the conference are relevant, provided that the work presented are in line with the EU-MACE objectives (see example research focus above and the Action MoU).
• AI4X – Accelerate Conference 2026, June 15^th – June 19^th 2026, Singapore (https://ai4x.cc/). We foresee to support 1 Dissemination Conference Grant to promote the EU-MACE project.
• NuMat2026: The Nuclear Materials Conference, September 21^st – September 24^th 2026 (https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/all/the-nuclear-materials-conference), Halifax, Canada. We foresee to support 1 Dissemination Conference Grant to promote the EU-MACE project or 1 ITC or YRI grants related to data-driven analysis/MAPs.

Note: Strong and explicit alignment between the submitted abstract and the EU-MACE objectives (as defined in the MoU) is a mandatory requirement for funding approval.

Evaluation criteria and procedure:

• Applications are evaluated individually on a rolling basis by an ad-hoc expert committee.
• Evaluation is typically completed within three weeks of submission.
• Applicants are advised to consult the COST Annotated Rules (Annex 2) for procedural details.
• Applications must be submitted via the e-COST platform.

Submission Requirements

Applicants must:

• Maintain an up-to-date e-COST profile (https://e-services.cost.eu/user/login)
• Submit an application via Grant Applications → Apply for new grant
  Upload:
  • Completed Conference Grant application form
  • Accepted abstract and official acceptance letter
  • Letter of support from the home institution  
  • Any additional required documentation

Note: Conference Grants are contributions and may not fully cover all participation costs (e.g. registration, travel, accommodation, subsistence).

Important dates:

• Application period: 1^st April - 31^st August 2026 (funds allocated on a rolling basis)

• Notification: Within 3 to 4 weeks after the submission

• Conference attendance deadline: before 1^st October 2026

Grant Award Coordinator:

Dr. Peter Tatarko (peter.tatarko@savba.sk)

Calls for STSM GRANTS for the 3^rd Grant Period

EU-MACE’s STSM grants are reserved for Legacy Lab2 Task participants within the Action. Applications from non-LegacyLab2 members will be considered only at the end of the grant period, subject to the availability of remaining funds.