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AENAON

Info Day: Open Call 1

Date: 14 July 2026

Info Day

Watch Info Day meeting

* Correction (September 2026): The standard funding ceiling is EUR 60,000 per participating legal entity. A justified derogation up to EUR 100,000 may apply to qualifying offshore wind farm operators/manufacturers. Small-consortium support may reach EUR 150,000 per action, subject to the applicable per-entity ceilings. Please refer to the final OC1 documentation v1.1 for full conditions.

Info Day – Open call round 1

Alternative questions for Q&A session

1. General information

Open Call 1 supports external organisations in enriching, integrating, testing and initially validating AENAON cybersecurity preparedness capabilities for offshore wind operations and closely related critical-energy infrastructure. Projects should interact with the Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform, cyber range training and/or ex-ante cybersecurity preparedness services.

Open Call 1 supports external organisations in enriching, integrating, testing and initially validating AENAON cybersecurity preparedness capabilities for offshore wind operations and closely related critical-energy infrastructure. Projects should interact with the Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform, cyber range training and/or ex-ante cybersecurity preparedness services.

The submission period runs from 1 September to 31 October 2026. Applicants must follow the exact closing time and submission instructions stated in the final Open Call Notice and portal, and are strongly encouraged to submit before the final day.

Clarifications of general relevance will be consolidated through the official AENAON Open Call channels. Applicants will be notified through the official process, and final outcome information is expected to be published through the AENAON website and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal after the relevant selection and contracting steps.

2. Scope and eligible activities

Clarifications of general relevance will be consolidated through the official AENAON Open Call channels. Applicants will be notified through the official process, and final outcome information is expected to be published through the AENAON website and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal after the relevant selection and contracting steps.

No. The targets of more than 20 risk scenarios, more than 10 penetration tests and more than five industry stakeholders are collective targets across the relevant funded Open Call projects. Each selected sub-project will receive proportionate targets during contract preparation, based on its scope, scale and complexity.

Activities outside the closed list are not eligible. Examples include generic marketing unrelated to project outcomes, unrelated research and development, and capital investments not directly necessary for implementation of the approved sub-project.

No. Applicants may propose a use case based on their own technology, expertise or operational context, provided it is clearly aligned with Open Call 1 and explains how it will use, integrate, test, validate or extend relevant AENAON capabilities. Detailed access arrangements will be confirmed during technical preparation and onboarding where applicable.

3. Funding and payments

The indicative Open Call 1 envelope is EUR 2.1 million. Support is provided as a lump-sum sub-grant covering 50% of the eligible sub-project budget. The implementation period is eight months.

The ceiling applies to each participating legal entity cumulatively across both AENAON Open Calls, regardless of whether the entity participates as a single applicant, lead applicant or consortium partner. Previous AENAON FSTP awards reduce the amount that may be awarded later.

The general ceiling for financial support to a third party is EUR 60,000. By way of derogation, the ceiling may be increased to EUR 100,000 per participating legal entity where the applicant is an offshore wind farm operator or manufacturer considered a large critical infrastructure/operator of essential services.The applicable ceiling (€60,000 or €100,000, as relevant) applies cumulatively across Open Call 1 and Open Call 2, irrespective of whether the entity participates as a single applicant, coordinator, or consortium member.

Not necessarily. The EUR 60,000 ceiling applies per participating legal entity, including entities participating as consortium members. By way of derogation, this ceiling may be increased to EUR 100,000 per legal entity for offshore wind farm operators and manufacturers considered as large critical infrastructures/operators of essential services.
In addition, for small consortia, the maximum financial support may reach EUR 150,000 per action, subject to the applicable ceiling for each participating legal entity.

Applicants must provide the share of the eligible sub-project budget not covered by AENAON support. For example, an entity requesting EUR 60,000 in AENAON support would normally need an eligible budget of at least EUR 120,000 and must demonstrate the capacity to provide the remaining share.

Payments follow a 30%-40%-30% model: 30% after signature of the Sub-Grant Agreement and completion of onboarding requirements; 40% after acceptance of the mid-term report, deliverables and milestone evidence; and 30% after acceptance of final reports, outputs, KPI evidence and validation results. Payments depend on accepted results and evidence.

AENAON may offer funding limited to the remaining available amount. The applicant may accept and submit a proportionately revised scope, work plan, budget, milestones and deliverables for AENAON approval, or withdraw from contract preparation.

4. Eligibility and consortium rules

Eligible applicants must be legally established in one of the 27 EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Any additional third country is eligible only where it is expressly confirmed as fully associated with the Digital Europe Programme for Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust and is included in the definitive “AENAON Open Call 1 – List of Eligible Countries”. Countries associated only for Specific Objectives 1, 2, 4 or 5 are not eligible.

Every participating legal entity must independently satisfy the country-eligibility requirements. If one consortium member is established in an ineligible country, the entire proposal will be declared ineligible and will not proceed to quality evaluation.

No. They are separate checks. An entity may be established in an eligible country and still be subject to an ownership-and-control assessment. Each participating legal entity must complete Annex 7 and provide supporting information where requested.

Yes. Part A of Annex 6 is completed and signed by the lead applicant. Part B is completed and signed separately by every consortium member, including the lead applicant. Each participating legal entity must also submit its own Annex 5, Annex 7 and Annex 8.

No. Beneficiaries of AENAON Grant Agreement No. 101249723 and their affiliated entities are not eligible for AENAON FSTP funding.

5. Proposal preparation and submission package

The main technical narrative in Annex 3 is limited to 10 A4 pages covering Sections 0-5. The cover page, instruction page, Section 6, Section 7 and separately submitted mandatory annexes are excluded. Pages beyond the permitted limit may be disregarded during evaluation.

The package includes the online application form, Annex 3 – Technical Proposal Template, budget and co-funding information, legal-entity information, Annex 5 – Declaration of Honour for each participating legal entity, Annex 6 where applicable, Annex 7 for each participating legal entity, Annex 8 for each participating legal entity, Annex 9 – IPR and Background Declaration, and any additional documents required by the final package.

Applicants should not include credentials, detailed vulnerabilities, identifiable infrastructure configurations or other operationally sensitive material unless strictly necessary. Specific sensitive passages should be marked [CONFIDENTIAL] in accordance with the Guidelines. Applicants should identify particular passages or data rather than designating the entire proposal as confidential.

Applicants should complete the official templates and must not remove mandatory declarations, headings or table structures unless the Open Call documentation expressly permits a modification. Names, budgets, roles and requested support must remain consistent across all forms and annexes.

6. Declarations, double funding and IPR

Related, complementary or parallel public funding is not automatically prohibited. Double funding arises where the same activity, cost, personnel effort, milestone, deliverable, result or output is financed or claimed more than once from public sources. Related funding must be fully disclosed and technically, financially and documentarily separated.

Each participating legal entity, including the lead applicant and every consortium partner, must complete and sign Annex 8. The entity must disclose current, pending or planned related public funding and maintain records capable of preventing and detecting duplicate claims.

For a consortium proposal, the lead applicant may submit one consolidated Annex 9 covering all participating legal entities, provided each background item, third-party component and restriction is clearly attributed to the relevant entity. Each entity remains responsible for the accuracy of information relating to its own rights, licences and restrictions.

No. Annex 9 records relevant background, third-party materials, rights and restrictions. It does not transfer ownership or create access rights by itself. Any operational rights required for integration, verification, training or demonstration are governed by the Sub-Grant Agreement.

Applicants and selected recipients must notify AENAON in writing without undue delay of material changes affecting ownership and control, funding overlap, background, licences, third-party rights or other relevant declarations before contract signature or during implementation.

7. Evaluation and selection

Proposals are evaluated under Excellence, Impact and Implementation. For Open Call 1 the weights are 30%, 30% and 40%, respectively. Each criterion must score at least 3 out of 5, and the overall weighted score must be at least 3.33 out of 5.

Ties are resolved first by the Implementation score, then Excellence, then Impact. If a tie remains, the Open Call Coordination Committee decides on documented strategic-fit grounds using only information contained in the submitted proposal and assessed under the published criteria.

No. Proposals passing the thresholds are ranked and funded in order within the available budget. Other passing proposals may be placed on a reserve list.

The redress procedure is limited to procedural deficiencies. It does not reopen the technical judgement of evaluators and does not allow new proposal content to be introduced after submission.

8. Contract preparation, implementation and support

Selected applicants complete legal, financial, ownership-and-control and other compliance checks; agree the final scope, milestones, deliverables and acceptance criteria; sign the Sub-Grant Agreement; and complete onboarding.

Selected applicants complete legal, financial, ownership-and-control and other compliance checks; agree the final scope, milestones, deliverables and acceptance criteria; sign the Sub-Grant Agreement; and complete onboarding.

Yes. Selected projects may receive onboarding, technical guidance, platform or service access support, integration guidance, coordination support and participation in review or capacity-building sessions. Exact support arrangements and access conditions will be confirmed during contract preparation and onboarding.

Applicants may contact open-call@aenaon-project.eu and should monitor the official AENAON Open Call webpage. Clarifications of general relevance will be consolidated and made available to all applicants on an equal basis.

Registration and participation in the Open Call Info Day are subject to the

Website Privacy & Cookies Policy

Attending this Info Day is a dissemination activity. Registration and participation do not constitute submission of an application to the AENAON Open Call, nor do they create any applicant relationship with the AENAON consortium. If you wish to apply to the Open Call, a separate process and a separate Privacy Notice.

For this Info Day, WindEurope may process participants’ personal data, including name, email address, organisation, role or job title, country, registration timestamp, attendance information, online meeting metadata, questions submitted during the session, chat messages, and technical connection data generated by the online event platform. These data are processed for registration, event access, participant communications, online event delivery, Q&A management, technical support, attendance documentation, and follow-up communications relating to the Info Day and the AENAON Open Call launch. 

The data controller for the personal data processed in connection with this Info Day is WindEurope asbl, established in Rue de la Gare 6, Etterbeek 1040 Belgium, which organises and runs the Info Day as part of the AENAON dissemination activities. 

The online session will be delivered through Microsoft Teams Events and related Microsoft 365 services, and Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd may process registration, attendance, participation, account-related and technical data as provider of the online event platform, in accordance with the applicable Microsoft data protection terms and privacy documentation. 

The legal bases for processing are Article 6(1)(b) GDPR, for steps necessary to enable registration and participation at the participant’s request; Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, for the legitimate interest of WindEurope in organising, securing and documenting the Info Day and answering participant questions; and, where applicable, Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, for compliance with project reporting, audit and record-keeping obligations under Grant Agreement No. 101249723. 

If the session is recorded, participants will be informed before or at the start of the event. Participants who do not wish to appear in the recording may keep their camera and microphone switched off and may submit questions in writing where this option is available. 

Registration and attendance data will generally be retained for up to 12 months after the event, unless longer retention is required for project reporting, audit, legal claims, security incident handling, or obligations under the AENAON Grant Agreement. Aggregated or anonymised statistics may be retained for project reporting purposes. 

Questions submitted during the Info Day may be used, in anonymised or non-identifiable form, to prepare FAQs or clarifications for the benefit of all potential Open Call applicants. 

For privacy questions or to exercise GDPR rights, participants may contact: dpo@aenaon-project.eu. Participants may also lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority or with the supervisory authority of their country of residence or place of work.

Info Day: AENAON Project Open Call Round 1

Date: 14 July 2026

Info Day: AENAON Project Open Call Round 1

Date: 14 July 2026

Time: 15.00-16.00 CEST

Online


Discover how the AENAON Open Calls can support your project!

AENAON is an EU-funded project that helps offshore wind operators test and relevant stakeholders and strengthen their cybersecurity in a safe and controlled environment.

Through its Open Calls, the project will fund third-party initiatives that contribute to the validation, uptake and wider deployment of AENAON solutions.

During this webinar, we will introduce the AENAON project and present the first Open Call round, which will be published in early July. This round supports the initial validation, integration and testing of AENAON technologies and services in realistic environments.

We will also provide extra time at the end of the session to answer your questions.

AGENDA

  • 15:00 – 15:05: Welcome & Introduction
  • 15:05 – 15:10: AENAON in a Nutshell
  • 15:10 – 15:40: All About Open Call Round 1
  • 15:40 – 15:55: Q&A
  • 15:55 – 16:00: Closing

Watch Info Day meeting

Info Day – Open call round 1

Alternative questions for Q&A session

1. General information

Open Call 1 supports external organisations in enriching, integrating, testing and initially validating AENAON cybersecurity preparedness capabilities for offshore wind operations and closely related critical-energy infrastructure. Projects should interact with the Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform, cyber range training and/or ex-ante cybersecurity preparedness services.

The two rounds are complementary. Open Call 1 focuses on content enrichment, integration, testing and
targeted validation. Open Call 2 will build on the results and lessons learned from the first round and  will focus more strongly on scaling, broader validation and ecosystem-level deployment.

The submission period runs from 1 September to 31 October 2026. Applicants must follow the exact closing time and submission instructions stated in the final Open Call Notice and portal, and are strongly encouraged to submit before the final day

Clarifications of general relevance will be consolidated through the official AENAON Open Call channels.
Applicants will be notified through the official process, and final outcome information is expected to be
published through the AENAON website and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal after the relevant selection
and contracting steps.

2. Scope and eligible activities

Eligible activities must fall within the closed Open Call 1 activity list and be directly relevant to offshore wind cybersecurity. They may include integration of cybersecurity technologies, testing in operationally relevant pilots, digital-twin or SCADA/OT validation, penetration-testing validation, compliance and resilience activities, targeted dissemination connected to the funded action, and collaboration or impact activities.

No. The targets of more than 20 risk scenarios, more than 10 penetration tests and more than five industry stakeholders are collective targets across the relevant funded Open Call projects. Each selected sub-project will receive proportionate targets during contract preparation, based on its scope, scale and complexity

Activities outside the closed list are not eligible. Examples include generic marketing unrelated to project outcomes, unrelated research and development, and capital investments not directly necessary for implementation of the approved sub-project.

No. Applicants may propose a use case based on their own technology, expertise or operational context, provided it is clearly aligned with Open Call 1 and explains how it will use, integrate, test, validate or extend AENAON Open Call FAQ – 3 relevant AENAON capabilities. Detailed access arrangements will be confirmed during technical preparation and onboarding where applicable.

3. Funding and payments

The indicative Open Call 1 envelope is EUR 2.1 million. Support is provided as a lump-sum sub-grant covering
50% of the eligible sub-project budget. The implementation period is eight months.

The ceiling applies to each participating legal entity cumulatively across both AENAON Open Calls, regardless of whether the entity participates as a single applicant, lead applicant or consortium partner. Previous AENAON FSTP awards reduce the amount that may be awarded later.

Applicants must provide the share of the eligible sub-project budget not covered by AENAON support. For
example, an entity requesting EUR 100,000 in AENAON support would normally need an eligible budget of at
least EUR 200,000 and must demonstrate the capacity to provide the remaining share.

Payments follow a 30%-40%-30% model: 30% after signature of the Sub-Grant Agreement and completion of onboarding requirements; 40% after acceptance of the mid-term report, deliverables and milestone evidence; and 30% after acceptance of final reports, outputs, KPI evidence and validation results. Payments depend on accepted results and evidence

AENAON may offer funding limited to the remaining available amount. The applicant may accept and submit a proportionately revised scope, work plan, budget, milestones and deliverables for AENAON approval, or withdraw from contract preparation.

4. Eligibility and consortium rules

Eligible applicants must be legally established in one of the 27 EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Any additional third country is eligible only where it is expressly confirmed as fully associated with the Digital Europe Programme for Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust and is included in the definitive “AENAON Open Call 1 – List of Eligible Countries”. Countries associated only for Specific Objectives 1, 2, 4 or 5 are not eligible.

Every participating legal entity must independently satisfy the country-eligibility requirements. If one consortium member is established in an ineligible country, the entire proposal will be declared ineligible and will not proceed to quality evaluation.

No. They are separate checks. An entity may be established in an eligible country and still be subject to an ownership-and-control assessment. Each participating legal entity must complete Annex 7 and provide supporting information where requested.

Yes. Part A of Annex 6 is completed and signed by the lead applicant. Part B is completed and signed separately by every consortium member, including the lead applicant. Each participating legal entity must also submit its own Annex 5, Annex 7 and Annex 8.

No. Beneficiaries of AENAON Grant Agreement No. 101249723 and their affiliated entities are not eligible for AENAON FSTP funding.

5. Proposal preparation and submission package

The main technical narrative in Annex 3 is limited to 10 A4 pages covering Sections 0-5. The cover page, instruction page, Section 6, Section 7 and separately submitted mandatory annexes are excluded. Pages beyond the permitted limit may be disregarded during evaluation.

The package includes the online application form, Annex 3 – Technical Proposal Template, budget and cofunding information, legal-entity information,  Annex 5 – Declaration of Honour for each participating legal entity, Annex 6 where applicable, Annex 7 for each participating legal entity, Annex 8 for each participating legal entity, Annex 9 – IPR and Background Declaration, and any additional documents required by the final package.

Applicants should not include credentials, detailed vulnerabilities, identifiable infrastructure configurations or other operationally sensitive material unless strictly necessary. Specific sensitive passages should be marked [CONFIDENTIAL] in accordance with the Guidelines. Applicants should identify particular passages or data rather than designating the entire proposal as confidential.

Applicants should complete the official templates and must not remove mandatory declarations, headings or table structures unless the Open Call documentation expressly permits a modification. Names, budgets, roles and requested support must remain consistent across all forms and annexes.

6. Declarations, double funding and IPR

Related, complementary or parallel public funding is not automatically prohibited. Double funding arises where the same activity, cost, personnel effort, milestone, deliverable, result or output is financed or claimed more than once from public sources. Related funding must be fully disclosed and technically, financially and documentarily separated.

Each participating legal entity, including the lead applicant and every consortium partner, must complete and sign Annex 8. The entity must disclose current, pending or planned related public funding and maintain records capable of preventing and detecting duplicate claims.

For a consortium proposal, the lead applicant may submit one consolidated Annex 9 covering all participating legal entities, provided each background item, third-party component and restriction is clearly attributed to the relevant entity. Each entity remains responsible for the accuracy of information relating to its own rights, licences and restrictions.

No. Annex 9 records relevant background, third-party materials, rights and restrictions. It does not transfer ownership or create access rights by itself. Any operational rights required for integration, verification, training or demonstration are governed by the Sub-Grant Agreement.

Applicants and selected recipients must notify AENAON in writing without undue delay of material changes
affecting ownership and control, funding overlap, background, licences, third-party rights or other relevant
declarations before contract signature or during implementation.

7. Evaluation and selection

Proposals are evaluated under Excellence, Impact and Implementation. For Open Call 1 the weights are 30%, 30% and 40%, respectively. Each criterion must score at least 3 out of 5, and the overall weighted score must be at least 3.33 out of 5.

Ties are resolved first by the Implementation score, then Excellence, then Impact. If a tie remains, the Open Call Coordination Committee decides on documented strategic-fit grounds using only information contained in the submitted proposal and assessed under the published criteria.

No. Proposals passing the thresholds are ranked and funded in order within the available budget. Other passing proposals may be placed on a reserve list.

The redress procedure is limited to procedural deficiencies. It does not reopen the technical judgement of evaluators and does not allow new proposal content to be introduced after submission.

8. Contract preparation, implementation and support

Selected applicants complete legal, financial, ownership-and-control and other compliance checks; agree the final scope, milestones, deliverables and acceptance criteria; sign the Sub-Grant Agreement; and complete onboarding.

Selected projects must submit the agreed reports, deliverables, milestones, KPI evidence and supporting
records. Outputs are subject to technical verification and formal acceptance. Corrective action, payment
suspension or reduction, termination and recovery may apply in cases of non-performance or non-compliance.

Yes. Selected projects may receive onboarding, technical guidance, platform or service access support, integration guidance, coordination support and participation in review or capacity-building sessions. Exact support arrangements and access conditions will be confirmed during contract preparation and onboarding.

No. Passing the thresholds means the proposal can be considered in the ranking, but funding is allocated in descending order within the available Open Call 1 budget. Threshold-passing proposals may enter the reserve list if budget is not immediately available.

Registration and participation in the AENAON Open Call Info Day are subject to the AENAON Website Privacy & Cookies Policy, available at: https://aenaon-project.eu/privacy-policy/

Attending this Info Day is a dissemination activity. Registration and participation do not constitute submission of an application to the AENAON Open Call, nor do they create any applicant relationship with the AENAON consortium. If you wish to apply to the Open Call, a separate process and a separate Privacy Notice apply, available at: https://aenaon-project.eu/open-calls/

For this Info Day, ASFALYS SRL may process participants’ personal data, including name, email address, organisation, role or job title, country, registration timestamp, attendance information, online meeting metadata, questions submitted during the session, chat messages, and technical connection data generated by the online event platform. These data are processed for registration, event access, participant communications, online event delivery, Q&A management, technical support, attendance documentation, and follow-up communications relating to the Info Day and the AENAON Open Call.

The data controller for this Info Day is ASFALYS SRL, Esplanade 1, Brussels, 1020, Belgium, acting on behalf of the AENAON Consortium.

ASFALYS SRL relies on WindEurope as processor for the organisation and running of the Info Day, including registration management, participant administration, event communications, online session delivery, Q&A and chat management, technical support, attendance documentation, and follow-up communications relating to the Info Day. WindEurope processes Info Day personal data only for these purposes, strictly under the documented instructions of ASFALYS SRL and subject to an Article 28 GDPR data processing agreement.

The online session will be delivered through Microsoft Teams Events and related Microsoft 365 services, and Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd may process registration, attendance, participation, account-related and technical data as provider of the online event platform, in accordance with the applicable Microsoft data protection terms and privacy documentation.

The legal bases for processing are Article 6(1)(b) GDPR, for steps necessary to enable registration and participation at the participant’s request; Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, for the legitimate interest of the AENAON consortium in organising, securing and documenting the Info Day and answering participant questions; and, where applicable, Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, for compliance with project reporting, audit and record-keeping obligations under Grant Agreement No. 101249723.

If the session is recorded, participants will be informed before or at the start of the event. Participants who do not wish to appear in the recording may keep their camera and microphone switched off and may submit questions in writing where this option is available.

Registration and attendance data will generally be retained for up to 12 months after the event, unless longer retention is required for project reporting, audit, legal claims, security incident handling, or obligations under the AENAON Grant Agreement. Aggregated or anonymised statistics may be retained for project reporting purposes.

Questions submitted during the Info Day may be used, in anonymised or non-identifiable form, to prepare FAQs or clarifications for the benefit of all potential Open Call applicants.

For privacy questions or to exercise GDPR rights, participants may contact: dpo@aenaon-project.eu. Participants may also lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD/GBA) or with the supervisory authority of their country of residence or place of work.