Europe to advance 6G innovation as 20 projects set to receive €116 million

At Mobile World Congress 2026, the European Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) has announced €116 million in funding for 20 6G research and innovation projects.

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These projects will deepen Europe's position at the forefront of the development of 6G mobile communication technologies.

The investment is part of a broader €630 million in EU funding from the Horizon Europe programme and brings the SNS JU project portfolio to 100 projects. At this pivotal moment for the next generation of mobile communication technologies, SNS plans to invest a further €270 million in 2026 and 2027 to ensure European leadership in the race to 6G. Through faster and more secure networks, this technology will shape connectivity and digital infrastructure key to society and industry in the next decade.

The SNS JU is a Public-Private Partnership jointly led by the European Commission and the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA). By bringing together industry leaders, innovative SMEs, research centres and policymakers, it serves as Europe's central platform for next-generation networks collaboration.

The newly funded projects span large-scale validation trials and foundational 6G research across key sectors including health, mobility, space, media, manufacturing. Today, nearly 80% of SNS JU projects embed Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning as core components, reflecting AI's central role in intelligent, autonomous 6G network management. SNS JU projects have already made over 1,000 contributions to international standardisation efforts and have registered 98 patents. By supporting leading research institutions, innovative SMEs, and major industry players including Nokia and Ericsson, the programme strengthens the European supply chain for strategic digital technologies.

In 2027, the SNS JU will launch a new flagship call allocating over €230 million in EU public funding to accelerate breakthrough research and consolidate European industrial leadership in next-generation connectivity.

Full list of projects

• 6G-CARE: Large-scale trials across six European countries validating AI-enabled digital health, wearables, and holographic communication
• 6G-CATS: Delivers an AI-powered, secure, and energy-efficient optical infrastructure for end-to-end 6G connectivity.
• 6G-Holonet: Immersive media for live events, volumetric content, and cultural heritage with ultra-low latency
• 6G-NTN2 Nexus: Terrestrial and satellite network integration for seamless global connectivity
• 6G-OPTICON: End-to-end AI-native orchestration for real-time, energy-efficient network management
• Agentic6G: Developing an autonomous multi-agent AI system for 6G networks capable of self-organising, self-healing, and secure service orchestration across the device-edge-cloud continuum.
• GENIUS: 6G-enabled logistics across ports, hubs, and airports to improve efficiency and cut emissions
• IoT-ZERO: Near-zero-energy IoT with energy harvesting and satellite connectivity
• MAGIC-6G: Goal-oriented networking aligning AI directly with application objectives through semantic AI models.
• MULTIPLY-6G: developing advanced multidimensional waveform and signal processing technologies to enhance spectral efficiency and reduce energy consumption in 6G networks.
• OPTIMUS-6G: will develop an advanced architectural framework for IoT operations in unlicensed 6G bands.
• PAISES-6G: AI enhanced security framework for future 6G infrastructures, integrating digital twins quantum-ready encryption and zero touch AI development.
• PIONEERS-6G: Developing an energy-efficient, resilient, and secure IoT platform for 6G, with innovations in industrial, underground, underwater and global IoT scenarios.
• PRIME-6G: Working on resilient industrial manufacturing environments through AI-driven 6G network and compute optimisation.
• PROSPERO: Simplified 6G architecture reducing costs, improving sustainability and resilience and supporting European digital sovereignty.
• QUEST-6G: Integrating reconfigurable intelligent systems, extremely large antenna arrays, and quantum AI technologies into 6G network design.
• SHARC: Designs a multi-tenant, hardware-accelerated 6G Radio Access Network capable of dynamically orchestrating workloads across heterogeneous compute platforms.
• SHIELD-6G: An AI-driven Cyber Threat Intelligence platform for 6G networks.
• SIXG: Serverless computing framework for 6G enabling ultra-low-latency and stability for mission critical workloads
• SOVEREIGN-6G: Establishing Europe's first unified 6G Telco Cloud integrating IT and networking into a seamless service platform

Read more information about the projects.

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