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CATALYSE is a Horizon Europe project funded by the European Commission and coordinated by AIT Austrian Institute of Technology that supports European cities in their endeavour to become climate neutral. Moving beyond fragmented experimentations, the project anchors mission-oriented policies in local contexts and leverages the role of Knowledge Institutions (KIs) as hubs and trusted actors within innovation ecosystems.
Kick Off in Vienna
The CATALYSE partners met last week in Vienna for the official project kick-off, hosted by the Project Coordinator AIT Austrian Institute of Technology at Hauswirtschaft, a local social innovation initiative.
Representatives from the four pilot cities - Leipzig, Manchester, Rotterdam, and Vienna, came together to co-create the path ahead. The event marked the start of a shared journey to transform cities into living laboratories of climate action, where collaboration, social innovation, and local needs drive Europe’s transition to climate neutrality.
The project’s overarching aim is to help the EU Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities (EU Cities Mission) reach its full potential by aligning it more closely with the needs of cities. To achieve this, CATALYSE seeks to create synergies between existing initiatives, such as the Mission Platform and NetZeroCities, CapaCITIES 2.0, the European University alliances as well as the sister projects. By doing so, CATALYSE will connect ongoing experimentation with institutionalisation and scaling, and strengthen the role of Knowledge Institutions in this process.
At the same time, it must confront three major challenges: insufficient embedding of climate action in local contexts, underuse of transdisciplinary social innovation, and fragmentation of urban innovation efforts into short-term, project-based approaches. Against this backdrop, CATALYSE will enhance the role of Knowledge Institutions as transformative hubs within local ecosystems, building their capacities, facilitating mutual learning across cities, and creating inclusive spaces for collaboration.
“At the heart of CATALYSE is the belief that Knowledge Institutions play a critical transformative role in supporting mission-oriented policies and innovation ecosystems. By engaging a wide range of societal actor and supporting the scaling of social innovation, they ensure that climate action is firmly rooted in the realities of local communities and strengthen collaboration across Europe” – Gudrun Haindlmaier, CATALYSE Project Coordinator from AIT Austrian Institute of Technology.
Four Pilot Sites as living labs
The four pilot sites act as testing grounds to explore how different types of Knowledge Institutions—ranging from research and technology organisations in Vienna and Leipzig to universities in Manchester and Rotterdam—collaborate with local actors to advance climate action and social innovation:
- Leipzig – adapting the Climate City Contract at the neighbourhood level
- Manchester – exploring KIs as catalysts for breaking cycles of fragmented experimentation
- Rotterdam – fuelling fair heat for net-zero
- Vienna – co-creating climate-neutral futures through the transformation of railway sites
About the project
CATALYSE officially started on September 1st 2025, and will run for 3 years. The projects consortium is coordinated by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and brings together eleven partners from across Europe: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung ev (Germany), the University of Manchester (United Kingdom), Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (the Netherlands), ICLEI European Secretariat Gmbh (Germany), Greenovate! Europe (Belgium), Stadt Leipzig (Germany), Anderen b.v. (the Netherlands), the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (United Kingdom), Technische Universitaet Wien (Austria), Superwien Urbanism zt Gmbh (Austria). The project is funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement 101217086
Catalyse aims to lay the foundations for long-term change. By fostering a culture of collaboration, reinforcing local innovation ecosystems, and scaling social innovation initiatives, the project contributes directly to the EU Cities Mission—ensuring that climate neutrality is not just an ambition, but a lived reality shaped by and for local communities.
You can follow the project on the dedicated LinkedIn page to keep up with its progress, activities and results.