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Call key data
Circular economy in process industries: Upcycling large volumes of secondary resources (Processes4Planet partnership)
Call number
HORIZON-CL4-2023-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-42
deadlines
Opening
08.12.2022
Deadline
20.04.2023 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 30,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
between € 10,000,000.00 and € 12,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
Projects outcomes will enable the achievement of the operational objectives of Processes4Planet partnership by developing new processes for circularity of secondary materials from wastes/residues for all industrial processes (related to P4Planet operational objective 6).
Call objectives
Currently only 12% of the material resources used in the European process industry are recycled and recovered materials and these are mostly down cycled to less valuable products. To move towards a truly circular and sustainable process industry that uses its resources consciously, and without landfilling, breakthrough innovations aiming at upcycling large amounts of secondary resources are needed. The focus of this topic is the upcycling of secondary resources that must lead to the same quality and diversity of products as those obtained when using primary resources. The innovation needed will depend on the addressed waste category. However, even if the upcycling technologies may be sector specific, the cross-sectorial elements are important and should deserve due attention.
Proposals are expected to address the following aspects:
- Considering the upgrading of secondary resources, when relevant, which may include the development of better separation and sorting technologies and digitalisation;
- Ensure consistent quality and safety of recyclates and their suitability for the upcycling process itself;
- If relevant, detection and removal additives in the secondary resources stream;
- Take due account of logistic aspects such as production planning, risk assessment and management or zero defect at supply chain level;
- The innovative upcycling of the secondary raw materials should be demonstrated through at least two realistic use cases that must lead to the same quality and diversity of products as those obtained when using primary resources, with demonstrable economic return, developed in closed cooperation between recyclers, process industry, users and technology providers;
- Successful upcycling relies on advanced monitoring and sensing in the process industries and value chains, and on an improved data completeness, accuracy and interoperability between the process and the recycling companies. Upcycling may create new business opportunities and models. These are aspects that should be duly considered.
Proposals should include energy efficiency techno-economic and life-cycle assessment considerations of the overall process.
Proposals should actively pursue the involvement of all the actors in the value chain from the process industry to formulators, recyclers, public authorities, and standardisation actors.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Where relevant interoperability for data sharing should be addressed.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be presented, associating social partners where relevant. Particular attention should be given to the cooperation with existing initiatives that have developed education and skills activities and outcomes in this area.
All proposals should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national, or regional initiatives, funding programmes and are encouraged to consider the use of their expected outcomes in a wider approach that might benefit the establishment of Hubs for Circularity.
International cooperation can be considered specially with countries advanced in the field that could bring mutual benefit from different perspectives.
The proposals under this topic may cover any of the process industries sectors and related end of life wastes sectors (plastic wastes and composites, which were the subject of the WP 2021-22, and steel scrap implemented as part of the Clean Steel partnership are excluded).
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
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Expected results
- Prove the technical and economic feasibility of the use of secondary resources in the process industry leading to products with identical properties and performances as those produced using primary resources and allowing production without quality restriction;
- Increase the use of secondary resources in the process industry leading to significant increase in resource efficiency across the value chain and subsequent reduction of CO2 emissions; reduction of waste sent to landfill and overall positive environmental impact;
- Increase the competitiveness of the European process industry; new business opportunities and revenue flows for recycling companies, benefiting particularly SMEs, which dominate this sector of the market;
- The proposed technologies should contribute to the matching of supply-versus-demand of feedstock at the level of quality constraints (removal of impurities or wrong matrices, concentration etc.);
- Foster data sharing, and FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) digital assets principles, considering the application of digital product passport between recycling companies and the process industry to improve the economy of scale in upcycling of material streams;
- Increase the use of unused and new skills to unfold the potential of the technological solutions at the workplace for upcycling and contribution to inclusive growth;
- At a longer term, to pave the way toward sustainable-by-design for circular products.
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Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Natural Person, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- third countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- Joint Research Centre (‘JRC’)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.
other eligibility criteria
Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project.
For the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), the following definitions apply:
- TRL 1 — Basic principles observed
- TRL 2 — Technology concept formulated
- TRL 3 — Experimental proof of concept
- TRL 4 — Technology validated in a lab
- TRL 5 — Technology validated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
- TRL 6 — Technology demonstrated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
- TRL 7 — System prototype demonstration in an operational environment
- TRL 8 — System complete and qualified
- TRL 9 — Actual system proven in an operational environment (competitive manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies, or in space)
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
Additional Information
All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 50 pages. In order to include a business case and exploitation strategy, the page limit in part B of the General Annexes is exceptionally extended by 3 pages.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
Call documents
HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 4, Destination 1HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 4, Destination 1(661kB)
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