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Call key data
Eco-friendly consumer products – low-toxicity/zero pollution construction bio-based materials
Call number
HORIZON-CL6-2023-CircBio-01-8
deadlines
Opening
22.12.2022
Deadline
28.03.2023 17:00
Funding rate
70% (NPO: 100%)
Call budget
€ 10,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 5,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
Bio-based construction materials offer major opportunities to contribute to the climate-neutral and zero-pollution objectives of the European Green Deal, replacing fossil-based alternatives, and so, reducing the environmental footprint, while offering economic benefits to the actors involved. However, care needs to be taken to ensure sustainability of sourcing and production process, while guaranteeing safety and positive user experience. This calls for high level of innovation and creativity, ensuring full inclusiveness of participation for all actors.
Call objectives
Proposals will focus on:
- Identification and upscaling of bio-based materials suitable for the construction sector, understood as bio-based feedstocks, e.g. agro-forestry residues, fibres, recycled organic materials, industrial by-products etc, obtained especially by higher circularity of available biomass, under the cascading use of biomass principle. However, the selected materials can also be found in other bio-based resources that, due to their specific genetic / physiological / biochemical backgrounds have functional properties, which can be further improved or upgraded by fermentation, biomanufacturing, or biotechnology approaches. Also, the hybrid integration of living organisms into traditional or bio-based construction materials (e.g., plants, algae, fungi) might be considered, if leading to higher quality and improved environmental impact. The range of final construction materials is broad and may cover composites, insulation materials, interior or exterior elements, adhesives, etc., depending on the construction value chain selected.
- Innovating in terms of bio-based production improvements (e.g., additive bio-based manufacturing, nature-based solutions, or composite materials with added functionalities), leading to new construction-oriented consumer applications. This effort should benefit from innovation developed both from the technical angle, but also from social innovation and from inclusive participation of all actors, including development of recommendations for pre-normative or/and regulatory actions, related to new (recyclable/reusable) bio-based construction materials, as appropriate.
- The safety and user experience aspects should be duly considered and included in the developed solutions.
- Communication and dissemination will form an essential part of the projects, especially as related to the sustainability, ‘reconnection with nature’ and inclusiveness aspects.
- Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded under this topic and other relevant topics.
- International cooperation is encouraged to benefit from exchange of best practices, while taking care of European (industrial) competitiveness.
- SSH aspects should be considered and covered, as well as the contribution from digital solutions.
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Expected effects and impacts
A successful proposal will contribute to all Destination ‘Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors’ impacts related to consumers and industry, in particular to development of innovative and sustainable value-chains in the bio-based sectors and of European industrial sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence, including via research on biotechnology and other enabling technologies, as a prerequisite and driver of future solutions for a circular economy and the bioeconomy transitions.
Expected results
- Higher environmental sustainability, including on the climate targets (primarily reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and accessorily increase of carbon removals), and zero pollution demonstrated by LCA approaches of bio-based materials and products for construction applications, allowing their intensified sustainable use, under the New European Bauhaus Initiative and the Renovation Wave;
- Demonstrated non-toxic and zero-pollution properties of the construction materials, as well as their recyclability and/or reusability, to respond to the higher societal demand and the objectives of the European Green Deal;
- Increased competitiveness of European industry, including SME sector, and involving various actors of bio-based value chains; while ensuring affordable and sustainable end-products for the consumers and society, including via integration of digital solutions;
- Improved innovation potential in regard to biotechnology, and its potential contribution to the sustainable, circular bio-based materials and biochemicals, with safe, environmentally-friendly and functionally performing applications;
- Improved societal innovation and creativity, with inclusive engagement of all societal actors, especially professional bodies, policymakers, designers, architects, consumers and end-users, for the bio-based construction product segments. This is expected to contribute, e.g., by developing recommendations or guidelines, or public engagement/dialogue, to the policy-feedback on innovative construction materials, and to resolving related regulatory bottlenecks.
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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 achieve TRL 6-8 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 45 pages.
Call documents
HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 3HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 3(463kB)
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