scindu funding
All calls

Developing novel recycling technologies for complex plastic materials applying biotech solutions

Horizon Europe · Grant topic

HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-03

Summary

A Polish company can use this call for R&D.

Funds development of biotechnology solutions for sorting, characterising and recycling complex plastics into high-value applications.

Who can apply
Companies can lead: SME, large company, startup, research org, university.
Amount
€5M per projectTotal budget €10,000,000
Deadline
22 Sept 2027 02:00 CESTin 333 days
Status
Forthcomingopens 20 Apr 2027
Open on the portalRegister to keep this call

Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.

Description

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• environment and society at large benefit from recyclable plastic products which can be recycled back into high value applications;

• industrial value chains introduce circular plastic products on the market through enhanced design for recycling and solutions for effective sorting and recycling on a large scale;

• industrial value chains are equipped with improved characterisation of waste from complex plastic materials to enable its recycling.

Scope:

The topic supports the European Green Deal, the Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste, the Waste Shipment Regulation, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and its working plan, the upcoming Circular Economy Act and contributes to Europe’s efforts to develop a single market for sustainable products. It also contributes to the new EU bioeconomy strategy, the Life Sciences Strategy and the EU Biotech Act and is relevant to the European Commission’s communication: ‘Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU’.

Proposals should:

• advance novel biotech solutions for recycling of complex plastic materials and products (multi-material/multi-layer/composites), namely in the sectors of packaging, construction, renewable energy infrastructure and transport;

• propose recommendations towards fit-for-purpose regulatory risk assessments for novel materials and recycling technologies (i.e. hazard identification, methodological updates) and take into account the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design framework;

• consider the latest solutions in material innovation while developing novel recycling solutions e.g. by application of microbes and enzymes for enhanced degradation of plastics;

• demonstrate the solutions on a pilot scale involving the whole value chain.

Successful proposals are expected to evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and impact of the demonstrated solutions using robust evaluation methods (including lifecycle assessments such as product environmental footprint, where relevant) and present data and evidence about the economic, environmental and social costs and benefits of the developed solutions.

Industrial value chains are expected to take part in the proposed consortia to enable a demonstration of the proposed solution and involve all relevant stakeholders.

Clustering with other relevant Horizon Europe projects is encouraged.

Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.

Who can apply, in detail
Applicant types
SME, Large company, Startup, Research org, University
Purpose
Research and innovation
R&D relevance
3 of 3
Poland eligible
Yes
Country limit
—
Region
Any
Consortium
Unclear
Readiness level (TRL)
—
Topics
  • Biotechnological recycling
  • Complex plastic waste
  • Waste characterisation
  • Design for recycling

Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026

Conditions14

Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.

Applicant restriction
General Annex B also excludes public Chinese universities administered by or under the supervision of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) from any action under all parts of this Work Programme. This records a source-stated potential eligibility restriction; it does not adjudicate any applicant’s status.
Applicant restriction
General Annex B bars legal entities established in China from Innovation Actions and, unless a stated destination exception applies, from Research and Innovation Actions, including participation in any capacity for the listed IA/RIA restrictions. The exact CIRCBIO destination heading is not among the enumerated Cluster 6 RIA exceptions. Topic 08 separately states the control rule for this exact topic.
Applicant restriction
General Annex B excludes entities subject to EU restrictive measures from participation in any capacity and refers to special rules for entities covered by Commission Guidelines 2013/C 205/05 on Israeli entities and activities in territories occupied since June 1967. Eligibility under these rules depends on the entity and activity; this review does not make an applicant-specific determination.
Applicant restriction
General Annex B states that Hungarian public-interest trusts established under Act IX of 2021 and entities they maintain may apply and, if allowed by call conditions, participate as associated partners without EU funding; while the Council measures remain in force, they are not eligible in funded roles. This records the published rule and does not determine the status of a particular entity or current Council measures.
Applicant restriction
General Annex B states that entities established in Russia, Belarus or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible in any participation capacity, subject to justified case-by-case exceptions. It also states that entities established outside Russia but more than 50% directly or indirectly owned by a Russia-established entity are not eligible in any capacity. This is the published programme rule, not a determination about a particular applicant.
Applicant type
Unless a specific topic exception modifies it, the standard minimum is three independent legal-entity beneficiaries from three different countries: one Member State plus two others from different Member States or Associated Countries. Affiliated entities do not count toward that minimum.
Application restriction
2027-09-22, 17:00 Brussels local time (published call deadline; Commission may delay by up to two months)
Application restriction
2027-04-20 (planned opening date)
Application restriction
This is the Call 01 single-stage 2027 route. The separate -01-two-stage and -02-two-stage topics are distinct topic records, not alternate stages of this exact record.
Eligible project scope
Research and Innovation Actions
Eligible project scope
Advance biotech recycling of complex multi-material, multilayer or composite plastics in packaging, construction, renewable-energy infrastructure and transport; address regulatory risk assessment and safe-and-sustainable-by-design, and pilot-demonstrate with the whole value chain. Activities may start at any TRL; target TRL 4–5 by project end.
Other condition
The Work Programme overview gives an indicative expected award count of 2 project(s) for this topic; it is a planning figure, not a guaranteed award count.
Technology readiness level at end, maximum
5 TRL

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project; activities may start at any TRL. This is an expected result target, not an applicant eligibility threshold.

Technology readiness level at end, minimum
4 TRL

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project; activities may start at any TRL. This is an expected result target, not an applicant eligibility threshold.

Amounts and costs8
Indicative budget
€10,000,000

Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.

Eligible cost
The project-based detailed lump-sum budget is an estimate per cost category, beneficiary/affiliated entity and work package. Its inputs must approximate actual costs, follow the programme’s actual-cost eligibility rules, the beneficiary’s normal practices, be reasonable/non-excessive, and be necessary and aligned to proposed activities. These estimates justify/fix the contribution; they are not actual-cost claims.
Eligible cost
SEDIA identifies the Horizon Lump Sum Grant model; the Lump Sum MGA pays a contribution for completed work packages according to the signed agreement, not reimbursement of each actual payroll or supplier invoice. Topic text explicitly invokes the Lump Sum Decision for those topics that state the legal/financial exception.
Eligible cost
Travel/subsistence, equipment and other goods/works/services are categories in the underlying Horizon cost model; the amount may be included in a lump-sum estimate only where the item would be eligible under actual-cost rules and is needed for the proposed activities. This packet does not assert that a specific purchase is authorized in the final budget.
Eligible cost
Subcontracting may be included in the detailed estimate only where necessary and otherwise eligible; the underlying Horizon MGA rules require usual purchasing practices, best value for money (or lowest price where appropriate), and no conflict of interest. Under the lump-sum model the contribution is not reimbursed invoice-by-invoice.
Eligible cost limit
25 percent of eligible direct costs for actual-cost MGA budget calculations; exclusions as stated in conditions

The general Horizon Europe MGA flat-rate base excludes eligible direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and unit costs or lump sums that include indirect costs. For a project-based lump sum, any indirect-cost amount is only part of the estimated Annex 2 breakdown if applicable; this is not a separate 25% payment on top of the lump sum. If the beneficiary receives an operating grant, the lump-sum guidance says indirect cost estimates are not eligible.

Funding intensity, maximum
100 percent of eligible costs (general action-type maximum)

General Horizon Europe maximum for RIA: 100% of eligible costs. For lump-sum grants the funding rate is already applied in the methodology used to fix the amount; it is not an additional multiplier to apply to the indicative project contribution or topic allocation. Final grant parameters are fixed in the signed grant agreement.

Expected contribution per project
€5,000,000

Around this expected EU contribution per project. It is an estimate, not a minimum, maximum or binding cap; the Commission explicitly permits proposals requesting different amounts.

Topic allocation
€10,000,000

Topic-level indicative call allocation; not an amount per project or individual beneficiary. The Work Programme says the call budget is subject to availability of appropriations.

Personnel and services4

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Natural persons under a direct contract other than an employment contract may be estimated only when assigned to the action, meeting employee-like working conditions, with the result belonging to the beneficiary unless otherwise agreed. The amount follows the underlying actual contract cost and may not differ significantly from similar employee tasks; no salary rate is published.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Costs for employees under an employment contract or equivalent appointing act, assigned to the action. For this lump-sum call this is a budget-estimate category subject to corresponding actual-cost eligibility rules, not an advertised role, required hire, headcount or salary-rate entitlement.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Seconded-person personnel-cost estimates require assignment to the action, employee-like working conditions, result ownership by the beneficiary unless otherwise agreed, and an amount tied to actual secondment cost that is not significantly different from comparable employee tasks. No job, headcount or pay rate is specified.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    The action-related work of a beneficiary SME owner or natural-person beneficiary receiving no salary may be included under the personnel unit-cost method in Annex 2a where general eligibility conditions are met. It is not a payroll salary and this review does not assert a unit amount.

Source documents6
Call facts
Opens
20 Apr 2027
Deadline model
Single-stage
Programme
Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
Call
HORIZON-CL6-2027-01 · Call 01 - single stage (2027)
Types of action
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Keywords
  • biotechnology
Source
ec.europa.eu
Checked
24 Oct 2026
Portal updated
7 Oct 2026
Review status
Partial review
Reviewed
23 Oct 2026

This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.