Optimal combination of low embodied carbon construction products, technical building systems and circularity principles for climate neutral buildings (Built4People Partnership)
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Optimal combination of low embodied carbon construction products, technical building systems and circularity principles for climate neutral buildings (Built4People Partnership) offering max €33.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description
1. What the Grant Funds
The call `HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-05` will finance Research & Innovation Actions (RIA) that deliver and validate:
* Optimal combinations of low-embodied-carbon construction products, technical building systems and circular design principles at whole-building level.
* Decision processes for adaptive reuse (repair / repurpose vs. demolish & rebuild).
* Demonstration of solutions in at least three EU/Associated countries covering different climatic zones and building stock typologies.
* Robust whole-life-carbon (WLC) calculations aligned with Level(s) / forthcoming EPBD requirements and contribution to EU benchmarking databases.
* Cost-effective business models enabling market uptake (e.g. product-service systems, material passports, pay-per-use service contracts, circular procurement schemes).
* Contributions to European standardisation, Built4People KPIs and the Built4People network of innovation clusters.
2. Type of Funding & Budget
* Action type: Horizon Europe RIA – Lump-Sum grant (HORIZON-AG-LS).
* EU contribution rate: 100 % of the agreed lump-sum.
* Indicative EU budget per project: Typically EUR 8–12 million (the topic envelope is EUR 33 million; the Commission usually funds 2-4 projects).
* Payment logic: Pre-defined work packages are costed ex-ante; payment is triggered upon successful completion (simplified reporting, no cost receipts required).
3. Eligible Applicants & Consortium Requirements
* Minimum: 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or Horizon-Europe-Associated Countries.
* Recommended: Multidisciplinary value chain including:
* Research & technology organisations (RTOs), universities.
* Construction product manufacturers & digital solution providers (BIM, LCA tools, digital twins).
* Architects & engineering firms (structural, HVAC, fire, acoustics).
* Demo-site owners / real-estate developers / public authorities.
* Circular-business model innovators, financial actors, insurance.
* Standardisation bodies (CEN/CENELEC TCs), clusters & SME networks.
* Joint Research Centre (JRC): May join as a partner for experimental validation and policy linkages.
* Entities from most third countries can participate; only those listed in the Work-Programme guide are automatically funded.
4. Key Eligibility & Technical Conditions
* Demonstrations in 3 climatic zones (e.g. Mediterranean, Continental, Nordic) incl. at least one renovation and one new build.
* Whole-life performance must address structural, fire, acoustic, hygrometric, indoor air quality, durability, deconstruction & reuse.
* Flexibility & future use-change must be designed in (e.g. reversible joints, modular MEP systems).
* Replication potential across EU building stock is mandatory; deliver open data sets, digital tools, guidelines.
* Time line:
* Call opens 16 Sep 2025 → Deadline 17 Feb 2026 (single stage).
* Evaluation results ≈ May 2026; Grant Agreement ≈ Sep 2026.
* Typical project duration 48 months (2026-2030).
5. Evaluation Criteria (Score 0-5, threshold 4/3/3 & 10/15 total)
1. Excellence – scientific & technological credibility; innovation beyond state-of-the-art; methodology, TRL 3→5/6.
2. Impact – contribution to Green Deal, Built4People KPIs, WLC reduction, EU taxonomy alignment, standardisation plan.
3. Quality & Efficiency of Implementation – consortium competence, lump-sum work-package logic, risk mitigation, open science.
6. Strategic Fit
This topic is part of the Built4People (B4P) co-programmed partnership under Cluster 5. Projects must:
* Report KPI data to B4P monitoring.
* Engage with the B4P innovation cluster network and New European Bauhaus initiatives.
7. Complementarity with Other EU Initiatives
* Renovation Wave / EPBD recast, Level(s) framework.
* Circular Economy Action Plan, Net-Zero Industry Act, Digital Building Logbook pilots.
* Mission on Climate-Neutral & Smart Cities, LIFE, Interreg for replication.
8. Intellectual Property & Dissemination
* IP remains with beneficiaries; exploitation plan must clarify freedom-to-operate & licensing.
* Open access to peer-reviewed publications and FAIR research data is mandatory; software under OSI-compatible licences encouraged.
9. Sustainability & Gender Equality
* Show gender balance in teams & leadership; integrate gender & diversity aspects in stakeholder engagement.
* Life-cycle sustainability assessment (environmental, social, economic) aligned with UNEP/SETAC guidelines.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities for the Call HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-05
1. Policy Alignment & Regulatory First-Mover Benefits
- Direct contribution to flagship Green Deal initiatives: Fit-for-55 package, Renovation Wave, Circular Economy Action Plan and the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
- Anticipating mandatory whole-life-carbon (WLC) reporting foreseen in upcoming EPBD delegated acts gives consortia early market positioning and influence on future compliance tools.
- Harmonised Standards Development: By feeding results into CEN/CENELEC Technical Committees, beneficiaries shape the next generation of Eurocodes, product category rules (EN 15804), Level(s) indicators and Digital Building Logbooks—securing a regulatory pull for their solutions across 27 Member States.
2. Pan-European Market Scale & Economies of Learning
- 450-million-citizen home market enables rapid scaling of low-embodied-carbon products, creating critical mass for industrialised, automated construction methods (prefab, 3-D printing, modular).
- Cross-border validation in ≥3 climatic zones (e.g. Nordic, Continental, Mediterranean) produces robust evidence for replicability, de-risking investment for institutional financiers and ESCOs.
- Shared open-access datasets (Level(s) compliant) reduce duplication of LCA efforts, cutting transaction costs for SMEs operating in multiple national markets.
3. Strategic Research Synergies
- Built4People Partnership & NEBULA clusters offer >1 000 living labs and demo sites, accelerating TRL advancement and citizen acceptance.
- Integration with EU Mission ‘Climate-Neutral & Smart Cities’; municipalities already committed to climate-neutrality by 2030 are ideal pilots and co-investors.
- Access to pan-EU research infrastructures (EERA, JRC, EUPF) provides free/discounted testing, metrology and data stewardship services, saving individual partners €0.5-1 M.
4. Financial Leverage & De-Risking
- Lump-sum model simplifies administration and cash-flow, often attracting industrial players previously deterred by cost-reporting complexity.
- Stacking with national Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF) funds earmarked for building renovation (≈€80 bn) multiplies impact without breaching state-aid rules.
- EU taxonomy alignment unlocks green bonds and sustainable finance products, lowering cost of capital for follow-on deployment projects.
5. Supply-Chain Resilience & Strategic Autonomy
- Strengthening EU timber, bio-based and recycled-material value chains reduces dependence on imported high-carbon steel & cement, supporting the Critical Raw Materials Act.
- Circularity solutions tested under the grant (design-for-deconstruction, material passports) enable secondary raw-material markets estimated at €12 bn/year EU-wide.
6. Socio-Economic Upside
- Job creation in retrofit & prefab sectors: Every €1 M in renovation generates 18 local jobs; EU-scale roll-out could add >160 000 skilled positions.
- Upskilling through Erasmus+ & Construction Blueprint integration ensures labour mobility and mutual recognition of qualifications across Member States.
- Health & productivity gains from better IAQ and thermal comfort valued at €38 bn/year, strengthening the business case for public and private clients.
7. Digital & Data Interoperability
- Common EU ontologies (BIM, Digital Product Passport, SRI) allow seamless data exchange, reducing design cycle by 30 % and O&M costs by 20 %.
- Cross-border cloud sandboxes (e.g. GAIA-X, Digital Europe Programme) offer secure environments for AI-driven optimisation of material combinations, fostering SME innovation.
8. International Leadership & Export Potential
- Global standard-setting power: Solutions validated under EU’s stringent WLC methodology become de-facto benchmarks for other regions.
- EU-wide reference projects enhance the competitive edge of European construction firms in €13 tn global green-building market.
9. Consortium-Level Tactical Opportunities
1. Tri-cluster demonstration: Combine a Nordic timber-rich pilot, a Central-European adaptive-reuse case, and a Mediterranean high-thermal-mass prototype to cover climatic spectrum and policy diversity.
2. JRC collaboration: Access to full-scale test cells in Ispra for fire, acoustics and hygrothermal validation—often the costliest certification barrier.
3. Link to EU procurement platforms (Big Buyers Initiative) for fast-track uptake in public building stock (schools, hospitals).
4. Engage EIB ELENA & InvestEU advisory windows early to structure post-project replication finance lines.
10. Risk Mitigation at EU Scale
- Regulatory heterogeneity tackled via joint compliance mapping, reducing market entry risk.
- Diversified funding streams (HEU, LIFE, Interreg, national co-funding) buffer against single-country budget cuts.
- Collective IPR strategies under Horizon rules encourage open innovation while safeguarding commercial exploitation rights EU-wide.
11. Long-Term Legacy
- Contributions to EU WLC benchmarks will feed into forthcoming EPBD delegated acts, ensuring project impacts for at least 10–15 years.
- Embedding results in European Skills Agenda secures replication via vocational curricula.
- Alignment with New European Bauhaus values strengthens cultural acceptance and aesthetics, broadening societal support.
12. Key Take-Away
Harnessing EU integration mechanisms—common standards, a vast internal market, trans-national research networks and blended financing—significantly amplifies the technical, economic and societal impacts of the proposed RIA. This scale effect cannot be reproduced at national level and positions participating organisations at the forefront of the fast-growing, low-carbon, circular construction market both within and beyond Europe.
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