Demonstration, deployment and upscaling of circular systemic solutions in cities and regions (Circular Cities and Regions Initiative)
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Demonstration, deployment and upscaling of circular systemic solutions in cities and regions (Circular Cities and Regions Initiative) offering max €30.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description for HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-07
Purpose of the Call
This Innovation Action finances large-scale demonstration, deployment and up-scaling of circular systemic solutions in European cities and regions, directly supporting the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan and the European Green Deal.
What Is Funded
* Design, piloting and validation of integrated circular solutions that span at least two CEAP value chains (e.g. construction & buildings + food systems).
* Social, technological and non-technological innovations, including new business, governance and financing models.
* Impact monitoring (GHG, materials/energy use, jobs, social inclusion) and life-cycle or socio-economic assessments.
* Replication & scaling packages: twinning, mentoring, capacity-building, peer-learning formats for follower cities/regions.
* Clustering and knowledge-transfer activities with other CCRI projects, Hubs4Circularity, Regional Innovation Valleys, New European Bauhaus, Smart Cities Mission, etc.
* Preparation of investment cases and follow-up financing with EIB Circular City Centre, CCRI Project Development Assistance or other green finance instruments.
Funding Envelope and Rate
* EU contribution per project: up to €30 million.
* Funding rate (Horizon Innovation Action): 70 % of eligible direct costs for profit entities; 100 % for non-profit organisations. A flat-rate 25 % indirect cost is automatically added.
* Typical project duration: 48–60 months.
Mandatory Eligibility Conditions
* Consortium minimum: 3 different *demonstration* cities/regions and 6 *replication* cities/regions as beneficiaries, drawn from at least three EU Member States or Associated Countries.
* The *demonstration* sites must cover different territorial typologies (urban, peri-urban, rural) or geographic zones to maximise replication potential.
* Lead applicant or co-coordinator must be a public local/regional authority or its grouping.
* Inclusion of multi-actor stakeholders (SMEs, industry, academia, citizens, social economy, finance) and SSH expertise is compulsory.
Eligible Cost Categories (non-exhaustive)
* Personnel, equipment and infrastructure adaptation for pilots
* Sub-contracting for specialised studies, LCA, social innovation labs
* Travel & subsistence for transnational consortium meetings and peer-learning events
* Innovation management, IP, standardisation and certification work
* Communication, dissemination, clustering and outreach
* Financial support to third parties (cascading funding) up to €60 000 per third party, if duly justified
Key Administrative Details
| Item | Requirement |
| --- | --- |
| Call opens | 06 May 2025 |
| Deadline (single stage) | 17 Sep 2025, 17:00 (Brussels) |
| Evaluation | Remote + consensus, ranked list published ≈ Dec 2025 |
| Grant agreement signature | ≈ Mar-Apr 2026 |
| Reference documents | Horizon Europe General Annexes A-G, Work Programme 2025 Cluster 6, CCRI Guidelines |
Compliance & Synergy Checklist
* Integrate MAA (Multi-Actor Approach) and gender, equality & diversity plans.
* Align with ESPR, Sustainable Product Initiative, EU Social Economy Action Plan.
* Data Management Plan and open-science practices required (unless justified).
* Clustering budget line and task for CCRI Office cooperation explicitly shown.
* Demonstrate complementarity with running CCRI Projects and Associated Partners.
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Why Apply
1. Access unrivalled funding volume to de-risk bold circular transitions.
2. Receive high-visibility as Core CCRI Project, positioning your city/region among EU frontrunners.
3. Shape EU policy through direct interaction with DG RTD, DG ENV and EIB experts.
4. Build long-term investment pipelines leveraging EU Taxonomy-aligned finance.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities under HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-07
1. Single Market Access (450+ million citizens)
• Unified demand pull for circular products/services demonstrated in at least two sectors (e.g. construction & bio-waste) allows consortia to design one scalable solution instead of 27 national variants.
• Cities/regions can pilot new green public procurement (GPP) criteria and then replicate them across EU municipalities, immediately multiplying contract volumes.
• Harmonised CEAP targets (re-use, recycled content, carbon reduction) create predictable frameworks for private investors and corporates to adopt the project’s outputs in all Member States.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
• Grant requires ≥3 demonstration + ≥6 replication cities/regions → built-in multinational consortium that accelerates mutual learning and reduces time-to-market.
• Access to CCRI Community (>100 associated partners) plus Hubs4Circularity and Regional Innovation Valleys enables thematic clusters (e.g. textiles, plastics) and rapid data sharing.
• Opportunity to combine urban, peri-urban and rural testbeds, capturing diverse socio-economic contexts and improving generalisability of results.
3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies
• Directly implements the European Green Deal, 2020 CEAP, EU Climate Law and upcoming Circular Economy Act.
• Contributes to Mission “Climate-Neutral & Smart Cities”, New European Bauhaus, Zero-Pollution Action Plan and Bioeconomy Strategy—strengthening policy visibility and easing access to complementary instruments.
• Supports Social Economy Action Plan through multi-actor approach and inclusion of social enterprises.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Standard Setting
• Pilot projects generate evidence for EU-level standards (ESPR, Taxonomy, SSbD) and inform forthcoming delegated acts—early movers can shape rules.
• Common Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and circularity metrics validated in multiple jurisdictions facilitate future certification and eco-label uptake.
5. Access to the Pan-European Innovation Ecosystem
• Leverage world-class RTOs (Fraunhofer, VTT, TNO, Tecnalia, etc.), EIT Climate-KIC Living Labs, and 3 500+ Horizon Europe beneficiaries already active in CCRI topics.
• Tap into European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) accelerators for start-ups spawned by the project.
• Engage academia for SSH research on behavioural change, gender, inclusion—fulfilling evaluation criteria and boosting impact scores.
6. Funding & Investment Synergies
• Combine Horizon IA grant (70 % funding for private entities, 100 % for public/NP) with:
- InvestEU and EIB Circular City Centre (CiRCLE) blended finance for scale-up.
- Cohesion Policy ERDF, LIFE, CBE-JU, Digital Europe and Connecting Europe Facility for infrastructure roll-out.
- National Recovery & Resilience Plans (RRF) earmarked for circular economy.
• Early involvement of financial intermediaries satisfies the topic’s exploitation & financing strategy requirement.
7. EU-Wide Scaling & Market Uptake Pathways
• Mandatory replication cities/regions create a ready-made first expansion market (≥6 sites).
• CCRI dissemination via the official portal, joint policy briefs and events ensures visibility among 27,000+ EU municipalities.
• Harmonised datasets (Open Data Space foreseen by Digital Europe) allow developers to plug solutions into other Smart City platforms.
8. Competitive Positioning & International Leadership
• Demonstrating systemic circularity across borders positions the consortium for the forthcoming Global Gateway tenders and makes EU a reference exporter of circular governance models.
• Strengthens European SMEs versus US/Asian competitors by validating business models under stringent EU sustainability criteria—which are increasingly adopted globally.
9. ESG, Social & Environmental Value Creation
• Quantifiable GHG- and material-footprint reductions help cities meet 2030 climate targets and improve air quality, biodiversity and social inclusion.
• SSH integration uncovers distributional impacts, enhancing just transition credentials and access to social innovation funds.
10. Practical Tips to Maximise EU-Level Advantages
1. Consortium composition
• Cover at least 10 Member/Associated Countries to maximise geographic spread and evaluation excellence.
• Include bodies managing both ESIF and Horizon projects to build funding bridges.
2. Synergy roadmap
• Map each demo use-case against other EU instruments (e.g. LIFE Clean Energy for district heating loop). Attach letters of intent from Managing Authorities.
3. Standardisation task force
• Allocate WP for CEN/CENELEC liaison; aim to propose a Technical Specification by project M36.
4. Investment case development
• Engage EIB CiRCLE during proposal stage; deliver bankable feasibility studies for each replication site.
5. Replication toolkit
• Produce multilingual policy templates, business model canvases and digital twins hosted on the CCRI website.
Bottom line: Operating at EU scale through this grant multiplies impact, unlocks diversified funding, shapes policy and standards, and delivers fast-track market entry across the entire Single Market—benefits unattainable via isolated national initiatives.
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