Demonstration of reduced energy use and optimised flexible energy supply for industrial bio-based systems
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Demonstration of reduced energy use and optimised flexible energy supply for industrial bio-based systems offering max €30.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description
Overview
This Innovation Action (IA) under Horizon Europe Cluster 6 finances large-scale, close-to-market demonstrations that reduce energy demand and enable flexible, renewable energy supply in industrial bio-based systems (excluding food/feed, biofuels, bio-energy and cultural/recreation sectors).
* Call identifier: HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-11
* Opening / Deadline: 06 May 2025 – 17 Sept 2025 (single-stage)
* Indicative EU contribution per project: up to €30 million
* Total call budget: published in the Work Programme; typically 2–4 projects funded
* Expected TRL at start / end: 5–6 ➔ 7–8 (first-of-a-kind demo scale)
Eligible Applicants
1. Consortium minimum: 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries, with at least 1 established in an EU-27 Member State.
2. Who can receive funding: universities, RTOs, SMEs, large industry, utilities, technology providers, digital solution providers, NGOs, municipalities, clusters, etc.
3. Funding rates:
* 70 % of eligible direct costs for for-profit entities (automatic 25 % flat-rate for indirect costs).
* 100 % for non-profit legal entities.
4. Ineligible sectors: food/feed production, biofuels, bioenergy, cultural/recreation uses.
5. Geographical scope of demonstrations: Sites must be located in the EU or Horizon-Associated Countries.
What Costs Are Funded
• Pilot & demo plant design, construction, retrofitting and operation (CAPEX & OPEX)
• Process optimisation and digitalisation (AI, sensors, data platforms)
• Integration of renewable energy sources (electrification, solar thermal, heat pumps, biogas upgrading, on-site storage)
• Water-energy nexus measures (advanced separation, closed-loop cooling, membrane distillation, water reuse)
• Environmental, techno-economic and rebound-effect assessments
• Social innovation, multi-actor engagement, training, dissemination & exploitation
• Project management and IPR
Compliance & Policy Alignment
Projects must explicitly support:
• EU Circular Economy Action Plan & Bioeconomy Strategy
• REPowerEU, Fit-for-55, EU Industrial Strategy
• Links to the Innovation Centre for Industrial Transformation & Emissions (INCITE)
• Principles of the EU Taxonomy and Sustainable-by-Design framework
Key Take-Aways
✔ High budget, demo-scale, single-stage call – no second chance
✔ Clear focus on energy efficiency + flexibility + water-energy integration + renewables
✔ Deliver quantified contribution to climate neutrality and reduced air pollutants
✔ Multi-actor and cross-disciplinary approach is strongly encouraged
✔ Gender dimension not mandatory but diversity and inclusion add value
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities under HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-11
1. Strategic Gateway to the €16 trillion Single Market
• Regulatory Pre-Clearance – Demonstrating energy-optimised bio-based production in at least one EU Member State grants immediate recognition in all 27, easing product and technology roll-out.
• Pan-European Customer Base – Bio-based inputs and equipment validated under the project can be marketed to >450 million consumers and >25 million SMEs without additional national certification.
• Public Procurement Leverage – Results qualify for green public-procurement criteria used by EU institutions and 70 % of regional authorities, opening demand pull for low-energy bio-based materials.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
• Consortium Composition – IA actions typically fund 6–12 partners; adding industrial sites in different climate zones (e.g. Nordics for district heat, Med for water scarcity) lets the project test flexibility under varying energy-price signals.
• Living Labs & Twin Demonstrators – Parallel pilots in two countries accelerate replication and generate statistically significant performance data, fulfilling Horizon EU “Evidence for Scale” expectations.
• Skills Circulation – Mobility of researchers and technicians is cost-covered; partners access EU Talent Pool, Marie-Curie Staff Exchanges, and Erasmus+ vocational modules for operators.
3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies
• European Green Deal & Fit-for-55 – Directly targets 35–40 % energy-intensity cut in process industries, contributing to the 2030 GHG reduction trajectory.
• REPowerEU – Flexibility tasks support grid balancing and reduced fossil-derived gas demand; strong narrative for fast-track political visibility.
• Circular Economy Action Plan & Bioeconomy Strategy – Project outputs feed the upcoming ESPR delegated acts defining energy/repairability performance for bio-based products.
• Digital Europe & AI Act – Mandatory optimisation “also through AI” helps qualify for European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) vouchers and regulatory sandboxes.
4. EU-Level Regulatory Harmonisation
• Single BAT (Best Available Techniques) conclusions and permit procedures under the Industrial Emissions Directive mean that once novel energy-saving routes are recognised as emerging techniques (E-BATs), uptake across Member States is streamlined.
• Common sustainability criteria for bio-based products (CEN/TC 411) avoid divergent national labels – the project can propose updated metrics for energy & water footprints.
5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem
• Synergies with Partnerships – CBE-JU, Clean Hydrogen JU, and the upcoming “Industrial Transformation & Emissions” centres can fund TRL 4-7 precursors or TRL 8-9 scale-ups.
• Open Science & Data Spaces – Results can plug into the EU Open Research Data pilot and the Circular Economy Data Space, enhancing visibility and API-based service creation.
• Clusters & EIT Communities – EIT Manufacturing and EIT Climate-KIC offer post-project acceleration, demo space and investor matchmaking.
6. Funding Blending & Leverage
• Cascade Funding – SMEs in the consortium can tap Euroclusters (€60-80 k) for complementary prototyping.
• Innovation Fund & ETS Revenues – Large emitters showing >30 % GHG reduction may stack Innovation Fund resources (~60 % CAPEX/OPEX) with Horizon grant.
• Cohesion & RRF Funds – Pilot plants located in Cohesion regions can obtain 30-50 % co-investment for infrastructure, boosting overall budget.
7. Scale & Impact Potential
• Replication Roadmaps – Work Packages can embed policy briefs for inclusion in Member States’ NECP updates (2026 revision), ensuring national uptake.
• Standardisation Pathways – Early engagement with CEN/CENELEC will anchor new energy-efficient separation standards, giving partners first-mover advantage EU-wide.
• Carbon-Neutrality Certificates – Demonstrated energy and water efficiency feed into upcoming EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework, monetising negative/avoided emissions.
8. Actionable Recommendations
1. Map industrial bio-based clusters (wood in SE, algae in PT/ES, biochem in NL/BE) to assemble a geographically balanced consortium able to test energy-price volatility scenarios.
2. Integrate an EDIH for AI-based process optimisation to access compute vouchers and ethics-by-design guidance.
3. Reserve budget line for standardisation liaison (CEN/TC 411 & TC 467) to accelerate EU-wide normative uptake.
4. Engage INCITE early to align KPIs with their digital portal, ensuring post-grant visibility to >1 000 EU installations.
5. Secure letters of intent from utilities / DSOs in at least two countries to prove grid-flexibility business case.
Bottom Line: Competing nationally would limit demonstration scale and regulatory acceptance; operating under Horizon Europe unlocks integrated markets, shared standards, diversified funding and the collective expertise needed to deploy low-energy, flexible, renewably-powered bio-based production lines across the continent.
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