EU-wide Advantages and Opportunities for HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-13

1. Single Market Access – 450 + Million Consumers

• Pan-EU demand for green reconstruction: Post-conflict rebuilding needs in Ukraine, the Balkans and EU border regions create immediate markets for bio-based materials, circular construction components, environmental biotech and digital twins.

• Fast-track to public procurement: Compliance with EU Green Public Procurement criteria and the forthcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) enables project results to be specified in reconstruction tenders financed by EU Cohesion, IPA III and Ukraine Facility funds.

• Economies of scale: Harmonised CE marking for bio-based construction products allows mass production and distribution across 27 Member States, reducing unit costs and accelerating deployment in affected regions.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Consortium building across conflict gradients: Partners can combine expertise from war-affected countries (e.g. Ukraine, Cyprus, Croatia) with technology leaders in Western Europe, fostering rapid transfer of lessons learned.

• Living Labs network: The multi-actor approach (MAA) encourages setting up transnational Living Labs that pilot nature-based remediation in different bioclimatic zones (Baltic, Mediterranean, Continental), enabling comparative data and co-creation with local communities.

• JRC & New European Bauhaus synergies: Joint experiments on circular biobased materials with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and NEB Facility broaden peer review and standardisation input.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

| EU Policy | Direct Contribution of the Topic | Added EU-wide Value |

|-----------|---------------------------------|--------------------|

| European Green Deal | Delivers low-carbon reconstruction, biodiversity restoration and circularity | Illustrates “build back greener” diplomacy beyond the EU |

| Bioeconomy Strategy (update 2024) | Demonstrates cascading use of biomass and rural valorisation | Strengthens rural economies in cohesion and pre-accession regions |

| Climate Adaptation Strategy | Nature-based solutions reduce flood & heat risk in rebuilt cities | Supports climate-resilient infrastructure standards EU-wide |

| EU Enlargement & Neighbourhood | Pre-adopts acquis on waste, products, climate in candidate countries | Smooths future internal market integration |

| Humanitarian Aid Policy | Provides EU-branded green relief kits/materials | Enhances Europe’s geopolitical visibility |

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• One-stop certification: Horizon results feed CEN Technical Committees, accelerating Europe-wide standards for bio-composites, mycelium insulation, algal binders, etc.

• Simplified cross-border waste flows: Harmonised end-of-waste criteria ease shipment of post-harvest residues or demolition waste biostreams to biorefineries in neighbouring Member States.

• Data interoperability: Use of INSPIRE and Copernicus compliant mapping ensures member states can integrate environmental damage assessments into national spatial data infrastructures without extra adaptation costs.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Research excellence: Tap into >2,000 institutions in CBE JU, Circular Cities & Regions Initiative (CCRI) and Mission Cities for cutting-edge biotech, LCA and digital twin tools.

• Talent mobility: Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows and Erasmus Mundus alumni provide ready human capital pools to be seconded to reconstruction sites.

• Open science infrastructure: Use EU-wide repositories (e.g. EOSC) to disseminate geo-referenced damage data and LCA datasets, enabling crowdsourced improvements.

6. Funding Synergies & Blending Opportunities

1. CBE Joint Undertaking (2021-2031): TRL 4-7 upscale of bio-based prototype materials demonstrated under this RIA.

2. INTERREG NEXT & IPA III: Pilot cross-border restoration corridors and community engagement in pre-accession regions.

3. LIFE Programme: Co-finance large-scale nature-based restoration (>TRL7) once concepts are validated.

4. Recovery & Resilience Facility / Ukraine Facility: Deploy mature solutions in reconstruction packages, leveraging national RRF plans.

5. European Investment Bank Green Recovery Loans: De-risk private investment in bio-based factories near conflict zones.

7. EU-Scale Deployment & Impact Potential

• Replicability Toolkit: Mandatory project task on methodology sharing will generate open-access blueprints for cities/regions from Kharkiv to Thessaloniki, ensuring rapid adaptation.

• Carbon removal credits: Biochar, timber and algal-based materials create EU-compliant removal credits under the forthcoming Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF), providing new revenue streams across borders.

• Biodiversity corridors: Trans-European nature-based restoration contributes to TEN-N (Trans-European Nature Network) objectives, delivering ecological connectivity beyond national boundaries.

• Socio-economic cohesion: Circular bio-based SMEs in rural EU regions can supply materials, generating green jobs and mitigating East-West migration pressures.

8. Strategic Value of Operating at EU Level

• Critical mass for standard setting: Only a pan-EU initiative can aggregate sufficient demonstration sites and policy stakeholders to influence global humanitarian reconstruction norms.

• Risk diversification: Multi-country supply chains for feedstock and manufacturing reduce geopolitical and climate risks compared to single-country projects.

• Unified communication: A European narrative of “Green Reconstruction Diplomacy” strengthens the EU’s soft power and supports accession dialogues.

• Cost-effectiveness: Shared infrastructures (Copernicus imagery, JRC labs, EU supercomputers) avoid duplication of expensive national facilities.

9. Actionable Next Steps for Applicants

1. Map complementary calls (CBE JU 2025-2026, LIFE, Mission Cities) and pre-plan work packages for sequential funding.

2. Engage Managing Authorities of RRF/IPA III to ensure future uptake budgets.

3. Secure letters of support from NEB Facility and JRC early to showcase policy embeddedness.

4. Design at least three Living Labs in different Member States/partner countries to maximise environmental gradient coverage.

5. Align data management plans with EOSC and CRCF MRV requirements for future monetisation of carbon removal.

> By leveraging EU-wide integration mechanisms, projects under this topic can move beyond isolated pilots to deliver a coherent, standardised and financially scalable model for bio-based, climate-resilient reconstruction – positioning the EU as the global benchmark for “building back better and greener” in conflict-affected regions.