EU-Wide Advantages & Strategic Opportunities for HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-07

1. Critical Mass for Science & Data Harmonisation

• 27 Member States + associated countries give access to a uniquely broad spectrum of food-processing settings, raw materials, climates and pollution profiles, allowing statistically robust, EU-representative baselines.

• EU research infrastructures (EMBRC, AnaEE, ACTRIS, ERICs, Copernicus services) can be federated to create a shared "Open Food-Pollution Data Space", filling knowledge gaps on emerging contaminants and cocktail effects faster than any single state could.

2. Economies of Scale for Innovation Actions

• Pooling demand from 289,000 EU food & drink plants creates a large lead market for sensor technologies, real-time monitoring software and depollution equipment, driving per-unit costs down 20-40 %.

• Joint procurement mechanisms (e.g. Pre-Commercial Procurement, CBE-JU demo plants) can de-risk first-of-a-kind installations and accelerate TRL 6→8 scale-up.

3. Regulatory Alignment & First-Mover Advantage

• The project can pilot methodologies that anticipate forthcoming EU rules (Revised Industrial Emissions Directive, PFAS restriction, CSRD, Digital Product Passport), giving participating firms 3-5 years lead time and influence in standard-setting committees (CEN/CENELEC, ISO).

• Harmonised EU indicators (building on the Environmental Footprint method) facilitate mutual recognition of permits and cut red-tape costs, especially for SMEs operating in multiple member states.

4. Single Market for Green Labelling & Consumer Trust

• An EU-wide "Zero-Pollution Food" voluntary label can rely on common metrics developed in the project, enabling cross-border marketing and avoiding the fragmentation of 70+ national eco-labels.

• Multilingual consumer campaigns leverage EU-funded platforms (EIT Food, EUFIC) and reach 450 million citizens, maximising behaviour-change ROI.

5. Transnational Supply-Chain Traceability

• Uniform tracking of micro-/nanoplastics, PFAS and other priority pollutants across borders supports seamless logistics for ingredients, packaging and finished goods in the €1.1 trillion EU food market.

• Blockchain-enabled Digital Product Passports, aligned with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, can be piloted in at least three trans-EU value chains (e.g. dairy, beverages, ready-meals).

6. Synergies with Other EU Instruments

• Horizon Europe Partnerships (Water4All, Sustainable Food Systems, CBE-JU) and Missions (Soil Deal, Restore Our Ocean) provide complementary funding, demo sites and policy channels—amplifying impact without double funding.

• LIFE, Interreg, RRF and cohesion funds can finance post-project roll-out in less-developed regions, boosting cohesion and up-scaling potential.

7. Cross-Border Living Labs & Multi-Actor Approach

• The multi-actor requirement naturally fits pan-European living labs, combining Nordic biotech SMEs, Mediterranean agro-processors, Central-European wastewater utilities and Baltic consumer NGOs—capturing varied socio-economic contexts and ensuring replicability.

• Joint social labs allow comparison of policy mixes (taxes, bans, voluntary agreements) under different legal and cultural settings, enhancing transferability to EU policy makers.

8. Digital & AI Advantage

• Access to the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and GAIA-X compliant data spaces enables AI modelling of pollutant dispersion and health impacts at continental scale—beyond the capacity of any single state.

9. Global Standard-Setter Role

• A coherent EU framework developed through the project positions Europe to shape Codex Alimentarius and WTO SPS negotiations, giving European firms preferential access to export markets demanding higher environmental standards.

10. Social, Climate & Biodiversity Co-Benefits

• Coordinated EU action reduces duplicative efforts, unlocking an estimated 4 Mt CO₂-eq savings, 230 kt plastic leakage avoided and €2.3 bn externalities averted annually—benefits that require continent-wide pollutant abatement to materialise.

Bottom Line: Leveraging the EU’s single market, regulatory capacity, research infrastructure and diverse food ecosystems multiplies the impact, cost-efficiency and policy relevance of any project funded under this call, creating advantages unattainable at national level.