Nutrients produced by microorganisms utilising primarily CO2 from the air, with the support of biotechnology
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Nutrients produced by microorganisms utilising primarily CO2 from the air, with the support of biotechnology offering max €50.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description
Key Facts
- Programme / Call: Horizon Europe, Cluster 6 – Farm-to-Fork, single-stage call (HORIZON-CL6-2025-02)
- Topic Identifier: HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-14
- Type of Action: Innovation Action (IA) – TRL target 5-8
- Indicative EU Contribution per Project: €8-12 million (Commission guidance); maximum possible: €50 million
- Funding Rate: 70 % of eligible direct costs (non-profit entities may receive 100 %) + 25 % flat-rate for indirect costs
- Opening / Deadline: 6 May 2025 → 16 Sept 2025, 17:00 CET (single-stage)
- Mandatory Consortium: ≥3 independent legal entities from ≥3 different EU Member States/Associated Countries, each established in a different country. Multi-actor approach requires meaningful involvement of: • SMEs & start-ups • Industrial food producers • Living labs/pilot plants • Academia/RTOs • Civil society & public authorities.
What Will Be Funded?
1. Biotechnology scale-up activities – design, construction or upgrading of pilot/demo bioreactors using engineered microbes that fix CO₂ (and potentially other gases) into food-grade nutrients (proteins, fats, enzymes, specialty ingredients).
2. Cost & investment analyses – CAPEX/OPEX modelling, techno-economic assessment, LCA and climate impact quantification.
3. Open digital platform – interoperable, EOSC-ready database/business-model toolbox for precision-fermentation actors.
4. Business models & go-to-market pilots – living-lab testing in industrial plants, assessment of on-site gas capture scenarios; replication roadmaps for SMEs across EU regions, with links to RIV4BFS.
5. Sustainability & resilience evaluation – cradle-to-gate LCA, circularity metrics, socio-economic analysis, One-Health & food-safety compliance.
6. Coordination & networking – dedicated task to work with parallel funded projects, international cooperation (esp. US), use of EU research infrastructures (e.g., IBISBA).
Eligibility Highlights
- Admissibility: 45-page limit (Part B), multi-actor approach statement required.
- Geographical eligibility: All MS & HE-associated countries automatically funded; other countries need own funds.
- Ethics & Regulatory: GMO/novel food compliance, biosafety, traceability, REACH/food contact materials where applicable.
Budget Structure Expectations (illustrative)
- 45 % – TRL advancement & pilot plant CAPEX/OPEX.
- 20 % – Digital platform & data governance.
- 15 % – Business modelling, living-lab operations, RIV integration.
- 10 % – Sustainability/LCA, climate impact, SS&H analyses.
- 10 % – Project management, networking, dissemination, exploitation & IP.
Tip: Reserve ≥3-5 % of budget for collaboration tasks and RIV4BFS alignment, as explicitly requested.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for Call HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-14 ("Nutrients produced by microorganisms utilising primarily CO₂ from the air")
1. Single Market Access (450+ million consumers)
• EU-funded demo plants can immediately sell B2B ingredients (proteins, lipids, enzymes) or B2C final products across 27 Member States without customs or divergent national authorisations once EFSA/COM novel-food clearance is obtained.
• Opportunity to position precision-fermented nutrients as an EU ‘carbon-negative protein’ brand, tapping into the rapid growth of plant-based/alternative protein markets (€10 bn ➜ €42 bn by 2030, source: EC Market Brief 2024).
• Common VAT, labelling and food-information legislation simplifies pan-EU marketing campaigns and e-commerce roll-outs.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
• Multi-actor approach + RIV4BFS forces consortia to integrate farmers, SMEs, large industry, academia, citizens and public authorities in several regions – lowering TRL-to-market time through shared piloting assets.
• Access to European Research Area talent pool (4.4 M researchers) and to KIC EIT Food, SusFood ERA-NET, COST Actions for rapid dissemination.
• Mandatory collaboration task under the topic de-risks fragmentation and creates a critical mass of EU know-how vis-à-vis US competitors.
3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies
• Direct contribution to:
– European Green Deal (climate neutrality, zero pollution).
– Farm-to-Fork & Food 2030 (sustainable, safe proteins).
– Net-Zero Industry Act & EU Biotechnology Communication (2024) – strengthens EU biomanufacturing base.
– Fit-for-55 package via permanent CO₂ utilisation.
• Facilitates Member State compliance with CAP eco-schemes and National Protein Strategies by offering low-land, low-water nutrient sources.
4. EU-Level Regulatory Harmonisation
• One EFSA novel-food application valid EU-wide → avoids 27 separate dossiers.
• Unified GMO/contained-use rules under Directive 2009/41/EC streamline bioreactor operations across locations.
• REACH & CLP exemptions for food-grade fermentation intermediates create clarity for scale-up.
• Access to EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework can monetise CO₂ uptake credits.
5. Innovation Ecosystem & Research Infrastructures
• Ready-made access to ESFRI infrastructures (IBISBA, EU-OPENSCREEN, ELIXIR) for strain engineering, bioprocess design and FAIR data gestion.
• EOSC compatibility clause accelerates big-data AI modelling for strain optimisation; open platform can plug into EU Data Space for Manufacturing.
• Leverage 300+ living labs mapped by SCAR AKIS for real-life testing of fermentation co-location at farms, breweries, paper mills (on-site CO₂).
6. Funding & Investment Synergies
• Horizon Europe IA (<€10–12 M each) can be blended with:
– EIC Accelerator / EIC Transition for disruptive SMEs.
– InvestEU & EIB “Bioeconomy Window” for first-of-a-kind plants (up to €75 M debt/equity).
– LIFE Clean Energy for downstream integration in food-processing facilities.
– National Recovery & Resilience Plans (over €12 bn earmarked for bioeconomy/digital).
• Cumulative aid possible under General Block Exemption Regulation Art. 36 (RDI) without state-aid notifications.
7. EU-Scale Deployment & Impact Potential
• 15–20 kt/y precision-fermented nutrient plant avoids ≈120 kt CO₂-eq and frees 25 000 ha of arable land – impact magnified when replicated in 10+ EU regions.
• Ecosystem-wide standardisation (LCA, carbon accounting, food safety) created by the project becomes de-facto EU benchmark, easing replication for followers.
• Strengthens EU strategic autonomy on proteins (currently 70 % imported) and critical food enzymes (60 % imported).
8. Business & Investment Opportunities
• New revenue streams:
– Sale/licensing of organism chassis and digital twins via the mandated open-platform.
– CO₂-as-a-feedstock service for hard-to-abate emitters (cement, steel).
– Ingredient contracts with major EU food brands seeking Scope-3 emission cuts.
• Clustering with breweries, bioethanol and biogas plants lowers capex/opex by 20–30 % through shared utilities.
9. Socio-Economic & Territorial Cohesion Benefits
• High-tech green jobs in cohesion & widening regions; bio-reactor modules can be deployed in remote rural/coastal areas, supporting smart-specialisation goals (S3).
• Citizen engagement via living labs improves acceptance of GMO yeast/bacteria in food, reducing market-entry risk.
• Contributes to gender-balanced, inclusive innovation ecosystems aligned with New European Innovation Agenda.
10. Risk Mitigation through EU Cooperation
• Diversifies food supply chains, reducing exposure to geopolitical shocks (soy imports, fertiliser volatility).
• Common EU IPCEI-like mindset can accelerate derogations for demo plants, limiting first-mover disadvantage.
• Distributed pilot network ensures data continuity if local disruptions occur.
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Actionable Next Steps for Applicants
1. Build a quadruple-helix consortium spanning at least 5 MS, integrating one RIV4BFS region and one widening country.
2. Secure letters of intent for CO₂ sourcing from industrial emitters in ≥3 countries to show replicability.
3. Design the open business-model platform to be EOSC-ready and compliant with FAIR principles by M18.
4. Map synergies with EIC Accelerator and draft blended-finance roadmap for TRL 7→9.
5. Allocate ≥15 % budget to LCA, carbon-credit certification and regulatory pathway (EFSA novel food + GMO).
Leveraging these EU-wide advantages maximises scoring under Excellence, Impact and Implementation, positions the consortium for downstream investments, and strengthens Europe’s leadership in sustainable, CO₂-based nutrition.
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