SSbD bio-based solutions to replace hazardous conventional chemicals for textiles production
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for SSbD bio-based solutions to replace hazardous conventional chemicals for textiles production offering max €172.1M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description
1. Grant Essence
* Call: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-02
* Title: SSbD bio-based solutions to replace hazardous conventional chemicals for textiles production
* Instrument: Innovation Action (IA) under the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE-JU).
* Target TRL: Reach TRL 7–8 (first-of-a-kind demo & pre-commercial validation).
* Maximum grant size: Up to €172.14 million (EU contribution normally 60 % of eligible costs for IA; 70 % for non-profit entities).
2. What the Grant Funds
* Pilot, demo and flagship plants that substitute hazardous textile chemicals (e.g. PFAs, Cr-VI dyes, formaldehyde resins, PVC/PU coatings) with safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) bio-based alternatives.
* Development and scale-up of novel bio-based processing routes (enzyme, microbial, low-impact solvent, plasma, super-critical CO₂, etc.).
* Compatibility testing with existing converting/finishing machinery and different fibre classes (cellulosic, protein, synthetic, blends).
* Product performance validation: colour fastness, abrasion, water/oil repellence, fire resistance, mechanical strength, LCA, LCC, social LCA, worker exposure, micro-pollutant release.
* End-of-life trials: fibre-to-fibre recycling, biodegradation, remanufacturing, industrial composting, wastewater treatment.
* SSbD framework implementation incl. data generation for hazard/exposure, sustainability thresholds, and recommendations to the EC.
* Replication, business plans & EU deployment: value-chain logistics, regional job creation, investment leverage.
3. Eligible Applicants & Consortium Rules
* Any legal entity in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country (others possible if self-funded).
* Minimum consortium: 1 legal entity; however CBE-JU expects multi-actor consortia covering the full textile value chain (feedstock suppliers ↔ chemistry ↔ textile processors ↔ brands ↔ recyclers ↔ NGOs/cluster authorities).
* SME participation is strongly encouraged; large industrial end-users increase credibility.
* Participation of workers’ representatives & regional authorities is explicitly requested.
4. Funding Rate & Cost Categories
* Reimbursement: 60 % of total eligible costs (direct + 25 % flat-rate indirect).
* Non-profit organisations may request 100 % for their share.
* Subcontracting, in-kind contributions & financial support to third parties (e.g. open calls for start-ups) are allowed per Horizon rules.
5. Timeline & Key Dates
* Call opens: 03 Apr 2025
* Deadline (single-stage): 18 Sep 2025, 17:00 CET
* Evaluation results: ~January 2026
* Grant agreement signature: ~April 2026
* Typical project duration: 4–5 years.
6. Compliance Highlights
* Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) task is mandatory.
* Must include Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) demonstrating co-creation.
* Synergies with Horizon2020/HEU projects (e.g. GLAUKOS, CELLFIL) must be shown.
* Open Science, Gender, Data Management Plan, Ethics, IP, exploitation & communication follow Horizon Europe General Annexes.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-02
1. Single Market Access
• Leverages tariff-free circulation of textiles, chemicals and intermediate products across 30 EEA countries, giving pilots instant reach to a consumer base of >450 million.
• Uniform REACH registration and the forthcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) mean that once the new SSbD bio-based chemicals comply, they can be commercialised EU-wide without re-certification country-by-country.
• Public-procurement leverage: >€40 billion/yr in EU textile purchasing (hospitals, defence, PPE) can adopt safer bio-based alternatives through Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria that are harmonised at EU level.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
• Mandatory Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) encourages consortia that combine northern R&D hubs (FI, SE, DK biorefineries) with southern textile clusters (PT, ES, IT) and eastern recycling innovators (PL, SI).
• Access to European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Communities—particularly EIT Manufacturing and EIT RawMaterials—opens fast-track vouchers, living labs and PhD programmes.
• Participation facilitates compliance with EU Standardisation Roadmap on bio-based products via CEN/TC 411, accelerating European Standards that benefit all partners.
3. EU Policy Alignment
• Directly contributes to:
• European Green Deal (climate neutrality, toxic-free environment).
• EU Bioeconomy Strategy (high-value bio-based chemicals).
• Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) – anticipates future restrictions on PFAS, heavy-metal dyes, PVC/PU additives.
• Strategy for Sustainable & Circular Textiles – supports flagship action to substitute hazardous substances.
• Mission "Restore our Ocean & Waters" – reduction of micro-pollutants.
• Alignment maximises evaluation scores under "Excellence" and "Impact" and positions projects for fast policy uptake.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation
• Single set of worker-safety rules under EU-OSHA and common Classification, Labelling & Packaging (CLP) criteria simplifies SSbD testing across plants in different Member States.
• EU-wide end-of-life (EoL) definitions (waste vs. product status, chemical recycling protocols) allow consortium to develop Pan-European take-back schemes instead of fragmented national pilots.
• Common data templates under the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) IUCLID enable efficient, standardised SSbD data reporting.
5. Innovation Ecosystem
• Access to 2 000+ Horizon 2020/Europe textile & biochemistry patents, 200+ BBI/CBE JU project datasets (GLAUKOS, TexMaTer, SOLSTICE) through Open Research Data Pilots.
• Synergies with 70+ Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) for advanced materials and with European Pilot Lines for bio-based coatings reduce TRL 5-7 scale-up costs by up to 30 %.
• Clusters such as Lombardy’s "Textile & Fashion" and Flanders’ "Catalisti" provide testbeds and early-adopter SMEs.
6. Funding Synergies
• Can blend with:
• European Innovation Fund (de-risking first-of-a-kind industrial plants).
• InvestEU Sustainability Guarantee for scale-up CAPEX.
• Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) for cross-border demo plants.
• Regional ERDF programmes (e.g., Smart Specialisation Platforms on Industrial Modernisation – S4Textiles) can co-finance pilot lines or workforce reskilling.
7. Scale & Impact Potential
• Harmonised product passport (foreseen under ESPR) lets brands roll out SSbD textiles in all Member States simultaneously, accelerating market penetration from niche to >10 % EU market share within 5–7 years.
• EU export power: CE-marked, REACH-compliant bio-based chemicals gain credibility in global markets, supporting Europe’s strategic autonomy in sustainable chemicals.
8. Strategic Value vs. National-Level Projects
• Critical mass: pooling feedstocks (Nordic forestry residues, Mediterranean agri-waste) secures year-round supply, impossible within single Member States.
• Risk sharing: multi-country pilots spread technical and market risks, raising private leverage ratios above 1:2, frequently a threshold for CBE JU IA scoring.
• Policy influence: EU-funded consortia sit on EC expert groups shaping future restrictions; national projects seldom enjoy this access.
• Visibility: Horizion branding drives investor confidence, easing Series-B fundraising post-project.
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Bottom Line: Implementing SSbD bio-based chemical solutions through this CBE JU Innovation Action offers unparalleled EU-wide advantages—uniform regulations, continent-wide market reach, rich R&I synergies and multi-source financing—that cannot be matched by purely national initiatives.
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