Living Labs for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Living Labs for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields offering max €12.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description
Grant Title: Living Labs for Soil Remediation and Green Redevelopment of Brownfields
Call Identifier: HORIZON-MISS-2025-05-SOIL-01
Programme / Type of Action: Horizon Europe – Research and Innovation Action (RIA)
Indicative EU Contribution per Project: up to €12 million (100 % of eligible direct costs + 25 % flat-rate indirect costs)
Total Expected EU Budget Envelope for Topic: ~€48–60 million (4–5 projects expected)
Project Duration: typically 4 years (may be longer to accommodate soil processes & participatory work)
Submission Scheme: single-stage; opens 6 May 2025, deadline 30 Sep 2025 (17:00 CET)
What Will Be Funded
* Establishment of 4–5 multi-actor Living Labs (10–20 sites each) tackling soil contamination and brownfield regeneration; at least three different EU Member States/Associated Countries must be represented.
* Design, testing, demonstration and co-implementation of economically viable remediation techniques and green redevelopment concepts (nature-based solutions, phytoremediation, bio-stimulation, circular economy valorisation of excavated materials, etc.).
* Baseline & monitoring of soil health indicators aligned with the proposed Soil Monitoring & Resilience Directive; integration with EU Soil Observatory & SoilWise.
* Conversion of high-performing sites into Lighthouses for replication, training and outreach.
* Interdisciplinary social-science work: governance models, behavioural change, business cases, citizen engagement, cultural/heritage valorisation (link to New European Bauhaus).
* Capacity-building & networking with SOILL, Mission Soil Platform, EIP-AGRI, related partnerships (Agroecology, Sustainable Food Systems) and research infrastructures.
* Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP): up to €200 000 per third party for SMEs, land managers, NGOs, municipalities, etc., to pilot solutions inside the Living Labs.
Eligibility Snapshot
* Consortium: Minimum 3 legal entities from 3 different EU MS/AC (Horizon Europe standard); for credibility, aim for 10–15 partners incl. research orgs, municipalities, site owners, SMEs, NGOs, finance actors.
* Multi-Actor Approach mandatory: researchers + practitioners + end-users must co-create across the full project life-cycle.
* Associated Partners / In-kind contributors welcome; subcontracting allowed for specialised tasks.
* Countries Automatically Eligible for Funding: EU-27 + all Horizon Europe Associated Countries; other states may participate with own funding.
Key Compliance & Policy Hooks
* Mission Soil specific objectives 3, 4, 6 & 8; EU Soil Strategy 2030; Green Deal, Biodiversity Strategy, Zero-Pollution Action Plan, SDGs 3 & 15.
* Open Science & FAIR data obligations; immediate open access to publications; data deposited in trusted repositories and linked to EUSO.
* Gender Equality Plan (GEP) required for all public-sector & research organisations.
* TRLs: focus on TRL 4-7 (from lab validation to system demonstration in operational environment).
* Lump-sum option not foreseen; standard cost-reimbursement MGA applies.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for “Living Labs for Soil Remediation and Green Redevelopment of Brownfields” (HORIZON-MISS-2025-05-SOIL-01)
1. Pan-European Strategic Fit
- Directly underpins the EU Soil Mission target of 100 living labs & lighthouses by 2030, positioning any consortium at the centre of one of the EU’s five flagship Missions.
- Serves multiple high-level EU agendas simultaneously (Green Deal, EU Soil Strategy 2030, Biodiversity Strategy 2030, Zero-Pollution Action Plan, New European Bauhaus), maximising political visibility and long-term policy support.
2. Single Market Access (450+ million citizens)
- Demonstrated best-practice brownfield regeneration models can be replicated across the EU’s ~500,000 identified contaminated sites, unlocking vast public-private redevelopment markets.
- Harmonised soil-health indicators (Directive on Soil Monitoring & Resilience) facilitate cross-border commercialisation of remediation technologies, consulting services and digital monitoring tools without re-certification in each Member State.
- Validation of innovative circular-economy business models in at least three Member/Associated States eases subsequent roll-out EU-wide under common State-aid and procurement rules.
3. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
- Mandatory 4–5 living labs across ≥3 countries institutionalises transnational R&I teams, allowing comparative testing across diverse pedo-climatic zones—boosting scientific robustness and transferability.
- Built-in collaboration with SOILL, EUSO, SoilWise and Mission Soil clustering events gives access to a ready-made EU network of >2,000 soil-health actors (researchers, SMEs, municipalities, NGOs).
- Financial Support to Third Parties (up to €200k per entity) enables micro-grants to SMEs or landowners in additional countries, extending geographic reach beyond the core consortium.
4. Alignment with EU Policies & Funding Leverage
- Deliverables feed directly into CAP Networks, Cohesion Policy urban regeneration priorities, LIFE Zero-Pollution calls and ERDF/Interreg brownfield measures—facilitating follow-on capitalisation.
- Supports Digital Europe and ESA Copernicus uptake through mandated FAIR data flows to EUSO, paving the way for future Digital Twin of Soils integration.
- Contributes to Net-Zero Industrial Act and Bioeconomy Strategy via biotech-based remediation and bio-manufacturing pilots.
5. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits
- Early compliance with upcoming Soil Monitoring & Resilience Directive positions participants ahead of national regulators, easing permitting for future replication.
- EU-level standardisation of indicators/data formats lowers transaction costs for insurers, investors and ESCO-type soil-service contracts across borders.
6. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem
- Eligibility of ESFRI research infrastructures (e.g., ACTRIS, AnaEE) provides cutting-edge analytical capacity and data services at marginal cost.
- Synergies with Horizon Europe Partnerships (Agroecology, Sustainable Food Systems) open doors to >400 partnered organisations and their demo sites.
- Integration with EIP-AGRI Operational Groups and Living Labs & Lighthouses Platform creates fast lanes to farmer/forester end-users.
7. Funding Synergies & Blended Finance
- Horizon grant can de-risk pilots, unlocking subsequent InvestEU or EIB Urban Development & Regeneration loans for full-scale redevelopment.
- Alignment with national Recovery & Resilience Plans (RRF) focused on land decontamination multiplies investment potential—especially in CEE & Southern EU where brownfield density is high.
- Potential to tap CEF-Digital for site connectivity (IoT sensors) and LIFE Programme for post-project biodiversity restoration.
8. EU-Scale Deployment & Impact Potential
- Replicable multi-actor governance models (public-private-civic) can be packaged as "Mission Soil blueprints" for rapid adoption by the remaining ~70 living labs still to be launched before 2030.
- Common KPI dashboard feeding into the EU Soil Observatory enables benchmarking and policy feedback loops for all 27 Member States.
- Supports Urban Agenda for the EU brownfield partnership, fostering policy uptake in city master-plans and Smart Specialisation Strategies.
9. Unique Strategic Value vs. National-Only Projects
- Critical mass: pooling ≥3 national budgets & expertise reduces duplication and accelerates TRL progression from lab to market.
- EU label: Mission branding enhances credibility with institutional investors and ESG funds looking for taxonomy-aligned projects.
- Mobility: Horizon rules enable frictionless researcher & SME secondments across borders, enhancing talent attraction and retention.
10. Actionable Tips to Maximise EU Advantage
1. Map consortium sites to different Soil Mission “challenge clusters” (contamination, sealing, biodiversity loss) to maximise policy relevance.
2. Embed an EU-wide investors’ advisory board (EIB, regional funds, impact investors) to co-design bankable redevelopment pipelines.
3. Use FSTP to fund a “Satellite Lab” in a widening country (e.g., Bulgaria, Romania) to strengthen geographic balance and access Spreading Excellence funds.
4. Align data architecture with EUSO APIs from day one; budget for semantic interoperability to ease future Digital Twin integration.
5. Prepare a replication handbook in 24 EU languages to facilitate uptake by municipalities benefiting from Cohesion Policy brownfield lines.
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Bottom Line: Operating at EU level multiplies scientific robustness, market reach, policy influence and funding leverage—transforming local brownfield challenges into a continental opportunity for sustainable, green, and socially inclusive redevelopment.
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