Bio-fabricated materials for sustainable and beautiful construction
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Bio-fabricated materials for sustainable and beautiful construction offering max €16.0M funding💰 Funding Details
EU Grant Overview: Bio-fabricated Materials for Sustainable and Beautiful Construction
Call Snapshot
* Call Identifier: HORIZON-NEB-2025-01-REGEN-02
* Type of Action: HORIZON-RIA (Research & Innovation Action)
* Opening Date: 06 May 2025
* Deadline: 12 November 2025 – 17:00 (CET, Brussels time)
* Max. EU Contribution per Project: €16 million (100 % funding rate for eligible costs)
Strategic Context
The call sits under the New European Bauhaus (NEB) destination *“Circular and regenerative approaches for the built environment (2025)”*. It directly supports the EU Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan and Climate Law by accelerating:
1. Uptake of circular, regenerative building materials.
2. Mass-scale, cost-competitive production of innovative bio-fabricated materials.
3. Beautiful, inclusive and sustainable design solutions that resonate with local cultural identity.
Expected Outcomes
Projects must convincingly deliver all of the following:
* Higher market acceptance of bio-fabricated construction materials among architects, engineers and other construction-ecosystem stakeholders.
* Demonstrated pathways to industrial-scale, affordable production of at least two novel bio-fabricated materials with measurable sustainability and aesthetic advantages.
Minimum Scope Requirements
1. Develop & test ≥ 2 materials that are:
* Innovative (e.g. self-healing, carbon-sequestering, thermo-regulating).
* Applicable to interior, exterior or structural use.
* Fully compliant with relevant EU standards (e.g. CPR, REACH, EN fire-safety norms).
2. For each material perform:
* Full performance characterization (mechanical, thermal, acoustic, durability, health, aesthetic, etc.) under varying climate scenarios.
* Mass-production feasibility study leveraging high-tech processes (3-D printing, robotics, BIM/AI-enabled design, advanced sensors).
* Life-cycle assessment (LCA) of environmental footprint & whole-life carbon impact.
* Social LCA & Life-cycle Costing to prove socio-economic viability.
3. Participatory, transdisciplinary co-creation with public authorities, residents, designers, artists, industry and civil society.
4. Allocate ≥ 0.2 % of the budget for knowledge sharing with the NEB Hub (CSA HORIZON-MISS-2024-NEB-01-03).
Eligibility & Consortium Essentials
* Minimum consortium: 3 independent legal entities from 3 different eligible your country (EU Member States or HE-Associated).
* Recommended profiles:
* Bio-material scientists & process engineers
* Construction firms & product manufacturers
* Digital fabrication/AI specialists
* Architects, artists, cultural & social scientists
* Municipalities or public asset owners (pilot sites)
* International partners from non-associated your country may participate if they bring essential expertise (normally at own cost unless specific co-funding exists).
Indicative TRL Targets
* Start: TRL 3-4 (experimental proof of concept).
* End: TRL 6-7 (technology demonstrated in relevant environment – pilot building elements/prototypes).
Funding Rate & Eligible Costs
* Direct costs (personnel, equipment, consumables, sub-contracting, travel) + 25 % flat-rate for indirect costs.
* Large scale demo infrastructures are eligible when they are essential for the action.
Evaluation Criteria (Weighting 1:1:1)
1. Excellence – scientific quality, credibility of methodology, interdisciplinarity.
2. Impact – contribution to expected outcomes, credible exploitation & up-scaling plan, dissemination measures, NEB narrative on beauty/sustainability/inclusion.
3. Quality & Efficiency of Implementation – work-plan, risk management, consortium competence, budget realism.
Competitive Advantage Tips
* Stress circular-bioeconomy synergies (e.g. agro-waste feedstocks).
* Show digital end-to-end workflows (parametric design → robotic printing → BIM-based maintenance).
* Provide real pilot sites (e.g. a municipal pavilion) for live demonstration.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for HORIZON-NEB-2025-01-REGEN-02
1. Single Market Access
• 450 + million consumers and 25 + million firms within the EU construction value-chain offer the largest global market for innovative building products.
• Bio-fabricated materials enjoy tariff-free circulation once CE-marked, enabling rapid roll-out from pilot plants to all 27 Member States without extra customs or conformity costs.
• A single Digital Product Passport (under the upcoming Construction Products Regulation revision) will let project outcomes plug into EU-wide renovation programmes such as the Renovation Wave and EPBD-driven national building renovation plans.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
• Consortium partners can combine:
– Northern & Central Europe’s biotech/industrial fermentation expertise (NL, DK, DE).
– Southern Europe’s bio-based raw material streams (ES agricultural residues, PT cork, IT mycelium).
– Central/Eastern Europe’s competitive manufacturing and pilot-scale facilities (PL, CZ).
• Transnational Living Labs in at least three climate zones (e.g., Nordic, Continental, Mediterranean) satisfy the call’s requirement to test performance under “changing environments”.
• Access to the New European Bauhaus (NEB) network of 600+ organisations accelerates dissemination to architects, designers and local authorities in multiple languages.
3. Alignment with Core EU Policies
• European Green Deal & Fit-for-55: bio-fabricated materials can act as permanent carbon sinks, crucial for net-zero buildings by 2050.
• Circular Economy Action Plan: supports ‘safe and sustainable by design’ materials and resource loops.
• Bioeconomy Strategy: converts European biomass streams into high-value construction products, boosting rural economies.
• EU Industrial Strategy & SMEs: strengthens competitiveness of Europe’s €910 bn construction sector through advanced biotech manufacturing and digitalisation (BIM/AI/robotics).
4. EU Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits
• Common standards (Eurocodes, EADs/ETAs, REACH, CLP) reduce certification duplication versus 27 separate national approvals.
• Horizon projects can feed data directly into CEN/TC 350 sustainability standards updates, shaping favourable regulatory pathways for bio-fabricated products.
• Early engagement with the European Chemicals Agency and upcoming CPR revision allows proactive compliance, de-risking market entry.
5. Access to the EU Innovation Ecosystem
• 3,300+ universities & RTOs participating in Horizon Europe facilitate high-TRL testing facilities:
– E.g., KETs Pilot Lines, European Research Infrastructure on Bio-economy (EuBioNet), Smart Specialisation Platforms on Circular Construction.
• Synergies with EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Manufacturing and the Bauhaus NEB KIC cluster offer acceleration, venture funding and business coaching.
• Open-science mandates unlock EU Data Space for Smart Communities for training AI models on material behaviour.
6. Funding Synergies & Leverage
• Combine the RIA with:
– LIFE Clean Energy Transition calls for demo retrofits (up to 95 % funding).
– ERDF/Interreg for regional pilot plants and cross-border supply chains.
– InvestEU & EIB green loans for first-of-a-kind commercial facilities.
– CBE-JU (Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking) for scaling fermentation or mycelium growth processes.
• National Recovery & Resilience Plans (EUR 225 bn still unallocated) can co-finance deployment in public buildings, fast-tracking market uptake.
7. Scale & Impact Potential
• Estimated addressable EU market: 40 % of annual €1.2 tn construction output relates to materials—substituting just 5 % with bio-fabricated alternatives equals €24 bn/y revenue potential.
• Harmonised LCA and Social-LCA data enable ESG reporting for EU Taxonomy compliance—critical for attracting institutional investors to scale-ups.
• Multi-country deployments meet the call’s ambition for “mass-scale production at competitive cost”, driving economies of scale and supply-chain resilience.
8. Unique Strategic Value at EU Level
1. Pan-European standardisation fast-tracks acceptance compared to fragmented national pilots.
2. Cross-regional biomass sourcing diversifies feedstocks, lowering price volatility and supply risk.
3. EU digital and physical infrastructure (EuroHPC, 5G corridors, TEN-T) supports AI-driven, automated manufacturing and logistics for just-in-time building modules.
4. Joint visibility via EU Green Public Procurement criteria unlocks immediate demand from 100k+ public buyers.
5. Participation reinforces European technological sovereignty in bio-based industries, reducing dependence on imported petrochemical materials.
9. Actionable Next Steps for Applicants
• Map consortium to cover at least 3 EU climate zones and 2 industrial clusters with biorefineries.
• Engage CEN/TC 350 & 351 early to align testing protocols with upcoming EN standards.
• Reserve >0.2 % of budget for NEB Hub dissemination; plan design competitions and pop-up exhibitions across Member States for social acceptance.
• Pre-agree MoUs with regional managing authorities for ERDF top-up funding post-project.
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Delivering under this grant at EU scale maximises market reach, regulatory clarity, funding leverage and societal impact—benefits that cannot be replicated by isolated national projects.
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