The call is relevant for cities and regions that have an industrial cluster and are looking into industrial symbiosis by utilising the CO2 captured from the industrial sectors. The project should aim at developing CO2 conversion technologies in cooperation with the relevant end users and societal stakeholders to understand and address their concerns and needs.

Open to any legal entity based in EU Member States and Associated Countries, with required cooperation between at least three parties from three different countries (at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries). Participation of SMEs and industry is encouraged.

Proposals should develop energy-efficient, economically and environmentally viable CO2 conversion technologies for the use/reuse of industrial CO2 through the combination of processes (industrial symbiosis) and the efficient integration of CO2 capture and conversion to combine and/or reduce stages. The scope of the call includes technologies aimed at energy storage and/or displacement of fossil fuels that allow for upscaling in the short to medium term.

The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million. The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.

1. EC publishes calls for proposals on the funding and tenders portal https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/ 
2. The call is open for the usual period of ca. five months where applicants can submit their proposal.
3. Proposals can be single or two-stage application processes. A single stage application process requires the filling in of a structured proposal of max. 45 pages including: objectives and innovation approach (excellence); tangible impacts that can be achieved through the project (impact); and the project planning and tasks (quality). If the application is two stage, the aforementioned structure would be the second stage of the application while the first stage is a simplified proposal of a maximum 10 pages including only excellence and impact sections. These documents are to be uploaded to the portal in PDF format alongside the filling in of the respective parts of the portal with administrative information on the beneficiaries, affiliated entities or others. All participants in a project need to possess a Participant Identification Code (i.e. PIC number, a nine-digit number registered on ECAS). For more information, please see the work programme and the call documents.
4. Proposals submitted within the deadline will be evaluated by experts against evaluation criteria. 
5. Winning proposals will be invited for signing a grant agreement with the EC.

Planned opening date: 17 September 2024

Deadline date: 21 January 2025