This call is relevant for cities and regions aiming to address the remediation of polluted ecosystems through bio-based and nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change.

The objective of this call is the remediation of contaminated soil, sediment and water from pollutants, such as hazardous chemicals, pharmaceutical and waste, including litter and plastics, and their further restoration, including in case of accidents and disasters driven by anthropogenic activities and extreme climate and environmental events.

To achieve this, integrating Citizen Science in research approach is encouraged to contribute to the selection and analysis of case-studies of degraded ecosystems.

Any type of organisation can apply for Horizon Europe funding as long as they have the operational and financial capacity to carry out the tasks that they propose. For most calls for proposals, you must apply as a team of at least 3 partner organisations from 3 different EU or associated countries. At least one of the 3 partners must be from an EU country. In addition to these 3 partners, organisations from other countries might be able to join your consortium.

More information in the Horizon Europe programme guide. Further details or exceptions are listed on the pages of the call topics in the Funding & tenders portal.

Proposals should: select and analyse a set of case-studies of degraded soil, sediment and water affected by pollution and contaminants in the EU and Associated Countries. This could include cases where the degradation is exacerbated by climate change or biodiversity loss or other natural events or anthropogenic forcings; include a task in the project to develop bio-based solutions for the environmental remediation of the degraded soil, sediment and water in the selected case-studies, driven by biotechnology applications, and the integration of such bio-based solutions with nature-based solutions.

The task should include the assessment of the alignment with the precautionary principle, environmental sustainability and efficiency of the developed solutions in remediating soil, sediment and water, also addressing biodiversity loss and the functional state of the ecosystems. Moreover, it should evaluate the improvement of resilience to the impacts of climate change on the affected ecosystems, due to the applications of the developed solutions; include a task in the project on the development of models enabled by digital innovation, including based on artificial intelligence, for the optimization of remediation approaches, also in case of emergency facing disaster sand extreme climate and environmental events like fires, droughts, floods, etc.; identify and assess the economic, social and safety risks and benefits of the remediation activities in the selected case-studies, in particular in terms of circular economy and of the reduction of the risks for human health resulting from exposure to the contaminants (e.g., vulnerable populations, integrating the gender dimension). The risk reduction should take into consideration the bioavailability and mobility of the contaminants, including heavy metals, other metals (e.g., the ones used in electronic devices, Li, REE, etc.), plastics and organic chemicals (i.e., PFAS, PAHs, pesticides, etc.); include a task in the project to deliver the overall environmental, economic, social and safety risk assessment for the developed integrated bio-based and nature-based solutions.

The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million. The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00 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
2. The call is open for an usual period of ca. 5 months where applicants can submit they 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 a two stage, the aforementioned would be the second stage application while the first is a simplified proposal of max 10 pages including only excellence and impact sections. These documents are to be uploaded to the portal in pdf format alongside filling in the respective parts of the portal with administrative information on the beneficiares, affiliated entities or others. All participants in a project need to possess a Partipant Identification Code (i.e. PIC number, a 9-digit number registered on ECAS). For more information, please see the work programme and the call documents.
4. Proposal 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.

Opening: 06 May 2025
 

Deadline: 17 Sep 2025