Demonstrators for clusters of social circular enterprises (IA)

The grant opportunity titled "Demonstrators for clusters of social circular enterprises (IA)" is part of Horizon Europe's focus on innovation actions aligned with the transition towards a circular economy. This initiative aims to enhance the models of social circular enterprises by testing and validating innovative business approaches that integrate social impact with environmental sustainability.

Eligible applicants include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large companies, research institutions, universities, non-profit organizations, and public-private partnerships engaged in circular economy initiatives. A consortium of multiple partners is mandatory for application, with requirements for participation from at least two different EU member states or associated countries.

The funding type is a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, meaning that eligible costs will be provided as a lump sum. The expected project funding ranges from €6.5 million to €12 million, based on various related topics within the Horizon Europe framework. The application process has two stages: the first stage involves a submission of a concept note, followed by a detailed proposal in the second stage.

Geographic eligibility is extensive, covering all EU member states and associated countries, ensuring a wide reach for potential projects. The target sectors for this grant emphasize circular economy practices, specifically focusing on waste management and technology adoption in materials such as textiles, electronic waste, and construction materials.

Projects should primarily concentrate on developing demonstrable technological solutions that can be replicated and scaled within social circular tech clusters. These clusters will allow different enterprises to collaborate, share resources, and develop technology that improves their efficiency in handling waste materials.

The evaluation of success rates for proposals is not explicitly provided, but past Horizon Europe grants have seen competitive rates of around 10% to 39%. Co-funding is generally not required, as lump sum grants are intended to cover 100% of eligible costs.

Overall, this grant initiative is designed to solve pressing issues related to waste management, enhance the competitiveness of social circular enterprises, and support their evolution through technological innovation, promoting both economic growth and environmental sustainability. The focus on transnational collaboration ensures that diverse expertise can be shared, thereby maximizing impact across different regions.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically the INDUSTRY two-stage call (HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-two-stage). The call focuses on "Demonstrators for clusters of social circular enterprises (IA)" under the topic HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-21-two-stage. It is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model grant agreement.

The call opened for submission on May 22, 2025, and follows a two-stage deadline model. The first deadline is September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time, and the second deadline is April 14, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcome is to enable Social Circular Enterprises (SCEs) to adapt to new market realities in the circular economy. This involves investing in R&D capacity and technology for SCEs, focusing on B2B markets for secondary raw materials, and exploring the sorting, recycling, and upcycling services market. The call aims to improve the competitiveness, productivity, and market opportunities for SCEs, contributing to economic, environmental, and social impact.

Specific outcomes include:
Improved uptake and scaling of technology solutions in individual SCEs and promotion of shared technology development through SCE clusters.
Enhanced competitiveness through increased productivity and new market opportunities for SCEs in waste streams like textiles, WEEE, and construction materials.
Demonstration of technical, economic, and environmental excellence of SCEs in local circular value chains, leading to increased collaboration with industrial partners.
Reduction of non-recyclable waste by re-using and transforming waste into secondary raw materials.
Increased employment of individuals with a distance to the labor market and improved labor productivity through assistive technology and data utilization (e.g., AI).

The scope of the call involves researching and developing replicable tech-oriented demonstrators within social circular clusters. Partners are expected to jointly adapt, design, test, and implement relevant technology solutions. Demonstrators should organize as Social Circular Tech Clusters to pool resources and share expertise, facilitating business opportunities and tech-based spin-offs.

A demonstrator consortium should:
Be active in at least two Member States or Associated Countries.
Focus on textile and construction waste or WEEE.
Consist of two or more clusters, each grouping individual SCEs, for-profit circular companies, research, and tech centers.
Have SCEs forming the core of the consortia, benefiting directly from interventions to improve their triple impact model.
Engage public authorities and SCE federations where appropriate.
Be transnational to compare pilots in different markets.

Technology adaptation should focus on optimizing efficiency in waste stream management and processing, enlarging the market activity of SCEs. Relevant technologies include data-driven technologies like AI for improved sorting, software to standardize repair operations, improve stock management, optimize pricing systems, and digital modeling tools. Research could also explore assistive technologies to support employees in SCEs, improving their productivity and wellbeing.

Market research should focus on improving the position of SCEs as attractive partners in waste stream management, with potential for growth in B2B markets. This includes collection, disassembly, sorting, purification, recycling, exchanging, or preparation for waste valorization.

The call encourages proposals to build on existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant initiatives, particularly the H4C (Clusters for Circularity) and its knowledge platform.

Applicants submitting a proposal under the blind evaluation pilot must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos nor names of personnel in the proposal abstract and Part B of their first-stage application.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme.

The budget overview for the call includes several topics:
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-42-two-stage: EUR 30,000,000, indicative number of grants: 5, around EUR 6,000,000 per grant.
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-43-two-stage: EUR 30,000,000, indicative number of grants: 5, around EUR 6,000,000 per grant.
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-51-two-stage: EUR 30,000,000, indicative number of grants: 4, around EUR 7,000,000 per grant.
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-11-two-stage: EUR 13,000,000, indicative number of grants: 2, around EUR 6,500,000 per grant.
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-21-two-stage: EUR 10,000,000, indicative number of grants: 2, around EUR 5,000,000 per grant.
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-35-two-stage: EUR 48,000,000, indicative number of grants: 5, EUR 8,000,000 to EUR 12,000,000 per grant.

There are 21 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic.

The call provides various resources for applicants, including an online manual, the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, FAQs, a Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points, the Enterprise Europe Network, an IT Helpdesk, a European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk, and a Partner Search tool.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to foster the circular economy by supporting Social Circular Enterprises through technological innovation, cluster development, and market research, with a focus on waste streams such as textiles, WEEE, and construction materials. It encourages transnational collaboration and the integration of disadvantaged individuals into the labor market, offering substantial funding and resources for eligible projects.

The EU is offering funding to projects that can demonstrate how technology can improve social enterprises that are working in the circular economy. The goal is to make these businesses more competitive, create jobs, and reduce waste. The projects should focus on developing and testing new technologies within clusters of these social enterprises, with the aim of creating new business opportunities and sharing expertise. The EU wants to see projects that involve partners from different countries and that focus on specific waste streams like textiles, electronics, and construction materials. They are particularly interested in projects that use AI, software, and digital tools to improve sorting, repair, and reuse processes. The EU is providing a lump sum of money to each project and encourages applicants to seek help from various support networks and resources.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include Social Circular Enterprises (SCEs), SMEs, for-profit circular companies (e.g., sectoral peers in secondary raw materials industries), research and tech centers, public authorities, and SCE federations. The text specifies that SCEs should form the core of the consortia.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) framework. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium. A demonstrator consortium should be active in at least two Member States or Associated Countries. Each demonstrator consortium should consist of two or more clusters, each grouping individual SCEs, for-profit circular companies, research, and tech centers.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. The text specifies that a demonstrator consortium should be active in at least two Member States or Associated Countries. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The program targets the circular economy, specifically focusing on Social Circular Enterprises (SCEs) and their role in sorting, recycling, and upcycling. It emphasizes waste streams such as textiles, WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment), and construction materials. The program also targets innovation, DeepTech, AI, assistive technologies, and B2B markets related to secondary raw materials.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is demonstration. Projects are expected to research and develop a replicable tech-oriented demonstrator(s) within social circular clusters. The demonstrators are supposed to organise as a Social Circular Tech Cluster allowing to pool resources and adapt, develop and test technology solutions.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic.
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-21-two-stage: around €5,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-11-two-stage: around €6,500,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-43-two-stage: around €6,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-51-two-stage: around €7,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-MATERIALS-42-two-stage: around €6,000,000
HORIZON-CL4-2025-05-TWIN-TRANSITION-35-two-stage: €8,000,000 to €12,000,000

Application Type: The application type is a two-stage open call. The deadline model is two-stage.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme.

Application Stages: The application process involves two stages.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants is provided for each topic, which can be used to estimate the potential success rate based on the number of applications.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call focuses on supporting Social Circular Enterprises (SCEs) in adapting to the circular economy through research, innovation, and technology adoption. The call aims to improve the competitiveness, productivity, and social impact of SCEs by fostering collaboration within Social Circular Tech Clusters. Projects should develop replicable tech-oriented demonstrators that address specific waste streams like textiles, WEEE, and construction materials. The call encourages the use of technologies such as AI, assistive technologies, and digital modelling tools to optimize waste management and create new market opportunities for SCEs. Transnational consortia are required, involving SCEs, for-profit companies, research centers, and potentially public authorities, to compare pilots across different markets and maximize the impact of interventions. Funding is provided as a lump sum grant under the HORIZON Innovation Actions framework, and the application process is structured in two stages. The call is part of a blind evaluation pilot, meaning that applicants must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos nor names of personnel in the proposal abstract and Part B of their first-stage application.