ECIV 1st Open Call for Interregional Circular Innovation Projects

The ECIV 1st Open Call for Interregional Circular Innovation Projects is a funding opportunity aimed at fostering innovation in the circular economy across designated European regions. This initiative, backed by Horizon Europe, has a total budget of €9,129,770 and supports projects that demonstrate advanced circular economy technologies at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-8. The eligible regions for participation include Comunidad Foral de Navarra in Spain, Noord Nederland in the Netherlands, Norra Mellansverige in Sweden, Normandie in France, and Scotland in the United Kingdom.

Eligible applicants include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large companies, universities, research and technology organizations, industry associations, and technology providers. To qualify, these applicants must form interregional consortia that involve partners from at least two different eligible regions. Individual submissions from one region alone are not permitted.

Financial support comes in the form of grants, generally ranging from €50,000 to €500,000 or more per project, with total project durations up to 130 weeks or approximately 2.5 years. The application process is a single-stage, with submissions required online through the ECIV portal by the deadline of March 16, 2026.

The projects funded should focus on various sectors related to the circular economy, such as water management, bio-packaging, and other innovative solutions tailored to regional industrial challenges. Although there are strong suggestions of co-funding requirements, specific co-funding percentages were not detailed in the available materials.

Applicants are advised to thoroughly review the ECIV guidelines and utilize the support resources available, such as matchmaking platforms and regional contact points, to enhance their proposal submissions. Success rates for applications are not explicitly mentioned but may fall within the typical range for Horizon Europe programs.

Overall, the ECIV initiative aims to connect different regions in Europe to drive collaborative innovation, aligning with broader EU goals for sustainable development and economic growth.

The ECIV 1st Open Call for Interregional Circular Innovation Projects is a funding opportunity with an opening date of 22 December 2025 and a deadline of 16 March 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time. The expected duration of participation is up to 2.5 years. The total funding available is 9,129,770.00 €. The project acronym is ECIV, and the full name of the EU funded project is European Circular Economy Innovation Valley: the European “dance floor” for circular regions. The grant agreement number is 101161155. The topic is HORIZON-EIE-2023-CONNECT-03-01 - Implementing co-funded action plans for connected regional innovation valleys.

The general objective of ECIV first open call (OC1) is to support interregional innovation projects of circular economy (Technology Readiness Level or equivalent in the range 6-8), based on the specific objectives, priorities and topics identified in different value chains and industrial sectors of the ECIV regions.

Applicants are invited to submit proposals using the dedicated submission system: http://platform.eciv.eu

ECIV funding territories include: Comunidad Foral de Navarra (Spain), Noord Nederland comprising Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe (Netherlands), Norra Mellansverige comprising regions of Värmland, Dalarna and Gävleborg (Sweden), Normandie (France), and Scotland (United Kingdom).

Submitted proposals will be evaluated based on the pre-defined evaluation criteria and following the evaluation process described in ECIV guidelines for applicants. Applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully review the guide for applicants to ensure compliance with the ECIV framework and regional requirements.

Further information about this call can be found on the dedicated page on ECIV Open Call 1 on the ECIV website.

ECIV provides: a detailed guide for applicants, that includes the text of the call, interregional and regional webinars on the first open call, a matchmaking platform at https://www.b2match.com/e/eciv-matchmaking, a submission, evaluation, selection and monitoring platform at http://platform.eciv.eu, regional contact points at your availability for personalised advice, and a general helpdesk: info@eciv.eu.

In summary, the ECIV 1st Open Call seeks to fund interregional circular economy innovation projects within specific regions of Europe, focusing on projects with a Technology Readiness Level of 6-8. The call is part of the broader European Circular Economy Innovation Valley initiative. The application process involves submitting proposals through a dedicated online platform, and successful projects can receive funding for up to 2.5 years. The ECIV provides extensive support to applicants, including guidelines, webinars, a matchmaking platform, and regional contact points.

Eligible Applicant Types: The document does not explicitly define the eligible applicant types. However, it mentions supporting "interregional innovation projects," suggesting that applicants could be organizations involved in innovation, such as SMEs, research institutions, or other entities capable of undertaking collaborative projects. Given the interregional nature, it is likely that some form of partnership or consortium is expected.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, as indicated by the term "GrantCascade funding" and the overall context of a "call for proposals."

Consortium Requirement: The call supports "interregional innovation projects," implying that a consortium of multiple applicants from different regions is likely required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The ECIV funding territories include: Comunidad Foral de Navarra (Spain), Noord Nederland comprising Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe (Netherlands), Norra Mellansverige comprising regions of Värmland, Dalarna and Gävleborg (Sweden), Normandie (France), and Scotland (United Kingdom). Therefore, applicants must be from these regions.

Target Sector: The program targets the circular economy, focusing on different value chains and industrial sectors within the ECIV regions.

Mentioned Countries: Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, France, United Kingdom.

Project Stage: The program targets projects with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) or equivalent in the range of 6-8. This indicates projects that are at the demonstration or validation stage, close to commercialization.

Funding Amount: The total funding available is 9,129,770.00 €. The document does not specify the funding range for individual projects, but it can be inferred that the funding will be distributed among multiple interregional projects. Therefore, the funding amount per project is variable.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, specifically the "ECIV first open call (OC1)." The deadline model is single-stage.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.

Application Stages: The deadline model is single-stage, suggesting that there is one stage for application submission.

Success Rates: The document does not provide information on success rates.

Co-funding Requirement: The document does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, the topic "Implementing co-funded action plans for connected regional innovation valleys" suggests that co-funding might be expected.

Summary:

The ECIV (European Circular Economy Innovation Valley) first open call (OC1) aims to support interregional innovation projects focused on the circular economy. The call targets projects with a Technology Readiness Level between 6 and 8, indicating a focus on demonstration and validation stages. The eligible regions are Comunidad Foral de Navarra (Spain), Noord Nederland (Netherlands), Norra Mellansverige (Sweden), Normandie (France), and Scotland (United Kingdom). The total funding available is 9,129,770.00 €. The application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline of March 16, 2026. Applicants are expected to form consortia with partners from different regions to develop and implement circular economy projects. The call encourages applicants to review the guide for applicants and utilize the provided matchmaking and submission platforms. The topic description mentions "Implementing co-funded action plans," which suggests that co-funding might be a requirement. The ECIV initiative provides support through a detailed guide for applicants, interregional and regional webinars, a matchmaking platform, a submission platform, regional contact points, and a general helpdesk.