Innovative solutions for the sustainable production for Semiconductor raw materials (IA)

The HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-63 grant opportunity under Horizon Europe is designed to support innovative solutions for the sustainable production of semiconductor raw materials. This initiative targets the enhancement of the EU's resilience in raw materials, especially those critical for semiconductor production, through collaborative research and innovation efforts. The submission process is single-stage, with applications accepted until September 23, 2025.

Eligible applicants include legal entities such as SMEs, large enterprises, universities, and research institutes from EU Member States and associated countries, along with entities from countries with strategic partnerships concerning raw materials. The grant aims to promote multidisciplinary consortia covering the entire value chain from extraction to production of semiconductor-grade materials.

The funding amount is approximately €24 million for this topic, with plans to award around three grants based on competitive proposals. Projects are expected to operate at Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 6-7, focusing on developing and validating solutions that could transition to full-scale deployment in the EU.

Outcomes sought include reducing dependency on imported raw materials, improving recovery rates from secondary sources, and enhancing the competitiveness of the EU's mineral processing and refining sectors. Specific raw materials of interest include antimony, arsenic, boron, and silicon. Proposals must include a business case, exploitation strategy, and should ideally encourage public awareness regarding the importance of raw materials.

The project aligns with the EU’s goals for sustainable developments, contributing to the Green Deal and Digital Decade. The initiative promotes standards, cross-sector collaborations, and fosters long-term industrial partnerships.

Overall, this funding opportunity represents a significant effort to fortify the EU's supply chains for semiconductor materials, emphasizing environmentally sustainable practices and innovative production methods.

This EU grant opportunity, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-63, focuses on innovative solutions for the sustainable production of semiconductor raw materials. It falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the INDUSTRY (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) call. The type of action is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] model grant agreement.

The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline. The opening date was May 22, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic aims to achieve the expected impacts of increasing access to primary and secondary raw materials, particularly critical raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.

Projects are expected to contribute to several key outcomes: decreasing the EU's dependency on imported raw materials for semiconductor production, competitively producing and refining raw materials for semiconductors within the EU in a sustainable and socially acceptable manner, increasing recovery rates of raw materials from various sources like low-grade ores and waste, enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of mineral processing and refining through cost-effectiveness and efficiency, fostering collaboration among industry stakeholders, and improving public awareness regarding the importance of raw materials.

The scope of the actions should concentrate on raw materials crucial for semiconductors, which are necessary for the green and digital transition, as well as strategic sectors like aerospace. Specific raw materials of interest include antimony, arsenic, bismuth, boron, gallium, germanium, indium, selenium, silicon, and tellurium. Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions via multidisciplinary consortia, covering the value chain from extraction to the production of semiconductor-grade raw materials and alloys. Standardization aspects should be considered where relevant. Proposals must include a business case and exploitation strategy. For projects at Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 6-7, a strategy for full-scale deployment in the EU and long-term industrial collaboration is expected. Clustering activities with other relevant projects are encouraged for cooperation and sharing of results. Actions should also aim to improve public awareness of the importance of raw materials. While integrating the gender dimension is not mandatory, it is encouraged if relevant.

The budget for this specific topic, HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-63, is 24,000,000 EUR for the year 2025. The indicative number of grants to be awarded is around 3.

General conditions for participation include admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Other eligible conditions limit participation to legal entities established in specific countries to increase EU resilience in raw materials supply chains. Projects using satellite-based data must utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are detailed in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, submission and evaluation processes, and the indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement are described in Annexes D and F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. Legal and financial aspects are covered in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the model grant agreement, are available in the Submission System. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025, the HE Programme Guide, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, rules for Legal Entity Validation, the EU Grants AGA, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual.

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

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to bolster the EU's independence in semiconductor raw materials by funding innovation actions that promote sustainable and competitive domestic production. It targets multidisciplinary consortia to develop and deploy solutions across the entire value chain, from extraction to alloy production, while also emphasizing standardization, business viability, and public awareness. The call encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing among projects and stakeholders, with a focus on environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

Eligible Applicant Types: Legal entities established in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and countries with which the EU has concluded strategic partnerships on raw materials as well as trade agreements (or association/economic partnership or equivalent agreements, including the new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships) containing raw materials cooperation provisions (i.e. Energy and Raw materials chapters).

Funding Type: Grant. Specifically, HORIZON-IA (HORIZON Innovation Actions), HORIZON-RIA (HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions), and HORIZON-CSA (HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions) and HORIZON-COFUND (HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions).

Consortium Requirement: Multidisciplinary consortia are required, covering the relevant value chain.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and countries with which the EU has concluded strategic partnerships on raw materials as well as trade agreements (or association/economic partnership or equivalent agreements, including the new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships) containing raw materials cooperation provisions (i.e. Energy and Raw materials chapters).

Target Sector: Raw materials, semiconductors, green and digital transition, aerospace.

Mentioned Countries: Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community.

Project Stage: Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 6-7 are specifically mentioned, indicating a focus on demonstration and validation stages, with an expectation of achieving future full-scale deployment in the EU.

Funding Amount: Variable, depending on the specific topic. Ranges include around €6 million, around €3 million, around €1.5 million, around €1 million, €500k to €1 million, €1 million to €1.5 million, around €5 million, around €28 million, €4 million to €5 million, around €8 million, around €7.5 million, around €90 million, €5 million to €7 million, €4 million to €6 million, €8 million to €10 million, €6 million to €8 million, around €14 million.

Application Type: Single-stage open call.

Nature of Support: Money.

Application Stages: 1.

Success Rates: Not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants is provided for each topic.

Co-funding Requirement: For HORIZON-COFUND actions, co-funding is implied as it is a co-fund action. For other actions, it is not explicitly mentioned, but a business case and exploitation strategy are required, suggesting some level of investment from the applicants.

Summary:

This is a Horizon Europe call (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) focused on boosting the EU's resilience in raw materials, particularly those crucial for the semiconductor industry. The call aims to reduce the EU's dependence on imports by promoting sustainable and responsible sourcing of primary and secondary raw materials. The scope includes a wide range of actions, from research and innovation to coordination and support, and innovation actions. Projects should focus on raw materials needed for semiconductors in green and digital transitions, including antimony, arsenic, bismuth, boron, gallium, germanium, indium, selenium, silicon, and tellurium.

Eligible applicants are legal entities from EU Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and countries with which the EU has strategic partnerships on raw materials and relevant trade agreements. The call emphasizes multidisciplinary consortia, market uptake of solutions, business cases, exploitation strategies, and clustering activities. Projects should aim for Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 6-7 and demonstrate a credible strategy for full-scale deployment in the EU, encouraging long-term industrial collaboration.

The funding is provided through various Horizon Europe action types, including Innovation Actions (IA), Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) and Programme Cofund Actions (COFUND), with budgets varying significantly depending on the specific topic, ranging from 1 million EUR to 45 million EUR. The application process is single-stage, with a deadline of September 23, 2025. The call seeks to improve the awareness of the importance of raw materials and promote sustainable practices within the EU.