Integrated approaches for remanufacturing (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity titled "HORIZON-CL4-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-01" focuses on advancing remanufacturing technologies aimed at enhancing Europe's industrial circularity and digital transition. Eligible applicants include startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and public-private partnerships. Collaborative efforts with social partners, NGOs, and international entities such as Japan and Taiwan are encouraged.

The funding is structured as a grant within the Horizon Europe Innovation Action framework. A consortium participation is required, involving multiple entities across various sectors and regions. The geographic eligibility primarily covers EU member states and associated countries while also promoting international cooperation.

The targeted sectors include advanced manufacturing, the circular economy, and digital technologies, specifically emphasizing remanufacturing processes that integrate AI, robotics, and automation. The funding amount per project ranges from €5 million to €7 million, with a total budget of €35 million for six projects. Applications must be submitted by September 23, 2025, following a single-stage open call format.

The project aims to support the development and validation of cutting-edge remanufacturing approaches, with a focus on factory-level implementation and integration into circular value chains. Although the success rates are not explicitly provided, they likely hover around 10 to 39%, consistent with Horizon Europe's competitive funding nature. The program generally encourages leveraging co-funding, although it is not mandatory.

The call emphasizes the need for proposals that showcase innovative remanufacturing technologies, addressing aspects such as de-manufacturing, quality control, business models, and methodologies for end-of-use decisions. Proposals should align with EU regulatory frameworks and include considerations for product design that promotes circularity. Synergies with existing projects and contributions from social sciences and humanities are also vital for comprehensive solutions.

In summary, this grant opportunity aims to position Europe as a leader in sustainable manufacturing through innovative remanufacturing solutions while fostering collaboration and enhancing competitiveness in net-zero industries. Successful projects are expected to reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and create economic opportunities by reusing and repairing products and components.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL4-2025-01, focusing on INDUSTRY. The call, titled "Integrated approaches for remanufacturing (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)," is an open call for submission with a deadline of September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. It falls under the HORIZON-IA (HORIZON Innovation Actions) funding scheme with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] model grant agreement.

The primary goal is to benefit the manufacturing industry by enabling an industrial ecosystem to double the volume of remanufactured components in the Union compared to 2021, stimulating new synergies for circularity, increasing the capability in Europe to implement remanufacturing technologies, supporting skills and education, and supporting the development or revision of standards. These outcomes are expected to benefit downstream applications in net-zero industries.

The scope of the call emphasizes remanufacturing, including de-manufacturing, as a crucial step toward industrial circularity, aiming to reduce resource consumption and carbon footprint. Proposals should demonstrate cutting-edge remanufacturing approaches, covering de-manufacturing, appropriate manufacturing technologies, model-based systems engineering, quality control, and business models. Repurposing of products may also be considered. The approaches should integrate traditional manufacturing processes with automation, robotics, and digitalisation. Recycling technologies for secondary raw materials are excluded.

Key areas to be addressed in proposals include: Remanufacturing technologies and processes, mass de-manufacturing, capability to produce high-quality products from various resources, methodologies for end-of-use decisions, measurement and inspection approaches, stringent data sourcing and processing with AI, international standards, and new skills for remanufacturing. Proposals aiming to develop new products should cover the design of these products for circularity, prioritising recyclable materials, adaptable components, and increased component lifetime.

Proposals should consider the EU regulatory framework, the Ecodesign approach, and the Digital Product Passport. A business case and exploitation strategy are essential, addressing the entire lifecycle of remanufacturing, assessing circularity and decarbonisation, and contributing to lifecycle performance metrics standardisation. Synergies with existing projects and initiatives are encouraged, particularly with projects funded under earlier relevant topics and the Digital Europe programme. Contributions from Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) are indispensable. International cooperation is encouraged, especially with Japan or Taiwan.

The call implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.

General conditions for participation include admissibility conditions, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, and exclusion criteria as detailed in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. The evaluation and award process, legal and financial setup, and specific conditions are also outlined in the annexes and the work programme.

Application and evaluation forms, model grant agreements, and additional documents such as the HE Main Work Programme, HE Programme Guide, EU Financial Regulation, and Funding & Tenders Portal guidelines are available for reference.

The budget overview lists various topics under the INDUSTRY call with their respective budgets, stages, opening and deadline dates, contributions, and indicative number of grants.

Partner search announcements are available for those seeking collaboration.

The call aims to foster innovation in remanufacturing, promote circular economy principles, and enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of European industries. It encourages projects that can significantly reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and create new economic opportunities through the remanufacturing of products and components. The focus is on integrating advanced technologies and fostering collaboration across different sectors to achieve a more resilient and sustainable manufacturing ecosystem in Europe.

In simpler terms, this EU funding opportunity is all about making manufacturing more sustainable by reusing and repairing products instead of constantly making new ones. They want companies and researchers to come up with better ways to take apart old products, fix them up, and put them back into use. This includes using new technologies like AI and robotics, making sure the products are high quality, and creating new business models and job skills. The goal is to reduce waste, lower pollution, and make European industries more competitive and environmentally friendly. If you have a project that can help achieve these goals, especially by working with other companies and countries, this could be a great opportunity to get funding from the EU.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe and the types of actions (RIA, IA, CSA, COFUND), eligible applicants could include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other relevant organizations involved in research and innovation. The mention of "ecosystems acknowledged under the European Industrial Strategies" suggests that consortia involving multiple stakeholders, including industrial partners, are encouraged.

Funding Type: The funding types include grants, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA), HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (COFUND). These are all grant-based mechanisms within the Horizon Europe framework.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the encouragement of collaboration, synergies, and building on existing projects suggests that consortia are preferred, especially for Innovation Actions (IA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA). Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) might be more suitable for single applicants or smaller groups focused on coordination activities. The HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (COFUND) may require a different type of partnership, as they involve co-funding from other sources. Therefore, both single and consortium applications may be possible, depending on the specific action type.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is primarily focused on EU and associated countries. The text mentions "non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding" but notes that "a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries... have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants." This indicates that while the primary focus is on EU and associated countries, there is some flexibility for participants from other countries under specific conditions.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is manufacturing, with a specific focus on remanufacturing. This includes de-manufacturing, manufacturing technologies, model-based systems engineering, quality control, and business models related to remanufacturing. The program also targets circular economy, industrial circularity, cleantech, and net-zero industries, as the outcomes are expected to benefit downstream applications in these sectors. Synergies with digital technologies (automation, robotics, digitalisation, AI) and advanced materials are also relevant.

Mentioned Countries: Japan and Taiwan are explicitly mentioned as countries with which international cooperation is encouraged. The primary geographic focus is the European Union (EU) and associated countries, as indicated by the eligibility criteria.

Project Stage: The project stages vary depending on the type of action. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) typically support projects from research to demonstration. Innovation Actions (IA) focus on demonstration, validation, and potentially commercialization or scale-up. Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) support networking, coordination, and dissemination activities. The call aims to support projects demonstrating cutting-edge remanufacturing approaches, suggesting a focus on development, validation, and demonstration stages.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary significantly depending on the specific topic and type of action. The budget overview provides a detailed breakdown:
HORIZON-RIA: around €6 million (1 topic with €30 million budget and 5 grants)
HORIZON-CSA: around €1 million to €3 million (multiple topics with budgets from €1 million to €5 million)
HORIZON-IA: around €3 million to €10 million (multiple topics with budgets from €3 million to €42 million)
HORIZON-COFUND: around €90 million (1 topic with €45 million budget and 1 grant)
Twin Transition IA: €5 million to €10 million (multiple topics with budgets from €25 million to €42 million)
The funding ranges from under €50k to over €5M, with some COFUND actions having significantly larger budgets.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support their research, innovation, coordination, and support activities.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage, meaning applicants submit a full proposal in one step.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned. However, the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight. For example, a topic with a €30 million budget and an indicative number of 5 grants suggests a higher success rate compared to a topic with a €28 million budget and an indicative number of 1 grant. The success rates are other.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is specifically required for HORIZON-COFUND actions, as these are "HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions." For other action types (RIA, IA, CSA), co-funding might not be mandatory but could be viewed favorably during the evaluation process, especially if it demonstrates strong commitment from the applicants and other stakeholders.

In summary, this opportunity is a Horizon Europe call focused on promoting remanufacturing and circularity within the manufacturing industry. It aims to foster industrial ecosystems, enhance remanufacturing capabilities, and support the development of relevant skills and standards. The call includes various action types (RIA, IA, CSA, COFUND) with different funding ranges and objectives, targeting a wide range of applicants from research organizations to industrial partners. International cooperation, particularly with Japan and Taiwan, is encouraged. The call emphasizes the integration of digital technologies, adherence to EU regulatory frameworks, and contributions from social sciences and humanities to ensure comprehensive and sustainable solutions for remanufacturing. The overall goal is to reduce resource consumption, minimize carbon footprint, and strengthen industrial resilience in Europe.