KAVA Call 14 - Upscaling

KAVA Call 14 Upscaling is an EIT RawMaterials cascade funding call to support upscaling and market entry of validated raw materials technologies, focusing on mining, materials processing, advanced materials, recycling and circular economy solutions. Total call budget is €3,600,000 with indicative project funding of €500,000 to €2.5 million, requiring consortia with partners from different Horizon Europe eligible countries and at least one EIT RawMaterials Core or Associate Partner and substantial co‑financing (around 50%). Proposals must be submitted via the SeedBook portal by 16 October 2026 at 13:00 CET and will be evaluated on admissibility, excellence, impact, quality and EIT RawMaterials strategic criteria.

What it funds

Purpose

Cascade funding to support upscaling activities aligned with the EIT RawMaterials Business Plan 2026-2028. Projects should contribute to market uptake, commercialisation and strategic objectives described in the call text Call text and documents. ¹

Total budget:€3,600,000 (total available for this call).

Project duration:Typical participation duration: up to 2 years.

Who can apply

Organisations eligible to participate must satisfy the call's admissibility and eligibility requirements and submit proposals through the SeedBook platform. The call targets participants able to deliver upscaling/commercialisation activities (check the call text for specific eligible entity types and consortium rules).

1. 1Submission channel: SeedBook portal (seedbook-portal.eitrawmaterials.eu).
2. 2Deadline: 16 October 2026, 13:00 CET (Brussels/Berlin time).

Evaluation:proposals are screened for admissibility and eligibility, then scored by external experts on excellence, impact and quality (55% of final score) and by EIT RawMaterials on strategic criteria (45%). Successful selection is conditional on signing project and financial sustainability agreements.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call text, eligibility rules, templates and submission details are available via the EIT RawMaterials SeedBook portal and in the call documentation.

Key facts and administrative details

Call identifier:HORIZON-EIT. Project acronym: EIT RM BP26-28. Full name of the EU funded project: EIT RawMaterials Business Plan 2026-2028. Grant agreement number: 101270585. Programme period: 2021-2027. Call type: Multi-Topic Call (KAVA Call 14 - Upscaling). Opening date: 07 August 2026. Submission deadline: 16 October 2026 at 13:00 (Brussels/Berlin/CET). Deadline model: single-stage. Expected duration of participation: 2 years. Total funding available for this call: €3,600,000. Submission platform: SeedBook online platform at seedbook-portal.eitrawmaterials.eu ¹.

Eligible Applicant Types:The call documentation available in the scraped text does not provide an explicit, exhaustive list of eligible legal entity types. The call is published by EIT RawMaterials and titled Upscaling (KAVA Call 14) under the EIT RawMaterials Business Plan 2026-2028, which is a KIC cascade funding action. Based on the call context applicants will submit proposals via the SeedBook platform and projects are described as project consortia coordinated by a Project Coordinator. Therefore the following applicant types are explicitly or implicitly referenced in the available text: project coordinator (lead applicant), project consortium (multiple partners), and candidate organisations that may become project beneficiaries. The call documentation does not explicitly enumerate categories such as SME, startup, large enterprise, university, research institute, nonprofit, government, individual or investor in the scraped excerpt; applicants must consult the full call text and eligibility section on the EIT RawMaterials call page for the definitive list of eligible legal entity types.

Funding Type:The financial mechanism is cascade funding awarded as grants under the EIT RawMaterials KAVA (Key Activity) Upscaling call. The total budget for the call is €3,600,000 and will be distributed to successful projects as grant funding under the conditions established by EIT RawMaterials and the Financial Sustainability Agreement.

Consortium Requirement:The call material references Project Coordinator and project consortium obligations, the need to sign a Project Agreement and to fulfill membership obligations. This implies that proposals are expected to be submitted by a consortium led by a Project Coordinator rather than by a single individual entity. The call text in the scraped content does not explicitly state an exact minimum or maximum number of partners for eligibility; applicants must consult the full call text for minimum consortium composition requirements.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The scraped content does not explicitly list eligible countries. The call is published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and sits under an EIT RawMaterials Business Plan grant (HORIZON-EIT). Typically KIC cascade calls target entities in EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries, but such coverage is not explicitly stated in the available text. Applicants should consult the call text and supporting documents on the EIT RawMaterials site to confirm eligible countries and association rules before applying.

Target Sector:The call is issued by EIT RawMaterials and is titled Upscaling under the EIT RawMaterials Business Plan 2026-2028. The thematic sector is therefore raw materials and related value chains, covering activities that support scaling up innovation, market uptake, investment preparation and business development in raw materials, recycling, circularity, processing, substitution and related technologies. The scraped excerpt does not provide a detailed technical thematic list; applicants should consult full call documentation for specific thematic priorities, eligible activities and technology areas.

Mentioned Countries:No specific countries are explicitly listed in the scraped text. Time zones and deadline references cite Brussels/Berlin/CET. For country eligibility applicants must consult the official call text on the EIT RawMaterials website and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Project Stage:The call title Upscaling and the KAVA category indicate projects should be beyond idea stage and focused on growth, scaling and market uptake. The expected maturity therefore is development, validation, demonstration and commercialization/upscaling. The scraped text does not mandate a precise Technology Readiness Level (TRL) range; check full call documents for TRL requirements.

Funding Amount:Total call budget: €3,600,000. The scraped excerpt does not state per-project funding ceilings or typical award ranges. Applicants should consult the call text and the SeedBook application pages for information on maximum grant per project, financing conditions and budget eligibility rules.

Application Type and Submission Method:Single-stage open call. Proposals must be registered and submitted online through the SeedBook portal (seedbook-portal.eitrawmaterials.eu) by 16 October 2026 at 13:00 CET/Brussels time. Late submissions will be inadmissible. Only proposals satisfying all admissibility criteria pass to eligibility assessment. SeedBook account creation/sign-in is required to submit. Additional supporting documentation and the call text are hosted on the EIT RawMaterials website and linked from the portal ¹.

Nature of Support:Monetary support in the form of grant funding (cascade funding). In addition to financial support, successful projects will enter contractual arrangements with EIT RawMaterials which may include non-financial obligations (membership obligations, project implementation requirements, mandatory changes requested in evaluation feedback) and likely access to EIT RawMaterials network and services as defined in the Project Agreement and Financial Sustainability Agreement.

Application Stages and Evaluation Procedure:The submission and evaluation process follows a single-stage submission with evaluation in three sets of criteria: eligibility criteria (mandatory), excellence/impact/quality criteria (external evaluators) and strategic criteria (internal EIT RawMaterials evaluation). The overall scoring weight is 55% for Excellence, Impact and Quality (external evaluation) and 45% for Strategic criteria (EIT RawMaterials evaluation). Proposals are ranked by combined score and eligible proposals are selected accordingly.

1. 1Registration and submission on SeedBook by 16 October 2026 13:00 CET (single-stage).
2. 2Admissibility check: proposals must meet all admissibility criteria to be considered further.
3. 3Eligibility check: mandatory eligibility requirements assessed.
4. 4External evaluation: excellence, impact and quality criteria scored by appointed external experts (55% weight).
5. 5Strategic evaluation: EIT RawMaterials strategic criteria scored (45% weight).
6. 6Selection Committee decision and notification: candidates informed by email within five working days following the final decision.
7. 7Contracting: selected projects must sign a Financial Sustainability Agreement and Project Agreement and address any mandatory changes listed in the evaluation feedback before final approval.

Success Rates and Feedback:The scraped content does not provide historical or expected success rates (selection probability). The call commits to providing all candidates with an evaluation feedback report including per-criterion scores and the total score. Successful proposals may receive requested changes/conditions to be addressed before final approval. Candidates can request clarification on evaluation results by email; KIC will reply within 15 days (this deadline may be extended with justification).

Co-funding Requirement:The scraped excerpt does not state whether co-funding from applicants is required or recommended. The Financial Sustainability Agreement and Project Agreement are required at contracting, implying specific financial and sustainability obligations will be detailed in the full call documents. Applicants must review the full call text to determine co-financing rates, eligible costs and any matching funds requirements.

Templates and Application Form Structure:The available text instructs that proposals must be submitted using the SeedBook portal. The scraped excerpt does not contain the application template or form structure. It does indicate that evaluation Quality criteria include Market Analysis and Communication and Dissemination work packages, implying the application will require work package descriptions, market analysis, impact and dissemination plans, and budget breakdowns. Applicants must access SeedBook and the call documentation on the EIT RawMaterials website to download the official application template, budget tables, and any annex templates.

Administrative and Contracting Conditions:If a proposal is selected, approval is conditional on signing the Financial Sustainability Agreement (entailing Financial Sustainability Mechanism FSM) between EIT RawMaterials and the project consortium, signature of a Project Agreement, fulfillment of membership obligations, and addressing any Mandatory changes specified in the Evaluation Feedback document. These requirements must be met prior to final approval and do not normally permit substantial modifications to the original proposal.

Summary: what this opportunity is about and next steps

KAVA Call 14 - Upscaling is a cascade funding grant opportunity launched by EIT RawMaterials under the EIT RawMaterials Business Plan 2026-2028 (call identifier HORIZON-EIT). The call opens on 07 August 2026 and closes on 16 October 2026 at 13:00 CET. The call has a total budget of €3,600,000 and targets upscaling activities in the raw materials sector, focusing on development, validation, demonstration and commercialization/market uptake of innovations. Proposals must be submitted via the SeedBook portal in a single-stage process. Evaluation combines external assessment of excellence, impact and quality (55% weight) with EIT RawMaterials’ strategic criteria (45% weight). Selection is conditional on contracting requirements including Financial Sustainability Agreement and Project Agreement. Detailed eligibility, applicant type lists, country eligibility, per-project funding limits, co-funding requirements and the full application template are not provided in the scraped excerpt; applicants must consult the full call text and supporting documents available on the EIT RawMaterials website and SeedBook platform to obtain mandatory specifications and templates prior to submission ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1SeedBook portal and the EIT RawMaterials call page contain the official call text, supporting documents, templates and the application form. Access SeedBook at seedbook-portal.eitrawmaterials.eu and the call page via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal entry for this call.

KAVA Call 14 Upscaling is an EIT RawMaterials cascade funding opportunity for innovation projects that take validated raw materials technologies from advanced development toward market entry, with the current portal showing the call as open and a submission deadline of 16 October 2026 at 13:00 Brussels time [1][2].

What the funding supports

The call supports upscaling projects based on validated technologies that still need testing, demonstration, proof of concept, and scaling before they can be commercialized, with a strong emphasis on mining, materials processing, advanced materials, recycling, and circular economy solutions [1][2][8].

Applicants are expected to show a credible route to market, including market analysis, communication and dissemination planning, and a financial sustainability plan, because the call explicitly evaluates both business and strategic potential [1][2].

Who can apply

Eligibility is aimed at consortia rather than single applicants, and the published call summary states that the consortium must include at least two partners from different Horizon Europe eligible countries, represent at least two sides of the knowledge triangle, and include at least one Core or Associate Partner of EIT RawMaterials [1][2].

• At least two partners are required and they must come from different Horizon Europe eligible countries [1].
• The consortium must cover at least two parts of the knowledge triangle, meaning education, research, and industry or business [1].
• At least one partner must be a Core or Associate Partner of EIT RawMaterials, and non member organisations must commit to membership if selected [1][2].
• The lead participant must be a KIC partner by the time the project starts, according to the public call summary [1].
• Public call materials also state that commercialising partners should account for at least 50 percent of the funding [1].

Funding and financial conditions

The portal lists total available funding of €3.6 million for the call, while EIT RawMaterials public materials describe project level support of roughly €500,000 to €2.5 million and note that approved projects should be completed by end December 2028 [1][2][4].

• The project budget should be substantial enough to support an industrial upscaling pathway rather than early stage research [1][2].
• Co funding is required, and the public call summary states a minimum 50 percent co financing expectation from the consortium [1].
• The application should explain whether and how the project can become an investment case for the European Raw Materials Alliance during the funding period [2].
• Selection can include requested changes or conditions, but these must not constitute a substantial modification of the proposal [2].
• Final project approval is conditional on signing the Financial Sustainability Agreement and the Project Agreement, fulfilling membership obligations, and implementing any mandatory changes listed in the evaluation feedback [2].

Evaluation and selection

Proposals are assessed first for admissibility and eligibility, then scored against excellence, impact, quality, and strategic criteria, with external evaluators covering 55 percent of the final score and EIT RawMaterials strategic assessment accounting for 45 percent [2].

• Eligibility criteria are mandatory and proposals that fail them are not considered further [2].
• External experts assess excellence, impact, and quality, and the quality review includes market analysis and communication and dissemination work packages [2].
• EIT RawMaterials separately scores strategic criteria and ranks proposals accordingly [2].
• The evaluation panel is intended to reflect gender and geographic balance among evaluators [2].
• Successful and unsuccessful applicants are informed by email within five working days after the final decision, and all applicants receive a feedback report with criterion scores and the total score [2].

Submission and timing

Proposals must be registered and submitted in SeedBook by 16 October 2026 at 13:00 CET or Brussels time, and late submissions are inadmissible [2].

1. 1Prepare the proposal in line with the call text and supporting documents [2].
2. 2Submit through the SeedBook online platform before the deadline [2].
3. 3Ensure the proposal satisfies all admissibility and eligibility requirements before submission [2].
4. 4If clarification is needed after evaluation, applicants may contact EIT RawMaterials by email, and replies are normally provided within 15 days, subject to justified extension [2].

Practical takeaways for applicants

This opportunity is best suited to consortia with validated technologies close to deployment, a strong market case, an industrial or commercial pathway, and a credible plan for sustainability and post project commercialization [1][2][4][8].

Applicants should prioritize consortium quality, TRL progression toward market readiness, and evidence that the project can deliver both strategic value for EIT RawMaterials and a believable investment case within the funding period [1][2].