Open Call for Financial Support to Third parties as a mechanism to test, promote, validate, replicate PRIMARY business model blueprints and develop ne...

Cascade funding call under the Horizon Europe PRIMARY project offering €900,000 to finance 6 to 9 sub-projects to pilot and replicate business model blueprints for valorising underutilised agricultural feedstocks. Eligible applicants are consortia of 2 to 3 partners including at least one technical process operator and one public or private partner, with maximum grants of €150,000 for three-partner consortia and €100,000 for two-partner consortia and a per-partner cap of €50,000. Proposals must be submitted via opencalls.fund by 8 June 2026 17:00 Brussels time. Selected projects run November 2026 to April 2028 (18 months) with deliverable-based payments of 20 percent, 50 percent and 30 percent and no pre-financing.

What it funds

Purpose

Grants to consortia that pilot, adapt and validate PRIMARY business model blueprints and processing solutions for upcycling underutilised agricultural feedstocks, demonstrate technical and economic feasibility, and test replicability/scalability in new rural regions.

Who can apply:Consortia of 2 to 3 partners only. Each consortium must include at least one technical partner (process operator or tester) and at least one public or private partner (e.g., university, public body, primary producers, cooperatives, start-ups, SMEs, NGOs). Non-EU applicants may participate if listed eligible under Horizon Europe rules ¹.

1. 1Open call accepts proposals submitted via the opencalls.fund platform: PRIMARY Open Call
2. 2Submission deadline: 8 June 2026, 17:00 (Brussels time)
3. 3Project start: November 2026; duration per sub-project: 18 months (Nov 2026–Apr 2028) with 3 phases and deliverable-based payments (no pre-financing)

Selected sub-projects will be paid in three milestone-based instalments:20% after Phase 1 (design), 50% after Phase 2 (development) and 30% after Phase 3 (validation).

Evaluation and submission

Proposals undergo eligibility checks and remote evaluation by two external reviewers against Alignment, Excellence, Impact and Organisational capacity (each criterion equal weight; 1–5 scoring; 3 minimum per criterion; 15 total minimum). Applications must follow the Open Call Kit and model documents available on the PRIMARY website and opencalls.fund.

Key documents and contact:Applicants should consult the PRIMARY Open Call Kit (Applicants Guide, proposal and budget templates, model sub-grant agreement) available at the PRIMARY Open Call page and submit via opencalls.fund. Contact: primary@opencalls.fund PRIMARY Open Call Kit PRIMARY submission.

Footnotes

1. 1Eligibility of non-EU participants follows Horizon Europe List of Participating Countries; check Section 2.2.3 of the Applicants Guide for the allowed countries.

This is a cascade funding opportunity under the Horizon Europe project PRIMARY (Grant Agreement 101180167), formally titled New business for farmers and cooperatives in rural areas by local upcycling solutions using underutilized agricultural feedstocks. The call finances 6–9 sub-projects led by small consortia to pilot, adapt, validate, and replicate PRIMARY business model blueprints and processing solutions that valorise underutilised agricultural residues, demonstrate economic feasibility, and build new local value chains across European regions.

Official sources:EU Funding & Tenders listing PRIMARY on EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Primary submission portal OpenCalls.fund PRIMARY page. PRIMARY project Open Call hub and documents PRIMARY Open Call page. FAQs PRIMARY FAQs on OpenCalls.fund.

Key dates, duration, and budget

• Opening date: 09 March 2026
• Deadline model: single-stage
• Submission deadline: 08 June 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
• Submission channel: exclusively via opencalls.fund; other channels are not accepted
• Total cascade budget: €900,000
• Number of sub-projects: 6–9
• Maximum grant per sub-project: €150,000 for consortia of 3 partners; €100,000 for consortia of 2 partners; maximum €50,000 per individual partner
• Expected implementation window per funded sub-project: 18 months, November 2026 to April 2028, divided into three phases

Payments are deliverable-based with no pre-financing. The first payment occurs after submission and evaluation of the Phase 1 deliverable around month 4 of implementation. Confidentiality of applicants and proposal content is ensured throughout the process.

Scope and objectives

• Validate, refine, and replicate PRIMARY business model blueprints for agricultural waste and residue valorisation
• Pilot and adapt bio-based processing solutions using underutilised agricultural feedstocks under real rural conditions
• Demonstrate technical feasibility, economic viability, environmental sustainability, and replicability of integrated value-chain solutions
• Develop new local and regional value chains and promote scalability to other European regions
• Enhance the PRIMARY Stakeholder Platform, strengthen networks between primary producers and SMEs, and foster knowledge transfer

Eligibility and consortium composition

• Eligible proposals must come from consortia of 2–3 partners; single applicants are not eligible; consortia with more than 3 entities are ineligible
• Each consortium must include at least one technical partner serving as process operator and responsible for testing, applying, and validating the technology or process
• At least one partner must come from the public sector (e.g., public body, university, research institution) or private sector (e.g., primary producers, cooperatives, start-ups, SMEs, NGOs)
• Applicants must be active in the sustainable valorisation of agricultural residues and aligned with the PRIMARY framework objectives
• An entity can participate in only one consortium and submit only one proposal; if multiple versions are submitted, only the last will be evaluated

Geographic eligibility

Applicants from EU Member States and other countries eligible under the Horizon Europe Regulation 2021/695 and the official List of Participating Countries (Horizon Europe: V3.8 – 12.02.2026) are eligible, provided they are explicitly included in the list of eligible countries specified in the PRIMARY Open Call Applicants’ Guide (Section 2.2.3). Applicants from countries not on that list are not eligible.

Submission and evaluation process

• Submission is digital and must be completed via the OpenCalls.fund platform OpenCalls.fund PRIMARY page. All Open Call documents are provided on the PRIMARY Open Call page PRIMARY Open Call page. Submissions via other channels are discarded
• Documents required during later phases will be submitted via dedicated channels indicated by the PRIMARY consortium at contracting
• Eligibility check by the PRIMARY Monitoring Committee follows closure of the call; ineligible applications are discarded
• Remote evaluation by two independent external experts with relevant expertise in agriculture, bioeconomy, biodiversity, circular economy, and sustainability
• Evaluation criteria and scoring: Alignment; Excellence; Impact; Organizational capacity and sufficiency. Each criterion scored 1–5. Threshold of 3 points per criterion and minimum total of 15 points. All criteria have equal weight

Funding conditions and payments

• Cascade funding via sub-grants to selected consortia
• Grant size capped at €150,000 for 3-partner consortia and €100,000 for 2-partner consortia; no partner may receive more than €50,000
• No pre-financing; payments are made after approval of phase deliverables: 20% after Phase 1, 50% after Phase 2, 30% after Phase 3
• Confidential handling of proposal information is guaranteed

Open Call kit and templates

Applicants must use the official templates and forms provided in the PRIMARY Open Call kit on the PRIMARY website. The kit includes at least the following annexes: Annex 1 Call for Evaluators; Annex 2 Open Call Text (Fiche); Annex 3 Hand-out Summary; Annex 4 Applicants Guide; Annex 5 Proposal Template; Annex 6 Budget Template; Annex 7 Consortium Declaration; Annex 8 Declaration of Honour; Annex 9 SME Declaration; Annex 10 Model Sub-grant Agreement; Annex 11 Bank Account Information; Annex 12 FAQ. Access these on the PRIMARY Open Call page PRIMARY Open Call page.

While the detailed section-by-section structure is provided in the Proposal Template (Annex 5), applicants should ensure their proposals explicitly address the four evaluation criteria: Alignment, Excellence, Impact, and Organizational capacity and sufficiency. The Budget Template (Annex 6) must be completed, and the consortium must submit the required declarations and bank information as listed in the kit.

Categorization and structured extraction

Eligible Applicant Types:Consortia only, comprising 2–3 entities. Eligible partner types include: startup, SME, large enterprise where applicable as process operator or value-chain actor, university, research institute, nonprofit, NGO, cooperative, primary producer including farms and farmers’ organizations, public body such as municipal or regional authority, and other public-sector institutions. At least one technical partner is mandatory, and at least one partner must be from either the public or private sector categories enumerated above and active in sustainable valorisation of agricultural residues.

Funding Type:Grant via cascade funding (Financial Support to Third Parties) under Horizon Europe project PRIMARY.

Consortium Requirement:Consortium required. Exactly 2–3 partners per application; single applicants are ineligible; consortia with more than 3 entities are ineligible. At least one technical partner is required, plus at least one public or private sector partner as defined by the call.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):EU Member States and other countries eligible under Horizon Europe rules and the official List of Participating Countries as specified in the Applicants’ Guide Section 2.2.3. Applicants from non-eligible countries cannot participate.

Target Sector:Agriculture and agrifood; bioeconomy; circular economy; environment and biodiversity; rural development; cleantech and sustainable processing; industrial processes/components related to small-scale bio-based pilots; innovation in valorisation of agricultural residues and underutilised feedstocks; value chain development and replication.

Mentioned Countries:No specific countries are named. The opportunity targets Europe and countries eligible under Horizon Europe participation rules.

Project Stage:Development, demonstration, validation, and replication under real rural conditions. Projects are expected to pilot processes, validate technical and economic performance, and assess impact and replicability.

Funding Amount:Total call budget €900,000. Per sub-project: up to €150,000 for a 3-partner consortium; up to €100,000 for a 2-partner consortium; up to €50,000 per individual partner.

Application Type:Open call with single-stage submission via the OpenCalls.fund platform by the stated deadline.

Nature of Support:Money in the form of grants (sub-grants). Additional non-monetary benefits include visibility within the PRIMARY network, knowledge transfer opportunities, and integration with the PRIMARY Stakeholder Platform.

Application Stages:1 stage. After the deadline, proposals undergo eligibility check and remote expert evaluation based on the published criteria.

Success Rates:Not specified. The call will fund 6–9 sub-projects; no data on number of expected applications or historical selection rates is provided.

Co-funding Requirement:Not explicitly stated. Grants are capped per consortium size and per partner. There is no pre-financing, and payments are deliverable-based. Applicants must ensure sufficient resources to deliver activities until each tranche is paid and to cover any costs beyond the grant cap.

What to prepare for submission

• Complete the Proposal Template (Annex 5) following the instructions in the Applicants Guide (Annex 4) and directly addressing Alignment, Excellence, Impact, and Organizational capacity
• Prepare the Budget Template (Annex 6) with clear cost breakdown and partner allocations respecting the per-partner and per-consortium caps
• Compile the Consortium Declaration (Annex 7), Declaration of Honour (Annex 8), and SME Declaration where applicable (Annex 9)
• Review and accept the Model Sub-grant Agreement (Annex 10) and prepare Bank Account Information (Annex 11)
• Ensure eligibility of all partners per Applicants Guide Section 2.2.3 regarding country participation and confirm that no entity participates in more than one consortium or proposal version
• Plan a realistic 18-month work plan aligned with the three phases and their deliverables, with a timeline that supports deliverable-based payments

Evaluation focus and tips

• Alignment: Clearly show how the proposed pilot validates or replicates PRIMARY business model blueprints and targets underutilised agricultural feedstocks in rural settings
• Excellence: Describe the technical approach for testing/applying/validating the process, including methodology, KPIs, and risk mitigation
• Impact: Quantify expected technical, economic, environmental, and social outcomes; explain replicability and scalability to additional European regions and contribution to circular bioeconomy objectives
• Organizational capacity and sufficiency: Demonstrate consortium roles, technical capabilities of the process operator, management, resources, and access to relevant feedstocks and sites
• Meet score thresholds: Each criterion requires a minimum of 3/5, and total must be at least 15/20; all criteria have equal weight

How to apply

• Register and submit via OpenCalls.fund: OpenCalls.fund PRIMARY page; the platform accepts proposals from 09 March 2026 until 08 June 2026, 17:00 Brussels time
• Use the official templates provided on the PRIMARY website: PRIMARY Open Call page
• Consult the FAQ for common questions, including eligibility of non-EU countries and payment scheduling: PRIMARY FAQs on OpenCalls.fund
• Monitor the PRIMARY website for updates and ensure the latest version of your proposal is submitted, as only the last version is evaluated

Summary

The PRIMARY Open Call is a Horizon Europe cascade funding scheme providing €900,000 to 6–9 two-to-three-partner consortia to pilot, validate, and replicate bio-based processing solutions and business model blueprints that valorise underutilised agricultural residues in rural areas. With an 18-month implementation divided into design, development, and impact-validation phases, the call emphasizes deliverable-based payments and requires a technical process operator plus at least one public or private sector partner. Proposals must be submitted via OpenCalls.fund by 08 June 2026, 17:00 Brussels time, and will be evaluated by two external experts against four equally weighted criteria: Alignment, Excellence, Impact, and Organizational capacity. Funding is capped at €150,000 for three-partner consortia and €100,000 for two-partner consortia, with a per-partner maximum of €50,000. Projects should provide concrete evidence of technical feasibility, economic viability, sustainability, and replicability under real rural conditions, and contribute to scaling PRIMARY solutions across eligible European regions in line with Horizon Europe participation rules. Applicants must use the official Proposal and Budget templates and accompanying declarations provided in the PRIMARY Open Call kit and plan for no pre-financing, with payments tied to successful deliverables at the end of each phase.

Funding Opportunity Overview

This is a cascade funding call under the PRIMARY project, a Horizon Europe-funded initiative focused on new business development for farmers and cooperatives in rural areas through local upcycling solutions using underutilized agricultural feedstocks. The PRIMARY Open Call seeks to validate, promote, and replicate proven business model blueprints and develop new value chains for sustainable agricultural waste valorisation across Europe. The call is structured as a single-stage submission process with a deadline of June 8, 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time.

Funding Amount and Allocation

Total Funding Available:€900,000 distributed across 6 to 9 sub-projects.

Grant Per Sub-Project:€150,000 maximum for consortia of three parties; €100,000 maximum for consortia of two parties; €50,000 maximum per individual partner within a consortium.

Payment Structure:All payments are deliverable-based with no pre-financing. Phase 1 Design delivers 20 percent of total grant; Phase 2 Development delivers 50 percent; Phase 3 Impact and Validation delivers final 30 percent. First payment occurs after submission and evaluation of the Phase 1 deliverable in month 4.

Eligibility Criteria

Consortium Composition

• Consortia must include 2 to 3 partners. Single applicants are not eligible. Consortia exceeding 3 entities will be rejected during eligibility evaluation.
• At least one technical partner is mandatory, defined as a process operator or partner capable of testing, applying, or validating the technology or process.
• At least one additional partner from either the public sector such as public bodies, universities, or research institutions, or the private sector such as primary producers, cooperatives, start-ups, SMEs, or NGOs.

Geographic Eligibility

Applicants from European Union member states are eligible. Non-EU entities may apply if they are eligible under the Horizon Europe Regulation 2021/695 and explicitly included in the list of eligible countries provided in Section 2.2.3 of the PRIMARY Open Call Applicants' Guide. Applicants from countries not included in the eligible countries list are not eligible.

Participation Restrictions

• Each entity can participate in only one consortium and submit only one proposal to the PRIMARY Open Call.
• If multiple versions of the same application are submitted, only the last submitted version will be evaluated.
• All applicants automatically accept the terms and conditions of the Open Call as described in the Open Call Kit by submitting a proposal.

Call Timeline

Project Implementation Phases

All selected projects follow a structured three-phase implementation model starting in November 2026 and concluding in April 2028.

Phase 1: Design:November 2026 to February 2027, 4 months. Deliverable is an activity plan. Payment represents 20 percent of total grant upon submission and evaluation of the activity plan.

Phase 2: Development:March 2027 to January 2028, 11 months. Deliverable is a report on implemented activities in accordance with call requirements. Payment represents 50 percent of total grant upon submission and evaluation of the report.

Phase 3: Impact and Validation:February 2028 to April 2028, 3 months. Deliverable is a report on evaluation of impact and replicability of tested processes and technologies. Payment represents final 30 percent of total grant upon submission and evaluation of the report.

Call Objectives and Scope

The PRIMARY Open Call seeks to achieve the following strategic objectives:

• Validate and refine PRIMARY's proven business models and processes for sustainable valorisation of agricultural residues and develop improvements to these models.
• Demonstrate the replicability and scalability potential of PRIMARY's innovative processes in new European regions, providing practical evidence of technical feasibility, economic viability, and environmental sustainability under real rural conditions.
• Develop new profitable value chains for local underutilised agricultural feedstocks, showcasing economic viability through real-world implementation.
• Enhance the PRIMARY project's Stakeholder Platform through the network of selected consortia and foster knowledge transfer between primary production sectors and SMEs to support broader ecosystem development.

Evaluation Process and Criteria

The evaluation of proposals follows a structured two-stage process. First, the PRIMARY Monitoring Committee conducts an eligibility check to discard non-eligible applications. Following the eligibility assessment, qualified proposals are evaluated by carefully selected external reviewers with specific expertise and knowledge in agriculture, bioeconomy, biodiversity, circular economy, and sustainability.

Evaluation Reviewers:Each proposal is reviewed by two external evaluators with academic, technical, and/or industry knowledge relevant to the call topics.

Evaluation Criteria:Four evaluation criteria carry equal weight: Alignment, Excellence, Impact, and Organizational capacity and sufficiency. Each criterion receives a score from 1 to 5 points with a minimum threshold of 3 points per criterion. The minimum total score required is 15 points across all criteria.

Application Submission Process

Proposals must be submitted digitally through the opencalls.fund platform at opencalls.fund. All required application documents, templates, and guidance materials are contained in the PRIMARY Open Call Kit, accessible on the PRIMARY project website under the Open Call section at primary-project.eu.

• Applications must be completed using official templates and submitted before the deadline of June 8, 2026 at 17:00 CET/Brussels time.
• Submissions received through channels other than the opencalls.fund platform will be automatically discarded.
• The PRIMARY Open Call Kit includes the Applicants' Guide, proposal template, budget template, consortium declaration, declaration of honour, SME declaration, model sub-grant agreement, and FAQ section.
• Additional documents required during subsequent phases will be submitted via channels indicated by the PRIMARY consortium during the contracting phase.

Required Documentation and Templates

The PRIMARY Open Call Kit provides comprehensive supporting documentation including:Applicants' Guide detailing all requirements and procedures; Proposal Template for standardized submission format; Budget Template for financial planning; Consortium Declaration confirming partner commitment; Declaration of Honour for legal compliance; SME Declaration for identifying small and medium enterprises; Model Sub-grant Agreement showing contractual terms; Bank Account Information for payment processing; and FAQ addressing common applicant questions.

Key Conditions and Requirements

• Confidentiality is strictly maintained throughout the evaluation process. Applicant identities and proposal contents are handled with utmost discretion.
• Projects selected for funding must demonstrate the technical feasibility, economic viability, and replicability of integrated value-chain solutions under real rural conditions.
• All sub-grantees must deliver specific reports at the end of each phase to receive corresponding payment. No pre-financing is available.
• Projects should focus on sustainable valorisation of agricultural residues and innovative bioeconomy processes aligned with PRIMARY framework principles.
• Support is provided for piloting, adapting, and validating processing solutions and business model blueprints with emphasis on underutilised feedstocks.

Contact and Support

For questions or clarifications regarding the PRIMARY Open Call, applicants should contact primary@opencalls.fund. The PRIMARY project website maintains an FAQ section on the opencalls.fund platform and provides regular updates on call details and information days. Interested applicants are encouraged to visit the PRIMARY website for the latest announcements and subscribe to the project mailing list for updates.

European Context and Strategic Alignment

The PRIMARY Open Call is funded under Horizon Europe Grant Agreement No. 101180167 through the HORIZON-CL6 call for From silos to diversity small-scale bio-based demonstration pilots. It aligns with the European Union's strategic priorities for innovation funding, particularly within Pillar 3 Innovative Europe and the European Innovation Ecosystems framework. The call supports the EU's broader green transition, circular economy objectives, and rural development strategies. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1The 2026 EU annual budget allocates €22,054.4 million to single market, innovation and digital priorities, €71,726.1 million to cohesion, resilience and values, and €56,971.9 million to natural resources and environment, reflecting the centrality of agricultural innovation and sustainability to current EU funding strategies.