Retrofitting of (bio)refineries industrial plants towards higher-value bio-based products

The HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025 grant opportunity, specifically the call HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-04, is part of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking under Horizon Europe. This grant focuses on retrofitting industrial (bio)refineries to produce higher-value bio-based products, aiming to support the EU's circular bioeconomy objectives.

Eligible applicants include startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises, research institutes, universities, and relevant public-private partnerships involved in bio-based industries. A consortium of at least three legal entities from at least two different EU Member States or Associated Countries is required for submission.

Funding is provided as a grant, with a budget of approximately 20 million euros designated for this call. The funding rates can reach up to 60% for industry participants and 100% for academic institutions. The application process is structured as a single-stage open call, with a deadline set for September 18, 2025.

The geographic eligibility predominantly includes EU Member States and Associated Countries, while specific provisions may allow some non-EU entities to participate based on international agreements. The targeted sectors of this call are bio-based industries, particularly focusing on innovative processes for biomass conversion, sustainable chemicals, and biorefinery operations.

Projects should demonstrate production at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 8 for bio-based chemicals or materials, with validation for market-relevant applications being pivotal. Proposals must showcase the establishment of full value chains, including biomass supply and logistics, and also focus on workforce training programs for upskilling and reskilling.

Co-funding from applicants is required, with private sector partners expected to contribute at least 20% in-kind. The anticipated success rates for applications are generally competitive, likely ranging from 10% to 39% based on historical data from similar grants.

This call emphasizes converting existing industrial facilities into more productive bio-refineries, lessening reliance on fossil resources, and enhancing sustainability and economic value in accordance with the EU's Green Deal objectives.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals under the HORIZON Call Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025). The specific topic is HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-04, titled "Retrofitting of (bio)refineries industrial plants towards higher-value bio-based products." This call is for HORIZON JU Innovation Actions (HORIZON-JU-IA) and uses the HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement.

The call opened on April 3, 2025, and has a single-stage deadline of September 18, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The expected outcomes of successful proposals are: a full-scale biorefinery based on a retrofitted industrial plant producing higher-value bio-based products, deployment of a competitive and replicable business model centered on the reconfigured industrial site, improved sustainability and circularity, and increased societal value through direct and indirect employment.

The scope of the call focuses on converting redundant, under-exploited, or obsolete European industrial facilities into biorefineries. It aims to leverage existing infrastructure to contribute to the European bioeconomy. The benefits of retrofitting include easier permits, reduced CAPEX, shorter lead times, faster implementation, fewer production time losses, and lower risks compared to greenfield construction. The call addresses challenges related to converting industrial equipment, establishing bio-based value chains, and reskilling the workforce. Both existing biorefineries and fossil-based industrial plants on brownfield sites are eligible, while greenfield implementations are not.

Proposals should retrofit existing industrial facilities with innovative and sustainable biomass conversion processes to yield more valuable products. They should demonstrate the production of bio-based chemicals and/or materials, reaching TRL 8, and their conversion into end-products, reaching TRL 6 or higher, for validation in market-relevant applications. Proposals should also address cascading valorization of residual streams across the value chain. Food and feed ingredients are excluded.

Additional requirements include establishing a full value chain with biomass supply and logistics, involving biomass providers to foster a local/regional ecosystem around the biorefinery, designing training programs for upskilling/reskilling the workforce, applying the safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) framework, and ensuring complementarities with past and ongoing R&I projects.

A new version of the Application Form (Part B) template is available in the Submission System as of April 4, 2025.

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 are also described in Annex B, while financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are in Annex C. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are detailed in Annex D. Submission and evaluation processes are in Annex F and the Online Manual, and the indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also in Annex F. Legal and financial setup of the grants are described in Annex G.

Specific conditions are outlined in section 2.2.3 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2025. Application and evaluation forms, as well as the Model Grant Agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025, 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 documents.

The budget overview lists various topics, including HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-02, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-01, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-03, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-05, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-03, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-02, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-01, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-03, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-02, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-04, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-04, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-01, and HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-CSA-01, with their respective budgets, stages, opening dates, deadlines, contributions, and indicative number of grants. For example, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-04 has a budget of around 20,000,000 EUR and an indicative number of 1 grant.

There are 48 partner search announcements available. The portal provides links to the Electronic Submission Service and encourages applicants to consult the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk, and the European Charter for Researchers.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on retrofitting existing industrial plants into biorefineries to produce higher-value bio-based products, contributing to the EU's bioeconomy and circular economy goals. It encourages projects that demonstrate innovative biomass conversion processes, establish sustainable value chains, reskill the workforce, and apply safe and sustainable design principles. The call provides funding opportunities for innovation actions with a focus on achieving significant environmental, economic, and social impact. Applicants should carefully review the call conditions, guidelines, and available resources to prepare a competitive proposal.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the context of Horizon Europe and the CBE JU, eligible applicants likely include: SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, and other legal entities capable of conducting research and innovation activities related to bio-based industries. The call emphasizes the involvement of biomass providers and the creation of local/regional ecosystems, suggesting that regional and local authorities or organizations could also be relevant applicants or partners.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG], as indicated in the "Type of MGA" section. The call falls under HORIZON JU Innovation Actions (HORIZON-JU-IA).

Consortium Requirement: The call encourages a Multi-Actor Approach, which implies that a consortium is preferred or even required. The emphasis on establishing a full value chain, including biomass supply and logistics, and fostering a local/regional ecosystem suggests that multiple entities need to be involved to cover the various aspects of the project.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility is for entities located in Europe, as the call focuses on retrofitting industrial facilities within Europe. However, the call also mentions that a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. Therefore, entities from non-EU/non-Associated Countries may be eligible if their countries have specific agreements with Horizon Europe.

Target Sector: The program targets the bioeconomy sector, specifically focusing on the retrofitting of industrial plants, including biorefineries and fossil-based industrial plants, to produce higher-value bio-based products. It also targets sectors related to biomass supply and logistics, bio-based chemicals and materials, and training and reskilling of the workforce.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on Europe. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries are mentioned as potentially eligible if they have specific funding arrangements with Horizon Europe.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at the demonstration and validation stages. The call requires demonstrating the production of bio-based chemicals and/or materials reaching end TRL 8 (Technology Readiness Level 8) and their further conversion into end-product(s) reaching end TRL 6 or higher, to be validated in market-relevant applications.

Funding Amount: The budget overview provides the following information:
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-02: around 3,500,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-01: around 3,500,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-03: around 20,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-05: around 7,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-03: around 7,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-02: around 20,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-01: around 7,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-03: around 3,500,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-02: around 7,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-04: around 7,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-04: around 20,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-01: around 20,000,000 EUR
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-CSA-01: around 1,000,000 EUR
The specific call, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-04, has a budget of around 20,000,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by "Open For Submission" and the availability of application forms in the Submission System. It is a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support their projects.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not explicitly mentioned, but it is standard practice in Horizon Europe projects to require some level of co-funding from the beneficiaries.

This opportunity is part of the Horizon Europe program, specifically under the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU). It aims to support projects that contribute to the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the EU Zero pollution ambition, and the EU Industrial strategy. The focus of this particular call, HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IAFlag-04, is on retrofitting existing industrial facilities, including biorefineries and fossil-based plants, to produce higher-value bio-based products. The call encourages projects that retrofit existing industrial facilities with innovative and sustainable biomass conversion processes, leading to more valuable products than the old processes. Projects should demonstrate the production of bio-based chemicals and/or materials at TRL 8 and their conversion into end-products at TRL 6 or higher, validated in market-relevant applications. The call emphasizes the establishment of a full value chain, including biomass supply and logistics, and the creation of a local/regional ecosystem around the biorefinery. It also requires the design and implementation of training programs for upskilling/reskilling the workforce and the application of the safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) framework. The total budget for this specific call is approximately 20 million EUR, and the application deadline is September 18, 2025. Applicants should form a consortium, including biomass providers and other relevant stakeholders, and submit their proposals through the Funding & Tenders Portal.