Scaling-up nutritional proteins from alternative sources

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal has announced a grant opportunity under the HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025 program, specifically focusing on the topic HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-03, titled "Scaling-up nutritional proteins from alternative sources." This call is a part of the Horizon Europe initiative, utilizing a grant mechanism called HORIZON JU Innovation Actions.

The application process is single-stage, opening on April 3, 2025, and closing on September 18, 2025. The grant aims to support projects that increase the availability of sustainably sourced nutritional proteins, contributing to the EU's bioeconomy strategy, sustainability goals, and food security.

Eligible applicants include a diverse range of entities, such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large companies, research institutions, universities, agricultural cooperatives, and other stakeholders within the bio-based industry. The opportunity encourages collaboration across multiple stakeholders, implying a preference for consortium-based projects.

The geographic scope includes entities from EU member states, Horizon Europe-associated countries, and selected third countries with bilateral agreements. The funding amount allocated for this initiative is approximately €14 million, which falls under a broader call budget of €172 million.

Projects are expected to demonstrate innovative processes for the extraction and production of nutritional proteins from alternative sources like insects, algae, and plant-based feedstocks. Additionally, the proposals should focus on downstream separation and purification processes that ensure product quality and stability, nutritional adequacy, and address resource efficiency in a circular economy context.

Co-funding is required, with applicants expected to provide at least 30% private contribution. Though specific success rates for this call are not provided, similar calls have indicated high levels of competition, often below 20%.

The application emphasizes safety compliance with EU regulatory frameworks and includes components aimed at fostering consumer acceptance from the start of product development. The outcomes should align with key EU strategies, including the Green Deal objectives, aiming for sustainable and resilient food systems.

In summary, this grant supports large-scale production of sustainable proteins from non-traditional sources to reduce reliance on imports in animal feed, targeting cross-sector consortia. The overall goal is to enhance the availability of nutritional proteins, improve food system resilience, and promote innovative, resource-efficient solutions that adhere to the principles of the circular bioeconomy.

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-IA-03, titled "Scaling-up nutritional proteins from alternative sources." This call falls under the HORIZON-JU-IA (HORIZON JU Innovation Actions) type of action, utilizing the HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] model grant agreement.

The call opened for submission on April 3, 2025, and has a deadline of September 18, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. It employs a single-stage submission model.

The expected outcome of successful proposals is to contribute to the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the EU Industrial Strategy, the Circular Economy Action Plan, Europe’s food security, the Farm2Fork strategy, the Food 2030 pathways, and the EU Initiative on Biotech and Biomanufacturing. Specifically, projects should aim to increase the availability of sustainably sourced nutritional proteins, enhance the resilience of food systems through diversification, contribute to the sustainability of food systems within planetary boundaries, and improve consumer awareness and acceptance of alternative protein sources.

The scope of the call addresses the challenge of ensuring a sufficient and sustainable supply of proteins for human and animal nutrition. It emphasizes the shift towards sustainably sourced alternative proteins to build food system resilience and reduce dependency on protein imports, aligning with the European Protein Strategy. The call acknowledges the existence of various alternative protein sources and the need for increased R&I efforts to promote their adoption as key nutritional food ingredients while ensuring safety and consumer acceptance. It builds upon previous R&I projects focused on new production technologies and calls for fostering innovation by scaling up processes to meet end-user needs, reduce production costs, and improve circularity.

Proposals should demonstrate innovative processes for the extraction and/or production of proteins for nutritional food applications, utilizing alternative sources such as plants, invertebrates, microorganisms, fungi, aquatic biomass, and fermentation of bio-based feedstock (including biogenic gaseous carbon). The focus is on nutritional proteins for food, with the co-production of other bio-based products, including feed, also considered within the scope via a cascading approach. The call encompasses pure proteins, protein-rich mixtures, and protein-enriched ingredients, requiring a protein content of at least 50% by weight.

Projects should address efficient and cost-effective downstream separation and purification processes to meet the required quality and stability for final applications. They should also demonstrate the nutritional adequacy of the targeted products and their effect on food formulations using established testing procedures. Additional properties, such as the prevention of intolerances/allergies and improved digestibility, are also within the scope, depending on the application.

Resource efficiency and circularity aspects must be addressed to increase economic and socio-environmental added value. When pursuing circular models, projects must ensure that pathogens and contaminants are not reintroduced into the loop to prevent negative toxicological effects.

In addition to the general requirements for this type of action as detailed in section 2.2.3.1 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2025, proposals should:

Test the safety of developed proteins and formulations through toxicological tests, adhering to EU regulatory requirements and EFSA guidelines. Identify potential regulatory gaps and provide recommendations to overcome them.

Include a task focused on consumer awareness and acceptance, involving end-users (including consumers) from the early stages to assess market acceptance and incorporate insights into product development.

Ensure complementarities with past and ongoing R&I projects addressing similar challenges, including those funded under Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe and by the BBI JU/CBE JU, such as SMART PROTEIN, NEXTGENPROTEINS, SUSINCHAIN, PROFUTURE, SYLPLANT, PLENITUDE, ALEHOOP, and ZEST.

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 (described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form), eligible countries (described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide for non-EU/non-Associated Countries), other eligible conditions (described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes), financial and operational capacity and exclusion (described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes), evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds (described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes), submission and evaluation processes (described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual), indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement (described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes), and legal and financial setup of the grants (described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes).

Specific conditions are detailed in section 2.2.3 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2025. Application and evaluation forms are available in the Submission System, along with the standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA), the HE Programme Guide, the HE MGA, and call-specific instructions for the CBE JU Call for proposals 2025. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 (General Introduction and General Annexes), 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, LEAR appointment and financial capacity assessment, the EU Grants AGA, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement.

The budget overview indicates that approximately EUR 7,000,000 is allocated to the HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-IA-03 topic, with an indicative number of 1 grant to be awarded. The call adopts a single-stage submission process, opening on April 3, 2025, and closing on September 18, 2025.

A partner search function is available, with 53 searches already listed. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

To start the submission process, applicants must access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button, selecting the appropriate action type and model grant agreement.

The Funding & Tenders Portal provides various support resources, including an Online Manual, a Horizon Europe Programme Guide, a FAQ section, a Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points, the Enterprise Europe Network, an IT Helpdesk, the European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC and ETSI Research Helpdesks, the European Charter for Researchers, and a Partner Search tool.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on scaling up the production and utilization of nutritional proteins from alternative sources to enhance food system resilience, sustainability, and consumer acceptance. It encourages innovative processes, efficient downstream processing, nutritional adequacy testing, resource efficiency, and circularity. The call also emphasizes safety testing, consumer engagement, and alignment with existing research efforts. The total budget for this specific topic is approximately EUR 7 million, with the expectation of funding one project. The call aims to contribute to various EU strategies and initiatives related to bioeconomy, industrial strategy, circular economy, food security, and biotechnology.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given the context of Horizon Europe, CBE JU, Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), and Innovation Actions (IA), eligible applicants typically include a mix of entities such as universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other organizations capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The partner search announcements suggest that a wide range of entities can participate.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]. The call includes both Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Innovation Actions (IA), which are both types of grants.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to favor consortia. While not explicitly stated that a single applicant is ineligible, the presence of a partner search function and the nature of Horizon Europe projects suggest that collaborative projects involving multiple organizations are preferred.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The text 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, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The target sector is the bioeconomy, specifically focusing on scaling up the production and use of nutritional proteins from alternative sources. This includes sectors related to food, agriculture, biotech, and biomanufacturing. The program targets the implementation of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, EU Industrial Strategy, Circular Economy Action Plan, Europe’s food security, Farm2Fork strategy, Food 2030 pathways, and the EU Initiative on Biotech and Biomanufacturing.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the opportunity is open to EU member states, associated countries, and potentially some non-EU/non-associated countries under specific provisions.

Project Stage: The project stage ranges from research and innovation (RIA) to innovation actions (IA). This suggests that projects can be in the development, validation, demonstration, or commercialization stages, with a focus on scaling up existing technologies and processes.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the type of action. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) have budgets around EUR 3.5 million, Innovation Actions (IA) have budgets around EUR 7 million or EUR 20 million, and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) have budgets around EUR 1 million.

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, development, and innovation activities.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe program, specifically the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU). It aims to support projects that scale up the production and use of nutritional proteins from alternative sources, contributing to the EU's bioeconomy strategy, food security, and sustainability goals. The call is open to a wide range of participants, including research organizations, businesses, and other entities from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially some non-EU countries. Projects should focus on demonstrating innovative processes for protein extraction and production, addressing downstream separation and purification, demonstrating nutritional adequacy, and ensuring resource efficiency and circularity. The call includes various types of actions, including Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) with budgets around EUR 3.5 million, Innovation Actions (IA) with budgets around EUR 7 million or EUR 20 million, and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) with budgets around EUR 1 million. The application process is a single-stage submission, with a deadline of September 18, 2025. The overall goal is to increase the availability of sustainably sourced nutritional proteins, enhance the resilience of food systems, and improve consumer awareness and acceptance of alternative protein sources.