Strategic Partnerships for Raw Materials: Innovative Approaches for sustainable production of Critical Raw Materials (IA)

This grant opportunity falls under Horizon Europe, specifically designed to bolster the EU's resilience in raw materials supply chains by promoting sustainable and responsible sourcing of critical raw materials. It aims to fund projects that develop and demonstrate innovative extraction, processing, and refining technologies for primary and secondary raw materials, aligning with the objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act.

Eligible applicants include legal entities established in EU Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, the Andean Community, and countries with which the EU has strategic partnerships or trade agreements pertaining to raw materials. The grant is a monetary support mechanism, primarily delivered through Innovation Actions, Research and Innovation Actions, Coordination and Support Actions, and Programme Cofund Actions.

The grant requires the formation of consortia that must consist of various stakeholders, including raw materials industries from targeted countries and downstream users from the EU. Projects should demonstrate collaboration with countries identified in strategic partnerships, particularly focusing on innovation and sustainability within the raw materials sector.

Funding amounts vary, typically ranging from €1 million to €45 million, depending on the specific type of action and project maturity stage, evaluating projects from research to innovation. The submission process involves a single-stage application, with the deadline set for September 23, 2025. Co-funding requirements are likely, with usual practice indicating a 30% contribution from industry partners.

The grant is structured to ensure a balanced portfolio across four strategic partnership groups, aiming to reduce environmental impacts and improve the overall viability and sustainability of raw material operations.

This funding opportunity supports the development of a reliable and sustainable raw materials supply essential for EU industries. It encourages innovative, environmentally conscious approaches and emphasizes market exploitation and integration of circular economy principles throughout the project lifecycle.

This EU funding opportunity aims to bolster the EU's resilience in raw materials supply chains by promoting sustainable and responsible sourcing of both primary and secondary critical raw materials. This initiative directly aligns with the objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act and seeks to reduce the EU's reliance on a limited number of third countries for these essential resources.

The expected outcomes of funded projects include:

Strengthened EU cooperation with countries that have established strategic partnerships on raw materials.

Improved industrial viability, safety, and reduced environmental impacts of raw material operations, leading to measurable improvements.

Diversification of EU sourcing of critical raw materials from third countries.

Improved responsible supply of raw materials to Europe, adhering to EU principles for sustainable raw materials, which encompass social, environmental, and economic performance criteria.

Tailored dissemination and exploitation of project outputs for organizations and industries involved in raw materials within the EU and strategic partnership countries.

Promotion of the utilization of the UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for Resources) and UNRMS (United Nations Resource Management System) in the raw materials sector.

The scope of eligible proposals includes:

Development and demonstration of extraction, processing, or refining technologies to facilitate and increase recovery in the exploitation of primary critical raw materials (minerals and metals only). Proposals must demonstrate and assess reduced environmental and social impacts. Additional exploration aspects can be included if justified.

Justification of the relevance of all targeted minerals and metals, with priority given to EU critical raw materials. Sea mining is explicitly excluded.

Collaboration with countries with which the EU has signed Strategic Partnerships on Raw Materials, focusing on one of the following four groups:

Group 1: Argentina, Chile

Group 2: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia

Group 3: Kazakhstan, Serbia, Uzbekistan

Group 4: Australia, Greenland (this group may be extended to include countries that sign strategic partnerships before the application deadline).

Consortia must include raw materials industry representation from the targeted country within the chosen group, as well as downstream users from the EU.

Demonstration of technology on mineral resources of the targeted partner country, with measurement and assessment of environmental (GHG emissions, air pollutants, water, soils, biodiversity) and social impacts.

Envisaging clustering activities with other relevant projects for cross-project cooperation, consultations, joint activities on cross-cutting issues, and sharing of results, including participation in joint meetings and communication events. Proposals should allocate a dedicated work package or task and appropriate resources for this purpose.

Facilitating the market uptake of developed solutions through industry- and user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain, considering standardization aspects where relevant. The action should also include analysis of financial opportunities to ensure market exploitation and replication of the circular business model behind the developed solutions as new processes, products, or services.

Proposals must include a business case and exploitation strategy.

Integration of the gender dimension (sex and/or gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not mandatory but strongly encouraged if relevant.

The general conditions for this funding opportunity 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 as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other eligible conditions, including restrictions on participation to legal entities established in specific countries (Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community, and countries with EU strategic partnerships on raw materials and trade agreements with raw materials cooperation provisions). Proposals including legal entities from ineligible countries will be rejected.

Requirements for using Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS for projects utilizing satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and timing data.

Exceptional eligibility for Union funding for legal entities established in countries with EU strategic partnerships for raw materials, due to the scope of the topic.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Grants will be awarded to ensure a balanced portfolio across the four strategic partnership groups, provided applications meet all thresholds.

Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and financial set-up of the grants as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions as described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms, and the model grant agreement (MGA) are available in the Submission System.

Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025, the HE Programme Guide, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, decisions on lump sum contributions, rules for legal entity validation, and various guidance documents and statements related to EU grants and the Funding & Tenders Portal.

The budget overview for various topics under the INDUSTRY call (HORIZON-CL4-2025-01) is as follows:

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-DIGITAL-61 (HORIZON-RIA): 30,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 5, contribution per grant around 6,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-DIGITAL-62 (HORIZON-CSA): 3,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 3,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-60 (HORIZON-CSA): 1,500,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 1,500,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-61 (HORIZON-CSA): 1,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 1,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-62 (HORIZON-CSA): 2,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 2,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-63 (HORIZON-CSA): 2,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 2,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-64 (HORIZON-CSA): 5,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 5, contribution per grant between 500,000 and 1,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-65 (HORIZON-IA): 3,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 3,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-HUMAN-66 (HORIZON-CSA): 1,500,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-31 (HORIZON-IA): 10,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 2, contribution per grant around 5,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-44 (HORIZON-CSA): 2,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 2,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-45 (HORIZON-IA): 28,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 28,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-52 (HORIZON-RIA): 15,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 3, contribution per grant between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-61 (HORIZON-IA): 24,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 3, contribution per grant around 8,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-62 (HORIZON-IA): 30,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 4, contribution per grant around 7,500,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-63 (HORIZON-IA): 24,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 3, contribution per grant around 8,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64 (HORIZON-COFUND): 45,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 90,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-01 (HORIZON-IA): 35,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 6, contribution per grant between 5,000,000 and 7,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-02 (HORIZON-RIA): 35,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 7, contribution per grant between 4,000,000 and 6,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-05 (HORIZON-IA): 42,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 6, contribution per grant between 5,000,000 and 7,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-31 (HORIZON-IA): 25,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 3, contribution per grant between 8,000,000 and 10,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-32 (HORIZON-IA): 25,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 3, contribution per grant between 8,000,000 and 10,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-33 (HORIZON-RIA): 25,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 3, contribution per grant between 6,000,000 and 8,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-34 (HORIZON-IA): 25,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 3, contribution per grant between 5,000,000 and 9,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-36 (HORIZON-RIA): 24,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 4, contribution per grant between 6,000,000 and 8,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-37 (HORIZON-RIA): 28,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 2, contribution per grant around 14,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-38 (HORIZON-CSA): 1,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 1,000,000 EUR.

HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-TWIN-TRANSITION-39 (HORIZON-CSA): 2,000,000 EUR, indicative number of grants: 1, contribution per grant around 2,000,000 EUR.

The opening date for submissions is May 22, 2025, and the deadline for submission is September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

This funding opportunity is designed to enhance the EU's strategic autonomy in raw materials by fostering innovation, sustainability, and international partnerships. It targets a wide range of activities, from research and innovation to coordination and support actions, with a strong emphasis on collaboration with strategic partner countries and the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act. The EU is seeking projects that will not only improve the supply of critical raw materials but also minimize environmental and social impacts, ensuring a responsible and sustainable approach to raw materials management. The call is structured to encourage a balanced portfolio of projects across different strategic partnership groups, promoting diversification and resilience in the EU's raw materials value chains.

In simpler terms, this is a call for projects that can help the EU secure a more reliable and sustainable supply of the raw materials needed for its industries. The EU wants to work with other countries that are committed to responsible mining and processing practices. Projects should focus on developing new technologies, reducing environmental harm, and creating strong business cases for sustainable raw materials production. The EU is particularly interested in projects that involve collaboration with specific countries and that can contribute to a more circular and resilient raw materials economy.

Eligible Applicant Types: Legal entities established in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and countries with which the EU has concluded strategic partnerships on raw materials as well as trade agreements (or association/economic partnership or equivalent agreements, including the new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships) containing raw materials cooperation provisions (i.e. Energy and Raw materials chapters). This encompasses a wide range of potential applicants, including industry, research organizations, and other relevant entities.

Funding Type: The primary funding mechanism is a grant, specifically through HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium. The consortia should include raw materials industry from the targeted country in the focussed group, as well as downstream users from the EU.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries include EU Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community, and countries with which the EU has concluded strategic partnerships on raw materials, as well as those with trade agreements containing raw materials cooperation provisions.

Target Sector: The program targets the raw materials sector, with a focus on critical and strategic raw materials for EU industrial value chains. This includes extraction, processing, and refining technologies, as well as sustainable sourcing and responsible supply of raw materials. It also touches on digital technologies, human factors, and the twin transition (digital and green).

Mentioned Countries: Argentina, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Australia, Greenland, EU Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of projects ranges from research and innovation actions (RIA) to innovation actions (IA), indicating a focus on both development and demonstration of technologies.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary widely depending on the specific topic and type of action. They range from 1,000,000 EUR for Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) to 45,000,000 EUR for HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions. Innovation Actions (IA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) typically fall within the 3,000,000 EUR to 35,000,000 EUR range.

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

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support their projects.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential competition.

Co-funding Requirement: For HORIZON-COFUND actions, co-funding is required, as indicated by the budget breakdown showing funding from both the EU and other sources.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call focuses on boosting the EU's resilience in raw materials supply chains by promoting sustainable and responsible sourcing of critical raw materials. It aims to support projects that develop and demonstrate innovative extraction, processing, and refining technologies, while also reducing environmental and social impacts. The call is structured around several topics spanning digital technologies, human factors, materials science, and the twin transition (digital and green).

Eligible applicants include a wide range of legal entities from EU Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, and other countries with strategic partnerships or trade agreements with the EU. Projects must involve collaboration with countries with which the EU has signed Strategic Partnerships on Raw Materials, focusing on one of four designated groups of countries.

The funding is provided through various Horizon Europe instruments, including Innovation Actions (IA), Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), and Programme Cofund Actions, with budgets ranging from 1,000,000 EUR to 45,000,000 EUR. The application process is single-stage, and proposals must include a business case and exploitation strategy. The call aims to foster a balanced portfolio of projects and facilitate the market uptake of developed solutions.