The ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus and marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR)

The European Commission is offering a funding opportunity under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically within Cluster 6, focusing on "Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment." This call, designated as HORIZON-CL6-2025-02, aims to support research and innovation actions related to marine carbon dioxide removal and its connection to the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus. The application process is a single-stage open call with a deadline of September 16, 2025.

Eligible applicant types include research institutes, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public-private partnerships, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) specializing in marine research and technologies. The funding mechanism follows a lump sum grant model, with typical funding amounts ranging from €1 million to €5 million per project, although this can vary.

Projects must form consortia comprising at least three independent entities from different EU member states or associated countries, and international collaboration is encouraged. The geographic eligibility encompasses EU member states, associated countries, and international organizations with specific provisions for funding.

The targeted sectors include climate action, ocean sustainability, biodiversity, marine biotechnology, and environmental monitoring. The initiative aims for outcomes such as enhanced understanding of ocean interventions, improved monitoring capabilities, and evidence-based decision-making for climate and ocean sustainability. The call includes two main research options: Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) and monitoring capabilities for marine carbon dioxide removal.

Funding will facilitate comprehensive assessments of environmental impacts, technological readiness, and governance considerations, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches that include social sciences and humanities perspectives. Collaboration with existing research infrastructures and initiatives will be vital for project success.

Overall, this call seeks to accelerate the development of scalable solutions for climate neutrality and ocean sustainability, reinforcing European leadership in this critical area. Applicants are encouraged to consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide and engage with national contact points for assistance.

The European Commission is offering funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically within Cluster 6, focusing on "Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment." The call, designated as HORIZON-CL6-2025-02, is a single-stage call with an opening date of May 6, 2025, and a deadline of September 16, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The funding is provided through HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA), and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions, utilizing the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model grant agreement.

The overarching goal is to support the European Union's climate neutrality and ocean sustainability objectives by enhancing the understanding of ocean climate interventions, assessing their impacts and risks, and developing monitoring and response measures. This initiative aligns with global biodiversity and climate goals, emphasizing the precautionary principle in decision-making at various levels.

The expected outcomes of the funded projects include:

Advanced knowledge on scientific, environmental, legal, socio-political, and governance aspects of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE).
Improved modeling, monitoring, and simulation capabilities, incorporating AI, for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) verification and reporting, along with enhanced Earth System Models (ESMs) and contributions to the Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (CDRMIP).
Enabled evidence-based decision-making on mCDR at European and global levels, reinforcing European leadership in the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus and contributing to global scientific assessments.

The scope of the call includes two main options:

Option A: Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE): This option focuses on the biogeochemical and physiological responses and impacts of OAE on marine ecosystems. Projects under this option are expected to:

Elucidate the efficacy, effectiveness, feasibility, and scalability of OAE, considering technological readiness, lead time, carbon uptake, ocean warming and acidification reduction, duration of effects, termination effects, Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI), environmental and ecological risks, co-benefits, disbenefits, cost-effectiveness, and trade-offs.
Employ a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and consider all sustainability dimensions, particularly SDGs 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, across different temporal and spatial scales.
Address the desirability, ethical, social, political, and governability considerations from an international perspective to inform decision-making about OAE.
Assess the short, medium, and long-term impacts of OAE on ocean biogeochemistry, pelagic, coastal, and deep-ocean ecosystems, marine organisms, and plankton dynamics.
Evaluate the rate and severity of local impacts, comparing multiple datasets to understand OAE's biological and ecological effects regionally and globally, including its impact on human wellbeing and potential accumulation of contaminants in food chains.
Utilize numerical modeling to assess the consequences under various scenarios and improve the precision of predictions for ESMs, IAMs, and the Carbon Dioxide Removal Model Intercomparison Project (CDRMIP).
Advance knowledge related to carbon accounting costs and the challenges of environmental monitoring.

Option B: Monitoring the global ocean for safe, verifiable, and sustainable potential marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR): This option focuses on establishing monitoring capabilities for mCDR. Projects are expected to:

Establish building blocks and capabilities for long-term, sustainable, rigorous, and standardized monitoring of marine carbon dioxide removal and sequestration, including operational system requirements, detection, attribution, and determination.
Advance empirical approaches and data for data-based ocean modeling and develop ocean simulation capabilities based on integrated physical, biogeochemical, and ecological oceanic components.
Develop monitoring capabilities to quantify the effectiveness and durability of carbon sequestration, particularly in the offshore mesopelagic water column, and identify environmental and ecological impacts on ocean and marine ecosystems functioning.
Enable monitoring of multiple components of the carbonate system, especially in coastal zones, at appropriate spatial and temporal resolution, considering existing monitoring schemes and databases like CMEMS, GLODAP, and SOCAT.
Utilize enhanced data from observing/modelling to advance scientific knowledge of the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus and potential impacts of deliberate perturbations in the ocean, particularly in deep-sea and coastal environments.

For both options, strong collaboration mechanisms are required, including dedicated tasks, resources, and plans for collaboration and synergies with other initiatives. Actions should build on existing observing platforms, such as the Copernicus programme, and strengthen current capacities using an interdisciplinary and ecosystem-based approach. Research should include Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) perspectives, gender considerations, and a comprehensive justice perspective, including intergenerational aspects. International cooperation is essential.

Strong linkages should be established with activities under the UN Decade of Ocean Science and ongoing Horizon projects, the Copernicus marine service (CMEMS), GOOS, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), MBON of GEOBON, ICOS, GCOS, and other relevant international Ocean Observing Initiatives. All in-situ data collected should follow INSPIRE principles and be available through open access repositories supported by the European Commission (Copernicus and EMODnet). Synergies with the Horizon Europe Mission Restore our Ocean and waters are encouraged, and project outputs may contribute to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean and the Destination Earth initiative.

This call is part of a coordination initiative between ESA and the European Commission on Earth System Science, requiring sufficient means and resources for effective coordination. Projects should leverage data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud, Copernicus, and relevant data spaces. Collaboration with existing European Research Infrastructures, such as those prioritised by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), is encouraged.

The admissibility conditions, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria, evaluation and award processes, and legal and financial setup are detailed in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum, as defined in the relevant Commission Decision.

Applicants are advised to consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and FAQs for detailed guidance on proposal submission, evaluation, and grant management. National Contact Points (NCPs) and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) are available to provide support and assistance.

The available budget and indicative number of grants for each topic are as follows:

HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-01: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-02: EUR 19,500,000, Indicative number of grants: 3
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-03: EUR 10,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-04: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-05: EUR 23,000,000 (for years 2025, 2026 and 2027), Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-01: EUR 13,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-02: EUR 6,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-03: EUR 6,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-04: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01: EUR 30,000,000 (for years 2025, 2026 and 2027), Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-02: EUR 40,000,000 (for years 2025, 2026 and 2027), Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-03: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04: EUR 11,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-05: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-06: EUR 16,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-07: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-08: EUR 6,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-09: EUR 3,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-10: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-11: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-12: EUR 10,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-13: EUR 2,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-14: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-15: EUR 35,000,000 (in 2025), EUR 45,000,000 (in 2026), EUR 50,000,000 (in 2027), Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-16: EUR 6,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-17: EUR 8,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to foster research and innovation in ocean-based climate interventions, specifically focusing on marine carbon dioxide removal techniques. It encourages projects that address both the scientific and socio-economic aspects of these interventions, ensuring they are environmentally safe, ethically sound, and contribute to achieving climate neutrality and ocean sustainability. The call provides funding for a range of activities, from research and innovation actions to coordination and support actions, with a strong emphasis on collaboration, international cooperation, and the utilization of existing European research infrastructures and data platforms. The ultimate goal is to inform evidence-based decision-making and promote European leadership in the field of ocean-climate-biodiversity science.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include all international organizations, research institutes, universities, SMEs, and other entities capable of conducting research and innovation actions. 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.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily grant-based, utilizing HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND). Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium, with a strong collaboration mechanism. Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources, and a plan on how they will collaborate and ensure synergies with relevant activities carried out under other initiatives.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states, associated countries, and non-EU/non-associated countries that have made specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects. All international organisations are exceptionally eligible for funding.

Target Sector: The program targets the climate, ocean sustainability, biodiversity, food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture, and environment sectors. Specifically, it focuses on marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), and related research and innovation actions.

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

Project Stage: The project stage encompasses research, development, and innovation, with an emphasis on improving scientific understanding, developing monitoring and response measures, and enabling evidence-based decision-making.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic and action type, ranging from €2,000,000 to €50,000,000. Indicative contributions for individual grants range from around €2,000,000 to €130,000,000.

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 lump sum grants to support their research and innovation activities.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates vary depending on the topic, with the indicative number of grants ranging from 1 to 3 per topic.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is required for HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND).

Summary: This Horizon Europe Cluster 6 call focuses on "The ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus and marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR)." It aims to fund research and innovation actions that enhance the understanding of ocean climate interventions, improve monitoring capabilities, and support evidence-based decision-making for climate and ocean sustainability. The call includes various topics related to climate, communities, and farm-to-fork initiatives, with a particular emphasis on Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) and marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR). Applicants are expected to form consortia and develop strong collaboration mechanisms to ensure synergies with existing initiatives and programs. The funding is provided as lump sum grants, and the call is open to a wide range of eligible entities, including international organizations, research institutes, universities, and SMEs, from EU member states, associated countries, and non-EU/non-associated countries with specific funding provisions. The call seeks to address the uncertainties surrounding the scalability and impacts of mCDR technologies, promote responsible research practices, and contribute to global climate and biodiversity objectives.