Towards commercialization of food systems microbiome solutions

The Horizon Europe funding opportunity titled "Towards commercialization of food systems microbiome solutions" (HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07) is set to open on April 20, 2027, with a deadline for applications on September 23, 2027. The total budget for this initiative is €15.5 million, earmarked for approximately two grants, with individual funding ranging between €7 million and €8 million per project.

Eligible applicants include multi-actor consortia composed of diverse stakeholder groups such as research institutions, businesses (particularly SMEs and startups), public authorities, policy makers, and consumer associations. This multi-actor collaboration is a key requirement, emphasizing a consortium's necessity to facilitate the co-development, testing, validation, and adoption of microbiome solutions.

Funds awarded will primarily support Innovation Actions, focusing on translating microbiome innovations into market-ready solutions that address various challenges faced by food systems, such as enhancing crop yields and safety, improving environmental sustainability, and reducing reliance on chemical inputs. Projects must demonstrate proven technological viability and focus on commercialization strategies, in situ testing, and the creation of effective business models.

Geographically, eligible participants must come from all EU member states as well as associated and certain non-associated countries, in accordance with Horizon Europe's regulations. The targeted sectors include biotechnology, agriculture, environmental sustainability, and bioeconomy, among others.

The application process is structured as a single-stage submission, and historical insights suggest that success rates for similar calls could range from 10% to 20%. While co-funding is not explicitly required, applicants should be prepared to showcase financial capacity and sustainability plans beyond the lifecycle of the grant.

Overall, this initiative aligns with EU policies aimed at promoting sustainable food systems and seeks to overcome existing barriers to efficiently harnessing microbiome technologies in agriculture. Proposals are encouraged to address technological scaling, methodology development, and market access challenges in a collaborative manner, ultimately aiming for innovations that are resilient, competitive, and environmentally friendly.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the Call 02 single stage (2027) (HORIZON-CL6-2027-02). The topic is "Towards commercialization of food systems microbiome solutions" (HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07). This is a HORIZON-IA (Innovation Action) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA). The deadline model is single-stage, with a planned opening date of 20 April 2027 and a deadline of 23 September 2027 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of the projects are to identify barriers and opportunities for scaling up innovative products and technologies that leverage and/or support the microbiome for resilient, competitive, and sustainable organic, circular, and conventional food systems, contributing where relevant to biodiversity, climate, and environmental sustainability. It also aims to improve in-situ testing of innovative microbiome solutions related to organic and conventional food systems to promote their access to the EU market.

The scope of the topic focuses on microbiome solutions that have demonstrated high potential to support food systems, making them more resilient, productive, and environmentally friendly. These solutions can boost crop yields, improve food safety, support biodiversity, and decrease the use of fertilizers or pesticides. However, bringing these solutions to the market faces challenges such as the lack of business models for widespread deployment and consistently producing effective microbiome solutions at scale. The topic is relevant to EU policies related to biotechnology, bioeconomy, life sciences, biodiversity, zero pollution, R&I Food 2030, the Clean Industrial Deal, and digital transition policies (e.g., AI Act).

Proposals should address the following activities: promoting access to the EU market for innovative microbiome solutions that tackle challenges in sectors supporting resilient, competitive, climate- and environmental-friendly, and sustainable food systems; developing technologies, standards, and/or methodologies enabling cost-effective and reliable production and deployment at scale of microbiome solutions; and providing business models for companies, SMEs, and start-ups to facilitate the successful deployment and commercialization of microbiome solutions for the EU market. Projects selected must follow the multi-actor approach, involving researchers, advisors, food and bioeconomy businesses, startups, and SMEs. Proposals should ensure early engagement of researchers, businesses, public authorities, policymakers, and consumer associations to co-develop, test, validate, and adopt the solutions.

The general conditions include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries 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.
3. Other Eligible Conditions requiring proposals to apply the multi-actor approach, as defined in the work programme part and Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5. Evaluation and award: 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.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants, where the granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the action's end, as set out in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and Annex 5.

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

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information includes:

Application form templates available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE RIA, IA).
Evaluation form templates to be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE RIA, IA).
Guidance from the HE Programme Guide.
Model Grant Agreements (MGA) HE MGA.

Additional documents include:

HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The budget overview lists several topics under the call, including:

HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-CLIMATE-01 HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 16,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 8,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-CLIMATE-02 HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 12,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-CLIMATE-03 HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 12,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-CLIMATE-04 HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 22,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 11,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-COMMUNITIES-01 HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 15,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 3 grants with contributions around 5,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-COMMUNITIES-02 HORIZON-IA with a budget of 12,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-01 HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 12,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-02 HORIZON-IA with a budget of 12,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-03 HORIZON-RIA with a budget of 11,800,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions between 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-04 HORIZON-CSA with a budget of 6,000,000 EUR, aiming for 1 grant with a contribution around 6,000,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-05 HORIZON-IA with a budget of 12,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 6,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-06 HORIZON-IA with a budget of 10,000,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions around 5,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07 HORIZON-IA with a budget of 15,500,000 EUR, aiming for around 2 grants with contributions between 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 EUR each.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-08 HORIZON-IA with a budget of 7,800,000 EUR, aiming for 1 grant with a contribution around 7,800,000 EUR.
HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-09 HORIZON-CSA with a budget of 6,750,000 EUR, aiming for 1 grant with a contribution around 6,750,000 EUR.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants after logging into the Portal. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

Support resources include the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk, the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment, and a Partner Search function.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call focuses on fostering the commercialization of microbiome solutions to enhance the resilience, productivity, and sustainability of food systems. It encourages projects that address barriers to market access, develop cost-effective production methods, and create viable business models for microbiome technologies. The call emphasizes a multi-actor approach, requiring collaboration among researchers, businesses, policymakers, and consumers to ensure the successful development and adoption of these innovative solutions. The funding is distributed across various topics related to climate, communities, and farm-to-fork initiatives, with specific budgets and expected contributions per grant. The portal provides extensive resources and support for applicants, including guidelines, FAQs, and partner search tools.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity include researchers, advisors, food and bioeconomy businesses, startups, and SMEs. The program emphasizes a multi-actor approach, requiring the early engagement of researchers, businesses (including SMEs and startups), public authorities, policy makers, and consumer associations.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG], under the HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) framework. Additionally, there are HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) within the call.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium, as it mandates a multi-actor approach. This means that projects selected must involve a variety of actors, including researchers, advisors, businesses (especially SMEs and startups), public authorities, policy makers, and consumer associations.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The opportunity 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. Detailed information can be found in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors: food systems, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, bioeconomy, life sciences, agriculture, climate, environment, and digital transition. Specifically, it focuses on microbiome solutions within these sectors, aiming to make food systems more resilient, productive, and environmentally friendly.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU and non-EU/non-Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is geared towards commercialization, specifically promoting access to the EU market for innovative microbiome solutions. It also includes activities related to developing technologies, standards, and methodologies for cost-effective production and deployment at scale, as well as providing business models for commercialization.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €6,000,000 to €22,000,000. For the specific topic HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07, the budget is €15,500,000, with an indicative grant amount of €7,000,000 to €8,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, as indicated by "Call 02 - single stage (2027) (HORIZON-CL6-2027-02)".

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some context. For example, HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07 indicates that two grants will be awarded.

Co-funding Requirement: The document does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07, focuses on "Towards commercialization of food systems microbiome solutions." It aims to support projects that can scale up innovative microbiome products and technologies to enhance the resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability of food systems. The call encourages a multi-actor approach, bringing together researchers, businesses (including SMEs and startups), public authorities, and consumer associations to co-develop, test, and validate solutions. The funding is provided through HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), with a budget of €15,500,000 and an indicative grant amount of €7,000,000 to €8,000,000 per project. The call is a single-stage application process with a planned opening date of April 20, 2027, and a deadline of September 23, 2027. The overall goal is to promote the access to the EU market of microbiome solutions that address challenges in sectors supporting resilient, competitive, climate and environmental-friendly and sustainable food systems.