Waste-to-value devices - circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials

The EIC Pathfinder Challenge 2025 is focused on "Waste-to-value devices - circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials." This grant opportunity is designed to support the development of innovative technologies that transform problematic waste streams into valuable resources, thereby promoting a circular economy. The initiative specifically targets hard-to-recycle synthetic polymer materials, flue gases, wastewater, and seawater desalination brines.

Applicants can include universities, research organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, and natural persons established in EU Member States or associated countries. Both single entities and consortia are eligible, with consortia needing to have at least three independent legal entities from different countries.

The funding type is a lump sum grant under the Horizon Europe framework, with funding amounts ranging from €500,000 to €4,000,000 per project. The total budget allocated for this challenge is €120,000,000. The application process follows a single-stage submission format, and the final deadline for applications is October 29, 2025.

The focus areas of the challenge include developing fully integrated waste-to-value devices powered by renewable energy to produce additional value products, understanding the mechanisms behind these devices through computational materials science and AI, and employing bottom-up synthetic biology to create tailored microbial cell factories for waste degradation.

Projects must reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 within a 3 to 4 year project lifespan, and solutions must emphasize energy and material efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts. Notably, the initiative aligns with broader EU policies, such as Fit for 55 and the Circular Economy Action Plan, aiming to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and drive innovations that can lead to significant environmental and economic benefits.

The overall objective is to improve local energy and resource supply, increase recycling rates, and support the decentralized production of fuels, chemicals, and materials. The expected impacts encompass removing micro- and nano-plastics and promoting a circular economy through innovative waste management approaches.

The EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2025, specifically topic HORIZON-EIC-2025-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-04, focuses on "Waste-to-value devices - circular production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials." This call aims to develop next-generation technologies that transform problematic waste streams into essential building blocks for a future circular economy. The challenge targets synthetic polymer materials, flue gases, wastewater, and seawater desalination brines that are currently difficult to recycle. The goal is to create scalable, easily applicable technologies that yield products with higher economic value than waste destruction.

The scope is limited to technologies with low Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), including solar reforming, synthetic biology devices, brine mining, integrated capture and conversion technologies, microbial-based, and photocatalytic remediation processes. Computational material science, AI, and bottom-up synthetic biology are supported at the fundamental research level. Thermochemical approaches and "dark" chemical recycling are excluded, as are food, biomass, traditional bulk metal, glass, paper, cardboard, and mono-PET waste.

The specific objectives are divided into three focus areas:

Area 1: Fully integrated waste-to-value devices: This area focuses on devices for converting waste streams into fuels, chemicals, and materials, as well as devices for remediation, powered solely by renewable energy sources, preferably sunlight. The aim is to produce added-value products beyond just hydrogen. Specific device types include:

Fully integrated solar reforming or synthetic biology devices for treating synthetic polymer materials.
Integrated capture and conversion technologies for flue gases or wastewater.
Membrane-based and electrochemical brine mining technologies for seawater desalination brines.
Ex-situ remediation devices based on microbial/enzymatic and/or photocatalytic degradation for wastewater and seawater.

Proposals must address the complete waste-to-value process and should reach TRL 4 within a 3-4 year project lifetime. The processes must not down-cycle the waste and should be energy and material-efficient, minimizing environmental footprint. The devices must be recyclable-by-design and use environmentally safe materials. Proposals should benchmark against existing recycling methods.

Area 2: Understanding underlying mechanisms by means of computational material science and AI: This area aims for scientific breakthroughs in understanding the physical, chemical, and biological processes that enable sustainable waste-to-value devices. Specific objectives include:

Exploring fundamental phenomena crucial to waste-to-value device types, such as catalyst development and interface engineering.
Developing accurate and resource-efficient quantum mechanical and AI methods.
Bridging scales from atomic to macroscopic levels within a multiscale approach.
Validating theoretical models using devices from Area 1.

Area 3: Cells from scratch by means of bottom-up synthetic biology: This area focuses on delivering scientific breakthroughs in bottom-up synthetic biology to enable the use of tailored microbial cell factories for waste degradation and valorization. Specific objectives include:

Developing synthetic, fully artificial cells for biotechnology applications like carbon fixation or polymer decomposition.
Engineering cell-like systems to produce compounds from water and carbon oxides.
Engineering cell-like systems to decompose diverse waste types, especially synthetic plastic waste.

The expected outcomes and impacts align with REPowerEU, Fit for 55, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Waste Framework Directive, the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, and related strategies and directives. The selected projects should collectively cover Areas 1, 2, and 3, with a maximum of one proposal selected from each of Areas 2 and 3. Area 1 aims to cover as many device categories as possible. The projects should contribute to:

Local energy and resource supply.
Increased share of recycled waste.
Micro-/nano plastic removal.
Decentralized, circular production of fuels, chemicals, and materials.

Eligibility requires meeting general requirements (Annex 2) and specific requirements for the Challenge. Consortia must include at least three legal entities: one from a Member State and two others from different Member States or Associated Countries. Universities, research organizations, SMEs, start-ups, and natural persons are eligible, but mid-caps and larger companies are not permitted for single beneficiary projects.

Applications involving European communication networks (5G, post-5G) may be restricted. The proposal's sections on Excellence, Impact, and Implementation must be a maximum of 30 A4 pages.

The call opens on 24 July 2025, with a deadline of 29 October 2025, 17:00 Brussels time. The budget is 120,000,000 EUR, and the indicative number of grants is 8. The contributions range from 500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR.

In summary, this EIC Pathfinder Challenge seeks innovative projects that can transform problematic waste streams into valuable resources, contributing to a circular economy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. It encourages interdisciplinary approaches and the development of scalable technologies with a focus on sustainability and economic viability. The challenge is structured around three main areas: developing fully integrated waste-to-value devices, understanding the underlying mechanisms through computational science and AI, and creating synthetic cells for waste degradation and valorization. The ultimate goal is to foster a portfolio of projects that collectively address the challenge of waste management and resource recovery, leading to a more sustainable and resilient European economy.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity include universities, research organizations, SMEs, start-ups, and natural persons. Mid-caps and larger companies are not permitted for single beneficiary projects. The EIC Pathfinder Challenges support collaborative or individual research and innovation from consortia or from single legal entities established in a Member State or an Associated Country. In case of a consortium, the proposal must be submitted by the coordinator on behalf of the consortium. Consortia of two entities must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia of three or more entities must include as beneficiaries at least three legal entities, independent from each other and each established in a different country.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON EIC Grant, utilizing a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement.

Consortium Requirement: Both single applicants and consortia are eligible. Consortia of two entities must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia of three or more entities must include as beneficiaries at least three legal entities, independent from each other and each established in a different country.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes entities established in a Member State or an Associated Country.

Target Sector: The target sectors include circular economy, renewable energy, waste management, materials science, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, fuels, chemicals, materials production, environmental remediation, and critical raw materials. Specifically, the program targets the development of next-generation technologies that turn problematic waste streams into essential building blocks of a future circular economy. It focuses on non- or hard-to-recycle synthetic polymer materials, flue gases, wastewater, and seawater desalination brines.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions Member States and Associated Countries as regions for eligible applicants.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is research and development, with the aim to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 within a 3–4 year project lifetime.

Funding Amount: The funding range is between €500,000 to €4,000,000. The total budget for the topic is EUR 120,000,000.

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 a grant.

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

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is 8888, but this seems to be a placeholder value, as it is unlikely that so many grants would be awarded. The actual success rate is not explicitly stated.

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

Summary:

This EIC Pathfinder Challenge focuses on fostering the development of innovative technologies that can transform problematic waste streams into valuable resources, thereby promoting a circular economy. The challenge targets hard-to-recycle synthetic polymer materials, flue gases, wastewater, and desalination brines, aiming to overcome barriers presented by impurities, noxious additives, inseparable material mixtures, or non-biodegradable materials. The program supports technologies with low Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), specifically solar reforming, synthetic biology devices, brine mining, integrated capture and conversion technologies, microbial-based and photocatalytic remediation processes, computational material science, AI, and bottom-up synthetic biology.

The challenge is structured around three main focus areas: fully integrated waste-to-value devices, understanding underlying mechanisms through computational material science and AI, and creating cells from scratch using bottom-up synthetic biology. Area 1 focuses on developing devices for converting waste streams into fuels, chemicals, and materials, or for remediation, driven by renewable energy sources. Area 2 emphasizes fundamental understanding of physical, chemical, and biological processes using computational material science and AI. Area 3 aims to achieve scientific breakthroughs in bottom-up synthetic biology to create tailored microbial cell factories for waste degradation and valorization.

The expected outcomes include local energy and resource supply, increased recycling rates, micro-/nano plastic removal, and decentralized production of fuels, chemicals, and materials. The program aligns with REPowerEU, Fit for 55, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Waste Framework Directive, the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, the Industrial Carbon Management strategy, the Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles, and the Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.

Eligible applicants include universities, research organizations, SMEs, start-ups, and natural persons from Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia are encouraged, with specific requirements for the number and location of entities. The funding ranges from €500,000 to €4,000,000, and the application process involves a single-stage submission. This initiative aims to drive synergies and mutual learning by combining these three aspects into a single portfolio with close interaction between the projects and a commonly developed vision, significantly speeding up the innovation journey.