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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This EIC Pathfinder Challenges grant aims to fund the development of next-generation technologies that can transform today's challenging and often problematic waste streams into valuable resources, contributing to a circular economy. It specifically targets innovations in waste-to-value devices that process synthetic polymer materials, flue gases, wastewater, and seawater desalination brines. The typical recipients for this funding are collaborative teams (consortia) composed of various legal entities, or single small entities such as start-ups, SMEs, universities, and research organizations. This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, focusing on environmental technology, renewable energy, circular economy, and advanced materials. The geographic scope is limited to legal entities established in EU Member States or Associated Countries. Key filtering criteria for initial screening include the project's focus on low Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) (TRL 1-3 aiming for TRL 4 in Area 1 projects) and its direct relevance to the specified waste types and technology areas. This grant is part of a recurring program, the EIC Pathfinder Challenges, under the broader Horizon Europe framework.

Financial Structure

This grant operates under a Lump Sum Grant Agreement (Lump Sum MGA), meaning that a fixed amount of funding is provided for the successful completion of predefined work packages and deliverables, rather than being based on detailed cost declarations. This typically implies a 100% funding rate for the agreed lump sum.

Funding Amount per Project: Individual projects under this topic can receive between 500,000 EUR (minimum) and 4,000,000 EUR (maximum).
Overall Program Budget: The total indicative budget for the broader EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2025 call, which includes this topic, is 120,000,000 EUR.
Cost-sharing/Matching Funds: The grant materials do not explicitly state co-financing or matching fund requirements, which is typical for Lump Sum grants where the grant itself covers the agreed lump sum for the project's work.
Payment Schedule: Specific payment schedules will be defined in the Lump Sum MGA upon grant agreement, tied to the achievement of milestones and deliverables.
Financial Reporting: Reporting requirements will follow the Lump Sum MGA framework, focusing on the completion of work rather than detailed expenditure reports.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for this grant, your organization must meet the following criteria:

Eligible Organization Types: Proposals can be submitted by consortia or by single legal entities. Eligible types of entities include universities, research organizations, SMEs, start-ups, and natural persons.
Organizational Size Restrictions: For single beneficiary projects, mid-caps and larger companies will NOT be permitted. This means if you are applying alone, you must be a smaller entity (SME, start-up, etc.).
Geographic Location: All applying legal entities must be established in an EU Member State or an Associated Country to Horizon Europe.
Consortium Structure Requirements:
- Consortia of two entities: Must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
- Consortia of three or more entities: Must include at least three legal entities that are independent from each other, and each established in a different country. Specifically, at least one legal entity must be established in an EU Member State, and at least two other independent legal entities must be established in different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Financial and Operational Capacity: Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity to carry out the proposed project.
Specific Exclusions: Applications with elements concerning the evolution of European communication networks (like 5G, post-5G, and other related technologies) will be subject to restrictions to protect European communication networks.
Application Format: Sections 1 to 3 of the Part B of your proposal (Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation) must not exceed 30 A4 pages. Excess pages will not be considered.

Application Process

Here's what you need to know to apply for this grant:

Application Opening Date: The submission system is planned to open on July 24, 2025.
Submission Deadline: The final deadline for submitting your proposal is October 29, 2025, at 00:00 UTC.
Application Procedure: This is a single-stage application process.
Submission Format and Platform: Applications must be submitted through the official Submission System (Funding & Tenders Portal).
Required Documentation: Your proposal must include Part B of the Application Form. Sections 1 to 3 (Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation) of Part B are strictly limited to a maximum of 30 A4 pages. Any pages beyond this limit will not be considered by evaluators.
Project Duration: While not explicitly stated as a fixed term, the grant expects projects to achieve TRL 4 within a 3–4-year project lifetime for Area 1 activities.
Evaluation Timeline: The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement procedures is detailed in Section II of the EIC Work Programme 2025 (not provided in the source text).
Application Assistance: A wealth of support is available, including the Online Manual, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), a Research Enquiry Service, local National Contact Points (NCPs), the Enterprise Europe Network (especially for SMEs), an IT Helpdesk for technical issues, the European IPR Helpdesk for intellectual property advice, and Partner Search tools to help you find collaborators.

Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation of proposals will be based on three primary criteria:

Excellence: This criterion assesses the scientific and technological quality of your proposal. Projects should focus on low Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) (typically TRL 1-3) with an ambition to reach TRL 4 for integrated device projects (Area 1) within the 3-4 year project lifetime. Evaluators will look for scientific breakthroughs and advancements in the fundamental understanding of underlying processes. This includes the development of efficient catalysts, interface engineering, and the use of computational material science and AI to guide and predict experimental work, bridging different scales.
Impact: Proposals must clearly articulate how they will contribute to significant positive outcomes, including:
- Enabling local energy and resource supply, particularly for communities and remote areas.
- Reducing/eventual independence from the importation of critical raw materials.
- Increasing the share of recycled waste, thereby minimizing disposal in landfills and incineration.
- Removing micro-/nanoplastics and working towards zero-brine discharge.
- Facilitating decentralized, circular production of fuels, chemicals, and materials using waste as a local resource.
- Reducing demand for fossil fuels and associated CO2 and pollutant emissions. The project's alignment with key EU policies such as REPowerEU, Fit for 55, the Circular Economy Action Plan, and the Waste Framework Directive is crucial.
Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: This criterion assesses the soundness of the proposed methodology, the quality of the work plan, the allocation of resources, and the appropriateness of the project management and consortium (if applicable). Proposals should demonstrate a holistic view of the complete waste valorization chain, optimizing all elements from pre-treatment to product separation. The resulting systems must be robust, easy-to-handle, and capable of treating real-life waste streams with minimal pre-sorting. Clear benchmarking against industrially deployed and emerging recycling methods is expected.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Applicants and projects funded under this grant must adhere to several important compliance and specific requirements:

Regulatory Alignment: Projects must align with and contribute to key European strategies and directives, including REPowerEU, Fit for 55, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Waste Framework Directive, the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan (including the Plastics strategy), the Industrial Carbon Management strategy, the Sustainable Carbon Cycles communication, and the Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.
Ethical Standards: Standard EU ethical standards apply to all research and innovation activities.
Intellectual Property (IP): While specific IP policies are not detailed, support from the European IPR Helpdesk is highlighted, indicating the importance of IP management within the projects.
Security and Data Protection: Applications involving European communication networks (e.g., 5G, post-5G) will be subject to restrictions to protect these networks. General data protection and privacy regulations of the EU apply.
Scope Limitations and Exclusions: It is crucial to note what is OUT OF SCOPE for this grant:
- Thermochemical approaches (such as pyrolysis or gasification) and 'dark' (not light-driven) chemical recycling.
- Common waste types like food and biomass waste, traditional bulk metal waste, glass, paper, cardboard, and mono-PET waste.
Innovation and Impact Expectations: Projects must focus on creating products with higher economic and environmental value compared to waste destruction; they must not 'down-cycle' the waste substrate. Solutions should be scalable, easily applicable, fully sustainable, and minimize energy, water, chemicals, and land footprint.
Portfolio Approach: The EIC aims to select a balanced portfolio of projects collectively covering the three distinct focus areas: fully integrated waste-to-value devices (Area 1), understanding underlying mechanisms via computational material science/AI (Area 2), and cells from scratch via bottom-up synthetic biology (Area 3). A maximum of one proposal from Area 2 and Area 3 will typically be selected.

Grant Details