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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core objective: To develop and demonstrate novel circular business models that enable a just transition to a sustainable and circular economy.
Target recipient: Legal entities (public or private bodies), including social economy entities, social enterprises, private companies (with a focus on SMEs), universities, research organizations, and civil society organizations.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC
Geographic scope and any location requirements: EU Member States, EEA countries, and countries associated with Horizon Europe. Activities outside these areas are eligible only if essential for EU environmental/climate objectives and effectiveness within eligible countries.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on innovative circular business models, large-scale demonstration, significant environmental, social, and economic impact, and integration of social sciences and humanities.
Grant frequency and program context: This is a call within the broader Horizon Europe framework, part of the Work Programme 2025 for 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment' (Cluster 6). It is a single-stage call.

Financial Structure

Total estimated budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01): EUR 10,000,000.
Estimated grant amount per project: EUR 5,000,000.
Expected number of grants to be funded for this topic: 2.
The grant is a budget-based mixed actual cost grant, meaning it reimburses actual costs incurred, with elements of unit costs and flat-rates.
The funding rate is fixed in the Grant Agreement and is not explicitly stated for this specific topic in the provided text.
Grants may NOT produce a profit; if a for-profit organization generates a profit (surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs), it will be deducted from the final grant amount.
Eligible costs include: personnel costs (employees, natural persons under direct contract, seconded persons, SME owners/natural person beneficiaries, volunteers), subcontracting costs, purchase costs (travel and subsistence, equipment, other goods, works, and services), and other cost categories.
Indirect cost flat-rate: 7% of the eligible direct costs (excluding volunteer costs and land purchase).
Financial support to third parties is allowed for grants or similar forms of support and prizes, with a maximum total amount of EUR 100,000 per project and a maximum of EUR 20,000 per third party.
Land purchase costs are eligible subject to specific conditions (e.g., contribution to Natura 2000, long-term use consistent with LIFE Programme objectives, cost-effectiveness).
Non-deductible VAT paid by public bodies acting as public authority is NOT eligible.
Prefinancing: Normally 30% of the maximum grant amount, paid 30 days from entry into force of the Grant Agreement or receipt of a financial guarantee (if required), whichever is later.
Prefinancing guarantees may be required, typically from the coordinator, and should be issued by an approved bank/financial institution in an EU Member State.
The liability regime for recoveries (e.g., limited joint and several, unconditional joint and several, or individual financial responsibility) will be fixed in the Grant Agreement.
Costs for kick-off meetings organized by the granting authority are eligible (travel for max 2 persons, return ticket to Brussels, accommodation for one night), if after project start date.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type

Applicants must be legal entities (public or private bodies).
Natural persons are NOT eligible, with the exception of self-employed individuals where the company does not have legal personality separate from the natural person.
International organizations are eligible.
Entities without legal personality under national law may exceptionally participate, provided their representatives can undertake legal obligations and offer equivalent financial guarantees.
EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.
Associations and interest groupings composed of members may participate as 'sole beneficiaries' or 'beneficiaries without legal personality'. If the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities.

Geographic Location

Applicants must be established in EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories) or EEA countries and countries associated to Horizon Europe. (Note: Specific list of associated countries is not provided in the source material beyond EEA).
The coordinator must be established in an eligible country.
Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries.
Activities outside eligible countries are permissible only if necessary to achieve EU environmental and climate objectives and ensure the effectiveness of interventions within eligible countries.

Consortium Requirements

This is a multi-beneficiary grant, meaning a consortium is required.
A coordinator must be chosen by the beneficiaries to manage the project and represent the consortium towards the granting authority.
Affiliated entities (linked to a beneficiary, participating with similar rights and obligations) are allowed but must comply with call conditions and be validated.
Associated partners (participate without grant money) are allowed.
Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part of the project; if it exceeds 30% of total eligible costs, it must be justified in the application.

Financial and Operational Capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share.
Operational capacity (know-how, qualifications, resources, experience in comparable projects) will be assessed based on the competence and experience of the applicants and their project teams.

Application Process

Application Submission

Application deadline: 2025-09-17 00:00:00+0000.
Call opening: 2025-05-06.
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. Paper submissions are NOT accepted.
Proposals must be complete and contain all requested information, annexes, and supporting documents.
Required documentation and materials:
- Application Form Part A: Administrative information (filled directly online).
- Application Form Part B: Technical description (downloaded template, completed, and re-uploaded as PDF).
- Part C: Additional project data and contribution to EU program KPIs (filled directly online).
- Mandatory annexes: Detailed budget table, participant information (templates available for download).
- Optional annexes: Letters of support, cofinancing declarations, maps, description of sites, activity annual report, other (e.g., Lifecycle analysis, Business plans).
Proposals are limited to a maximum of 120 pages (Part B); evaluators will not consider any additional pages.
The amounts entered in the online summarized budget table (Part A) must correspond to the detailed budget table; in case of discrepancies, online amounts prevail.
Applicants must confirm their mandate to act for all participants, accuracy of information, and compliance with EU funding conditions.
Proposals must be readable, accessible, and printable.

Evaluation and Selection Process

The procedure involves a one-stage submission and a one-step evaluation.
An evaluation committee, assisted by independent outside experts, will assess all applications.
Proposals will first be checked for formal requirements (admissibility and eligibility).
Eligible proposals will be evaluated against operational capacity and award criteria, then ranked.
Evaluation results are expected by February/March 2025.
Grant Agreement (GA) signature is expected in May/June 2025.
An invitation to grant preparation does not constitute a formal commitment for funding.
A 'Seal of Excellence' may be awarded to proposals that meet evaluation criteria but cannot be funded due to budget limitations.

Post-Award Requirements

Project duration: Indicatively between 24 and 120 months (extensions possible if justified).
Milestones and deliverables will be managed through the Portal Grant Management System.
Reporting schedule and frequency, as well as payment arrangements, are fixed in the Grant Agreement.
Beneficiaries are responsible for keeping records of all work done and costs declared.
Intellectual property rights (IPR) rules regarding rights of use on results apply.
A communication and dissemination plan is required, along with additional communication activities and the use of special logos.
Specific rules apply for carrying out the action, including a durability clause (e.g., equipment use and maintenance for 5 years after action end).

Evaluation Criteria

Relevance (0-20 points, individual threshold 10/20)

Contribution to the specific objectives of the LIFE Programme (Note: this is from a general annex, but the specific topic belongs to Horizon Europe Cluster 6) and the targeted sub-programme.
Extent to which the proposal aligns with the call description, including specific priorities.
Soundness of the overall intervention logic, concept, and methodology.
Presence of co-benefits and promotion of synergies with other relevant policy areas for environmental and climate objectives.

Impact (0-20 points, individual threshold 10/20, weighted 1.5 for ex aequo prioritization)

Ambition and credibility of expected impacts during and after the project activities.
Sustainability of the project results after the project end.
Quality of measures for the exploitation of project results.
Potential for replication in the same or other sectors/places, or up-scaling by public/private actors, or mobilizing larger investments (catalytic potential).

Quality (0-20 points, individual threshold 10/20)

Clarity, relevance, and feasibility of the work plan.
Identification and mobilization of relevant stakeholders.
Appropriateness of the geographic focus of activities.
Quality of the plan to monitor and report impacts.
Appropriateness and quality of measures to communicate and disseminate project results to different target groups.

Resources (0-20 points, individual threshold 10/20)

Composition of the project team in terms of expertise, skills, responsibilities, and appropriateness of the management structure.
Appropriateness of the budget and resources, and their consistency with the work plan.
Transparency of the budget (cost items should be sufficiently described).
Extent to which the project's environmental impact is considered and mitigated (e.g., through green procurement, using recognized methods like PEF/OEF, or environmental management systems like EMAS).
Value for money of the proposal.

Bonus Points (Maximum 10 points, 2 points each)

Bonus 1: The proposal offers exceptional synergies and promotes significant co-benefits between LIFE sub-programmes (Note: this is from a general annex, but the specific topic belongs to Horizon Europe Cluster 6).
Bonus 2: The proposal is primarily implemented in Outermost Regions or other geographical areas with specific needs and vulnerabilities (e.g., islands for waste, coal-intensive regions).
Bonus 3: The proposal substantially builds on or up-scales the results of other EU-funded projects.
Bonus 4: The proposal offers an exceptional catalytic potential.
Bonus 5: The proposal envisages transnational cooperation among Member States essential to guarantee the achievement of project objectives.

Thresholds

Individual thresholds per criterion: 10/20 (before weighting).
Overall threshold: 55 points (after weighting).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities, including environmental, social, security, industrial, and trade policies.
Actions should align with the European Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, and relevant EU legislation such as the Waste Framework Directive and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).
Synergies are encouraged with Cluster 4 ('Digital, industry and Space') and Cluster 5 ('Climate, Energy and Mobility') of Horizon Europe.
Synergies and complementarity will be ensured with the Circular Bio-based Europe (CBE Joint Undertaking), the EU mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030', and the Soil mission.
To maximize local impact, synergies with the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) and the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Facility are encouraged.
Coordination will be ensured with the EC Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy and possible synergies with other JRC activities.
Synergies and complementarities with the future European Partnership 'Forests and forestry for a sustainable future' are expected.
Projects should seek synergies with projects performed under the LIFE-2024-SAP-ENV Call (as referenced in the document).

Technical and Quality Standards

Environmental impact assessment: Must be done from a lifecycle perspective, building on Environmental Footprint methods (where possible) and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methods.
Ecodesign requirements from the ESPR and EU Ecolabel aspects should be considered.
Quality thresholds: Project environmental impact should be considered and mitigated, including through green procurement. The use of recognized methods for calculating environmental footprint (e.g., PEF or OEF methods) or environmental management systems (e.g., EMAS) is an asset.

Ethical and Social Considerations

A core objective is to enable a just transition to a sustainable and circular economy.
Proposals should assess and quantify the environmental, social, and economic impacts on relevant stakeholders (consumers, social partners, private companies, SMEs, municipalities, regions).
Projects should analyze 'pull' factors that shift consumer choices towards sustainable products/services and explore behavioral change.
Social innovation is encouraged, and behaviors should be understood to increase demand for sustainable products and potentially reduce overall consumption.
Proposals must address the different perspectives of all relevant actors in the value chain (raw material sourcing, manufacturing, retailers, re-use/repair organizations, civil society/consumers).
Projects should consider specific social groups and purchasing power to ensure a fair transition, including gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Proposals should assess the potential for new job opportunities in reuse, repair, upgrade, refurbishment, repurpose, and remanufacture, providing data for reskilling programmes.
The topic requires the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts/institutions to enhance societal impact.

Intellectual Property

The rights of use on results are governed by the Model Grant Agreement.

Unique Aspects and Challenges

The grant targets transformative changes in material usage and corporate operations, moving away from linear business models.
Emphasis is on developing and demonstrating innovative business models at a large scale.
Projects should analyze barriers to novel business models and propose regulatory, governance, and economic solutions.
Possible unintended or rebound effects (positive and negative) for consumers and the environment should be addressed.
International cooperation is encouraged to maximize the impacts of Research & Innovation.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to organize joint activities, ensure synergies, and undertake clustering activities with CCRI projects and the CCRI Coordination and Support Office.

Grant Details