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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to leverage marine and aquatic biological resources to discover and produce novel, high-value natural products for various sectors, integrating advanced 'omics' technologies and artificial intelligence (AI).
It specifically targets organizations capable of demonstrating techno-economic viability and industrial application.
This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, focused on blue biotechnology, circular economy, and bioeconomy sectors.
Geographic scope is broadly defined by Horizon Europe eligible countries (EU Member States and Associated Countries).
Key filtering criteria include a strong industry drive, focus on marine/aquatic bioprospecting, and integration of digital/AI methods.
This is a recurring grant opportunity as part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, specifically within Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, under the 'Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors' destination.

Financial Structure

Minimum grant amount: €6,000,000.0 per project.
Maximum grant amount: €6,000,000.0 per project.
Total budget for this topic (HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-14): €12,000,000.0.
The funding is expected to support 2 projects under this topic.
Currency: EUR (Euro).
Eligible and ineligible costs, payment schedules, financial reporting, and audit requirements are described in Annex G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and the HE Model Grant Agreement (MGA).
Indirect cost policies are generally a flat rate as per Horizon Europe rules, though specific details for this call are in the MGA.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Capacity

Eligible organizations are those capable of undertaking Innovation Actions (IA) with a strong industry drive, implying capacity for research, development, and demonstration activities.
Partnerships or consortia are highly anticipated and effectively required for Horizon Europe Innovation Actions, as evidenced by 'allowPartnerSearch: true'.

Geographic Requirements

Applicants must be established in countries described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes: EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden) and countries associated with Horizon Europe (specific list in Annex B not provided in this document).

Technical & Experience Requirements

Projects must demonstrate advanced technical capabilities in 'omics' (genomics, metabolomics, etc.), bioinformatics, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and artificial intelligence (AI)/digital methods for biodiscovery.
Required to have infrastructure capabilities for bioproduction (e.g., bioreactors/biorefineries).
Must undertake demonstration activities to prove techno-economic viability of proposed products/platform tools.
Expected to have expertise in life-cycle assessment (LCA) for environmental, economic, and social impact evaluation.

Exclusion Criteria

Proposals should avoid overlaps with past or ongoing projects identified in the scope (e.g., HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-05, HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-01, HORIZON-2020-FNR-11-2020).

Application Process

Application Timeline

Submission opens: 2025-05-06
Application deadline: 2025-09-17 00:00:00.000+0000 (single-stage submission).

Submission Materials & Process

Application Form: Specific to this call, available in the Submission System.
Required Documentation: Proposal page limit and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form and detailed in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission Platform: Proposals must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service.
Review Process: Evaluation and award processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

Post-Award Requirements

Legal and Financial Set-up: Described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes and the HE Model Grant Agreement (MGA).
Reporting Obligations: Standard for Horizon Europe projects as per the MGA.

Application Support

Online Manual
Horizon Europe Programme Guide
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ
Research Enquiry Service
National Contact Points (NCPs)
Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
IT Helpdesk for technical issues
European IPR Helpdesk for intellectual property concerns
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk for standardisation advice
European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for recruitment
Partner Search facility to find collaborating organizations.

Evaluation Criteria

Alignment with Impact and Scope

Contribution to the destination impacts and European policies (Green Deal, bioeconomy strategy, blue economy).
How well the proposal contributes to harnessing marine/freshwater biological resources and blue biotechnology for societal benefits.
Demonstration of a broadened range of sustainable, accessible marine/aquatic natural products with high-value applications.

Innovation and Technical Excellence

Advancements in the development and/or application of computational tools (e.g., AI) within the biodiscovery pipeline.
Integration of digital approaches (AI, machine learning, modelling, data science) to optimize biodiscovery processes.
Novelty and industrial relevance of bioprospecting approaches.
Scientific and technological quality of the proposed methods (e.g., isolation, characterization, genomic characterization, screening, production pathways).

Implementation Quality and Feasibility

Soundness of the methodology and work plan.
Feasibility and credibility of the proposed pathway.
Presence of a strong industry drive and inclusion of demonstration activities to prove techno-economic viability.
Quality and capacity of the project consortium, including relevant expertise and access to necessary infrastructures.

Sustainability and Responsible Innovation

Increased commitment to biodiversity preservation and conservation through sustainable bioproduction routes (e.g., biosynthesis, fermentation, culturing), ensuring no unsustainable harvesting from the wild.
Compliance with applicable EU regulations and international rules on access to biological resources, sustainable use, and fair/equitable benefit sharing (e.g., Nagoya protocol, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), BBNJ agreement).
Assessment of safety for end-users and operators.
Completion of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental, economic, and social impacts.
Contribution to understanding potential trade-offs in ecosystem exploitation and providing solution approaches.
Assessment of potential risks and benefits to the environment, ecosystems, and society.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Compliance with all applicable EU regulations.
Adherence to international rules on access to biological resources, their sustainable use, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their utilization, specifically including the Nagoya Protocol, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), and the agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).

Environmental & Ethical Standards

Strong emphasis on biodiversity preservation and conservation, including approaches like in vitro cultivation and biotechnology.
Mandatory life-cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental, economic, and social impacts of developed products.
Assessment of potential trade-offs inherent in ecosystem exploitation and proposed solutions to address them.
Assessment of potential risks and benefits to the environment, ecosystems, and society.
Safety to end-users and operators must be assessed and guaranteed.

Technical & Operational Considerations

Projects must have a strong industry drive and include demonstration activities.
Encouraged to establish links with relevant projects funded under the EU Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters'.
Encouraged to consider services offered by European research infrastructures such as EU-OPENSCREEN, ELIXIR, EMBRC ERIC, IBISBA.

Strategic Alignment

Actions contribute to multiple EU initiatives, including the European Green Deal, bioeconomy strategy, circular economy action plan, industrial strategy, chemicals strategy for sustainability, EU biotechnology and biomanufacturing initiative, and the sustainable blue economy framework.

Cross-Cutting Considerations

For actions impacting or involving civil society, proposals should account for the participation of disadvantaged groups based on gender and other social categories.
International cooperation is encouraged to maximize impact.

Grant Details