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Call key data
EU Co-funded Partnership on raw materials for the green and digital transition (Co-funded partnership Raw Materials for the Green and Digital Transition)
Funding Program
Horizon Europe: Cluster 4 - Digital, Industry and Space
Call number
HORIZON-CL4-INDUSTRY-2025-01-MATERIALS-64
deadlines
Opening
22.05.2025
Deadline
23.09.2025 17:00
Funding rate
30%
Call budget
€ 90,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 90,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the destination by increasing supply security and access to primary and secondary raw materials, in particular critical and strategic raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Call objectives
- The Partnership will build on the experience of ERA-NETs: ERA-MIN, ERA-MIN 2 and ERA-MIN 3. The Partnership should cover the whole raw materials value chain including exploration, extraction, processing technologies, and recycling and improve circularity. Sea mining is excluded from this topic.
- Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint annual calls for proposals resulting in grants to third parties with EU co-funding in this area. Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of the primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its objectives.
- As specified in the eligibility conditions, the Partnership is open to all EU Member States, associated countries to Horizon Europe, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and countries with which the EU has concluded strategic partnerships on raw materials as well as trade (or association/economic partnership or equivalent) agreements containing raw materials cooperation provisions (i.e. Energy and Raw materials chapters). Participation remains open to those wanting to join during the Partnership’s lifetime.
- Beneficiaries should preferably be national, regional or local institutions responsible for programming research and innovation activities in raw materials. To ensure alignment of R&I activities and raw materials policy participation is also additionally open to relevant Ministries and public institutions responsible for raw materials and R&I policy.
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Expected effects and impacts
- This Partnership should be implemented through a joint programme of activities ranging from research to coordination and networking activities, including training, demonstration, piloting and dissemination activities, to be structured along the following main building blocks:
- Joint annual calls for R&I activities;
- Facilitating further uptake and commercialisation of developed R&I results;
- Clustering of projects and synthesising of R&I results;
- Coordinating research programmes between EU and its Member States and participating third countries and trigger combined action;
- Serving as a centre for knowledge on partner countries’ R&I programmes and activities in raw materials.
- Actions should also provide measures contributing to the objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act and of EU raw materials policy.
- Partners are expected to provide financial and/or in-kind contribution, in line with the level of ambition of the proposed measures. The partnership should be open to including new partners over the lifetime of the partnership. Its governance should create a clear and transparent process for engaging with a broad range of stakeholders, together with the full members of the partnership, to ensure that the work strategically covers a wide range of views in the field of biodiversity, nature-based solutions and ecosystem services throughout the lifetime of the partnership. To ensure that all work streams are coherent and complementary, and to leverage knowledge investment potential, the partnership is expected to foster close cooperation and synergies with the projects funded under Cluster 4 Digital, Industry and Space. It should also develop synergies with other relevant European initiatives, funding programmes and platforms such as EIT Raw Materials.
- Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of the primary channels under this action to enable the partnership to achieve its objectives. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 2 million. It is expected that the partnership organises joint calls on an annual base from 2026 to 2032 and therefore it should factor ample time to run the co-funded projects.
- The total indicative budget for the partnership is EUR 300 million. The EU contribution will be limited to 30% of the total eligible costs of the action with a maximum of EUR 90 million.
The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the submission date of the application. Applicants should justify the need for a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from the starting date of the action may be considered eligible.
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Expected results
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Align national R&I priorities in raw materials with EU policy on raw materials.
- Strengthen EU cooperation with countries the EU established strategic partnerships on Raw Materials;
- Improve industrial viability, safety and environmental impacts of the operation in a way that leads to measurable improvements;
- Improve EU sourcing diversification of critical raw materials from third countries;
- Improve responsible supply of raw materials to Europe in line with the EU principles for sustainable raw materials, which are a non-regulatory set of principles based on the EU acquis. They set out requirements for sustainable raw materials and extraction and processing in Europe in terms of social, environmental and economic performance.
- Dissemination and exploitation of projects outputs is tailored for organisations and industry dealing with raw materials in the EU and project partner from Strategic partnership countries.
- Promote the utilisation of UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for Resources) and UNRMS (United Nations Resource Management System) in the raw materials sector.
- Actions are expected to contribute to the implementation of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, particularly to the 2030 benchmarks.
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Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Canada, Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), New Zealand (Aotearoa), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
To increase EU resilience in raw materials supply chains and thus reduce the serious risk to the Union's strategic assets, economic and societal interests, autonomy and security associated with the current EU reliance on a few third countries for critical raw materials, by increasing sustainable and responsible sourcing of primary and secondary raw materials necessary to enable the green and digital transition and in alignment with the objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act, participation in this topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and countries with which the EU has concluded strategic partnerships on raw materials as well as trade agreements (or association/economic partnership or equivalent agreements, including the new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships) containing raw materials cooperation provisions (i.e. Energy and Raw materials chapters). The choice of these countries was made taking into consideration the development of strategic international partnerships on raw materials and avoidance of reinforcing existing over-dependencies, as well as the importance of involving partners committed to pursuing open trade in such materials.
Proposals including legal entities which are not established in the countries that fall under the criteria above will be ineligible.
The coordinator role of the action is limited to public institutions being R&I programme owners or funders.
Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in countries with which the EU has established strategic partnerships for raw materials, as well as in countries which were participating in ERAMIN 3, are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
other eligibility criteria
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- Legal entities created under EU law (EU bodies) including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions or when provided for in the specific call/topic conditions. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding, unless provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.
- Joint Research Centre (JRC)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.
- EU restrictive measures — Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) as well as Article 75 TFEU, are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).
- Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine — Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.
With specific regard to measures addressed to Russia, following the adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 (amending Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014) concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, legal entities established outside Russia but whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by a legal person, entity or body established in Russia are also not eligible to participate in any capacity. - Measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary — Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16 December 2022, no legal commitments can be entered into with Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Affected entities may continue to apply to calls for proposals and can participate without receiving EU funding, as associated partners, if allowed by the call conditions. However, as long as the Council measures are not lifted, such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.).In case of multi-beneficiary grant calls, applicants will be invited to remove or replace that entity in any funded role and/or to change its status into associated partner. Tasks and budget may be redistributed accordingly.
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
Additional Information
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applications must be submitted using the forms provided inside the electronic submission system (not the templates available on the topic page, which are only for information). The structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the forms.
Applications must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 70 pages.
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in Article 208(a) of the Financial Regulation No 2024/2509 does not apply, as financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of the primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its objectives. The maximum amount of FSTP to be granted to an individual third party is EUR 8 million.
The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 90 million committed in annual instalments in the years 2025 and 2027 (EUR 45 million from the 2025 budget and EUR 45 million from the 2027 budget).
Call documents
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 Cluster 4 - Digital, Industry and SpaceHorizon Europe Work Programme 2025 Cluster 4 - Digital, Industry and Space(kB)
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