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Call key data
Enhancing the sustainable production of renewable energy at farm-level
Funding Program
Horizon Europe - Cluster 6 - Destination 5: Land, ocean and water for climate action
Call number
HORIZON-CL6-2023-CLIMATE-01-7
deadlines
Opening
22.12.2022
Deadline
12.04.2023 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 5,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 5,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
Call objectives
Many different forms of renewable energy are produced in rural areas, ranging from wind, solar (including agri-voltaics) and geothermal sources to different forms of bioenergy. Between these renewable energy sources and the environment, there can be trade-offs (e.g. land use change, biodiversity loss, air pollution) but also synergies. Small and medium scale installations can provide opportunities for new cooperation in production, sales and distribution of renewable energy, and thus, can provide agricultural communities (conventional and organic sectors) with an extra source of income, while contributing to clean energy supply for society. If well planned and implemented, such installations can be deployed without harming the environment, or even with positive impacts, for example preserving soils quality, contributing to water retention, avoiding methane emissions or supporting pollination.
However, the variety of options also result in complex considerations, as the potential, performance and impacts of renewable energy technologies depend on natural conditions, size and type of farm, approaches designed and implemented, management techniques, degree of mechanization, geographic location, and socio-economic factors, such as awareness ,about technologies and their implementation, investment and advice support for farmers, as well as the surrounding energy system and energy infrastructure.
Proposals will:
- Analyse the different options to deploy renewable energy installations on farms, thereby assessing their environmental impacts (on climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and natural resources depletion) and identifying the best options to mitigate trade-offs and supporting synergies in light of the sustainable management of agricultural land coupled with production of food and feed.
- Assess the opportunities for and barriers (e.g., financial risks and incentives/policies to overcome them) to combine agricultural production and different sustainable renewable energy technologies.
- Engage with relevant stakeholders and develop innovative business models for farmers producing sustainable renewable energy, including self-consumption, energy communities or direct feed into the electricity or gas grid or collective sales approaches that could potentially enhance profitability for farms.
- Analyse the potential of smart energy systems in rural areas and consider economically viable energy storage and transformation solutions for combined production of biogas/ biomethane, solar and wind as well as smart battery and energy solutions, including power to gas (hydrogen), thermal energy storage for self-use and grid stabilisation.
- Address the nutrient recovery and minimisation of negative environmental impacts, or even co-benefits, in the context of good agricultural practices and possible sanitary implications.
- Promote bioeconomy-related interventions in the new CAP and provide advice and technical guidance for Member States.
Proposals are expected to cooperate with other relevant EU-funded research projects, in particular ongoing projects under Cluster 5 of Horizon Europe.
Proposals must apply the concept of the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the farming sector, and actors active in rural areas.
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Expected effects and impacts
This topic supports the implementation of the EU bioeconomy strategy by creating opportunities for new cooperation in production, sales and distribution of renewable energy, which can provide agricultural communities (conventional and organic sectors) with an extra source of income, while contributing to clean energy supply for society without harming the environment.
Expected results
- Development of sustainable solutions and business models to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 in the EU and ultimately achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
- Identification of technical, economic, societal, environmental and regulatory barriers hampering further scale-up of renewable energy at farm-level
- Development of suitable and sustainable solutions to produce co-benefits (e.g. energy production, higher productivity, less water use, further pollination) and increase their up-take in practice.
- Recommendations for improved and targeted guidance, incentives and policies at regional, national and EU-level to reduce environmental impacts and financial risks for farmers.
- Diversification and enhancement of agricultural incomes (organic and conventional farming).
Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), 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, International organization, Natural Person, 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
- third 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.
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.
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities — 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 — 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 without legal personality — 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.
- EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- 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.
other eligibility criteria
Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach on pages 21-23 of the work programme.
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
All proposals 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.
Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc.
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 45 pages.
Call documents
HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 5HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 5(580kB)
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