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Call key data

Biosensors and user-friendly diagnostic tools for environmental services

Funding ProgramHorizon Europe - Cluster 6 - Destination 4: Clean Environment and Zero Pollution
Call numberHORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-6
deadlinesOpening
22.12.2022		Deadline
28.03.2023 17:00
Funding rate100%
Call budget € 8,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project€ 4,000,000.00
Link to the callec.europa.eu
Link to the submissionec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

The scope covers the development of high-resolution biosensors for environmental monitoring and detection.

Call objectives

The focus is on:

  • large scale synthesis of biosensor variants, across kingdoms (from bacteria/archaea to plants);
  • improved biosensor/genetic circuit designs for a multitude of sensor inputs, integrating modified microorganism (elements) with transduction/detection systems enabling to relay the information to the user, while guaranteeing environmental safety, especially related to any risk of potential release of such microorganisms into open environment, if relevant;
  • develop protein-based (RNA) biosensors to detect and measure metabolites and organisms of interest;
  • create organisms that can act as multiplexing sensors capable of canalizing multiple environmental cues and providing measurable responses or combination of responses that may be deconvoluted to determine stimuli, while guaranteeing environmental safety, especially related to any risk of potential release of such organisms into open environment;
  • build more extensive and fully-sequenced metagenomics databases/libraries to enable searches for diverse functionalities across multiple gene clusters; and
  • better enable real-time data feeds.

The end-users targeted include consumers but also inspection services and the industry operators, as well as environmental emergency responders. Communication and inclusive participation form an essential part of the proposals. All environmental conditions and ecosystems (water, soil, air etc), may be covered.

Concrete efforts shall be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this project is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable), particularly in the context of real-time data feeds, exploring workflows that can provide “FAIR-by-design” data, i.e., data that is FAIR from its generation. Projects shall further build on, and widen, the data availability in European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud.

To respect the ‘Do-No-Significant-Harm’ (DNSH) principle, proposals using any alive organisms need to properly assess and exclude any potential risk of their release to open environment.

The projects funded under this topic may:

  • build links with the European Mission ‘Restore our ocean and waters by 2030’ or Soil Mission, in particular as regards stepping up the monitoring of ecosystems and their biodiversity;
  • build links with Missions implementation monitoring system;
  • build links and support the Missions knowledge and information system, in particular by contributing to pollution monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded under this topic and other relevant topics.

read more

Expected effects and impacts

A successful proposal will contribute to all Destination ‘Zero pollution’ and in particular impacts related to enhancing circular bio-based systems to operate according to planetary boundaries, replacing fossil-based systems and their carbon footprint, mitigating climate change, restoring biodiversity and protecting air, water and soil quality along supply chain of biological feedstock and industrial value chains within the EU and Associated Countries and across borders. Furthermore, it will contribute to substitute harmful chemicals by safer and more sustainable alternatives notably by boosting innovative biotechnology and other sustainable technologies to create zero-pollution bio-based solutions.

Expected results
  • Improving the quality of environment (water, soil and air) by stepping up the reliable monitoring and detection, of any biotic or abiotic pollutants, by developing practical, specific, adaptable and economic tools, based on bio-based principles, for the use of consumers, inspection services and industry operators alike. This can cover the use at industrial locations, but also at ecological disaster- or accidents’ sites, or at home applications;
  • Contributing to the zero-pollution objective of the European Green Deal and to the European Missions such as one on ‘Restoring our ocean and waters by 2030’ or ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ by up-scaling the application of modern biosensors underpinned by the biotechnology, across a variety of ecosystems, including marine and freshwater or soil ecosystems and real-life conditions impacted by the pollution issues;
  • Increasing engagement and competitiveness of the European environmental services sector, such as the SMEs and industry operators, including the digital sector actors, supporting the convergence between bio-based and digital sectors (including the role of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions). Increasing the awareness and understanding of the underpinning technologies by the civil society, including NGOs and consumer organisations, as well as participatory approaches such as citizen engagement, including citizen science, in environmental observation and monitoring.

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Regions / countries for fundingEU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Island (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 entitiesEU 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 partnershipYes
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

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project.

For the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), the following definitions apply:

  • TRL 1 — Basic principles observed
  • TRL 2 — Technology concept formulated
  • TRL 3 — Experimental proof of concept
  • TRL 4 — Technology validated in a lab
  • TRL 5 — Technology validated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
  • TRL 6 — Technology demonstrated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
  • TRL 7 — System prototype demonstration in an operational environment
  • TRL 8 — System complete and qualified
  • TRL 9 — Actual system proven in an operational environment (competitive manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies, or in space)

Additional information

Topics
Agriculture & Forestry, Fishery, Food, Soil quality, 
Air Quality, Biodiversity & Environment, Climate & Climate Change, Water quality & management, 
Digitalisation, Digital Society, ICT
Relevance for EU Macro-RegionEUSAIR - 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 4 (608kB)
ContactNational Contact Points for Horizon Europe
Website

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