Deadline Date: September 17, 2026
The European Commission is seeking grant applications to support innovative recycling technologies that improve material recovery and advance the circular economy in the European Union.
The focus areas include improving collection, sorting, and recycling technologies for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, enhancing recovery rates of strategic and critical raw materials, reducing dependence on imported primary and secondary materials, and mitigating environmental impacts such as biodiversity loss. It also focuses on developing economically viable recycling systems, strengthening secondary raw material markets, and ensuring high-quality and safe recovered materials for sustainable industrial use.
The initiative addresses the growing need for efficient recovery of critical raw materials from electronic waste due to increasing global demand, particularly for high-tech and green technologies. It supports the transition to a circular economy by improving the efficiency and sustainability of recycling processes across Europe.
The scope of the topic includes the development and improvement of scalable technologies and processes for collecting, sorting, recovering, and recycling critical raw materials such as rare earth elements and precious metals from electronic waste. It also encourages the use of advanced methods including AI-based solutions, bio-based or bio-inspired innovations, and other breakthrough technologies to improve recovery efficiency.
Projects are expected to develop standards and processes that ensure the quality, cost-effectiveness, and safety of recycled materials. They should also promote automation, resource efficiency, and synergies in recovering multiple critical raw materials while reducing environmental footprint and supporting biodiversity preservation.
Funding for this initiative is set at approximately €10,000,000, with individual contributions of around €5,000,000.
Eligible participants include any legal entity established under national, EU, or international law. This includes entities from non-associated third countries and international organisations, provided they meet the conditions of the Horizon Europe framework and the specific call requirements.
For more information, visit European Commission.
