Call for Proposals: Safe and Clean Processing Technologies and Products

Scope

• Whereas the release of pollutants by European industry has generally decreased during the last decade, and it is expected to continue to do so, industry still contributes significantly to the emission of many pollutants into the European environment. Pollution harms the health and the environment. In addition to affecting people’s health, pollution is one of the main reasons for the loss of biodiversity. Moreover, only emissions of historically important pollutants are reported by industry. Information on emerging and less known pollutants, especially those not regulated by the Industrial Emissions Directive, and related methods of monitoring is lacking. GHG emissions from industry are not included in the scope of this topic. Pollutant emissions to air, water and soil are considered.
• Proposals under this topic should address all of the following:
  • Demonstrate the reduction of the use of hazardous substances that pose a risk for human- and environmental health and safety and thereby also their proliferation into the products;
  • Develop novel processing technologies leading to reduced health, safety and environmental impacts beyond CO2 emissions;
  • Minimise adverse effects from the novel processes’ technologies on the function and durability of the materials, recyclability, the production cost as well as the associated risk;
  • Where relevant, develop sampling and monitoring methods for emerging pollutants and less known groups of pollutants in stack emissions before entering the environment.
• Proposals should include techno-economic and life-cycle assessment considerations of the overall process. They should consider involving all the relevant actors in a participatory approach for the reduction of risk and health issues at work.
• Research should build on existing standards, or if relevant, contribute to standardisation, especially when addressing pollutants that lack robust monitoring methods. Where relevant, interoperability for data sharing should be addressed.
• Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.

Funding Information

• Budget (EUR) – Year 2025: 24 000 000
• Contributions: 6000000 to 8000000

Expected Outcomes

• Energy Intensive industries will benefit from the following outcomes:
  • Reduce the use of hazardous substances in production processes and materials that pose a risk for human- and environmental health and safety, and ensure the avoidance of their proliferation into products;
  • Enable novel processing technologies and materials with reduced health, safety, and environmental impacts;
  • Increased knowledge on the industrial emission releases when it comes to emerging and less known groups of hazardous pollutants not regulated at EU level;
  • Reduce the occupational exposure risk and negative health impacts at work by empowering employees;
  • Contribute to the clean air and potentially biodiversity objectives, through the outcomes above.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entities eligible to participate:
  • Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from nonassociated 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.
• To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.
• 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:
    • 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.
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
    • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
  • countries associated to Horizon Europe;
    • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit EC.