This grant supports the development of innovative advanced materials and processes aimed at reducing dependencies on critical and strategic raw materials. Projects should be focused on the design and innovation of safer and sustainable alternatives, enhancing industrial competitiveness while promoting efficient use within key sectors like energy and construction.
General information
- Programme
- Horizon Europe (HORIZON)2021–2027
- Call
- INDUSTRY HORIZON-CL4-2027-01
- Programme part
- Pillar II · Global Challenges & CompetitivenessCluster 4 · Digital, Industry and Space
- Destination
- Achieving technological leadership for Europe’s open strategic autonomy in raw materials, chemicals and innovative materials (2026-27)
- Type of action
- HORIZON-IA Innovation Actions
- Type of MGA
- HORIZON-AG HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based
- Status
- Open
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Opening date
- 13.10.2026
- Deadline date
- 02.02.2027, 17:00 Brussels time 95 days left
- Cross-cutting priorities
Budget overview
| Type of action | Budget 2027 | EU contribution per project | Grants | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HORIZON-IAInnovation Actions | €36M | €6–7.5M | 6 | 02.02.2027 |
Expected outcome
- Reducing dependencies of critical and strategic raw materials through partial or total substitution by safe and sustainable innovative advanced materials and/or via more efficient use of critical and strategic raw materials in production processes;
- Speeding up the innovation cycle within value chain(s) important for European industry;
- Enhancing competitiveness of the industries and operational costs, while making supply chains more secure;
- New or improved production processes, innovative advanced materials and products that are safer and more sustainable, supporting a clean and autonomous economy; and
- Demonstrating how the safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) chemicals and materials framework can guide innovation.
Scope
The focus of this topic is on alternatives for the substitution or more efficient use of critical and strategic raw materials. The design and development of innovative advanced materials (IAMs) and processes should lead to an innovation cycle covering the (re)design of materials and production processes, and the integration of IAMs into products.
Proposals should develop IAMs or process technologies to replace or reduce the use of critical and strategic raw materials in strategic areas and sectors such as energy, mobility, construction, electronics, medical devices or chemical industries.
Proposals should address one or several of the following approaches:
- Design, development and production with targets on performance, safety and sustainability of IAMs substituting or making a more efficient use of critical and strategic raw materials.
- Innovative industrial processes for the reduction of the use of critical and strategic raw materials focussed on optimizing process safety, sustainability, flexibility, scalability, cost-efficiency.
- Co-development strategies for IAMs and industrial processes. These strategies should demonstrate the value of co-development through specific use cases while maintaining broad relevance across various materials and process types.
Proposals should demonstrate clear use case(s), market and potential to grow. The substitution barriers for the selected applications should be identified and a driving mechanism for a maximal substitution in the targeted value chains proposed.
The scope includes necessary adaptations of related processes and technologies to ensure alignment with and integration in industrial manufacturing in order to facilitate the uptake of the developed solutions. If relevant, challenges for the adaption of existing production lines should be identified and solutions proposed.
Proposals should demonstrate that SSbD framework will be applied throughout the innovation process, showing that safety and sustainability principles are actively integrated and influence decision-making in a transparent and traceable way, and ensure that the data generated within the proposal may be shared with the Common Data Platform for Chemicals. The new alternatives to be developed should meet the technical functions required in the specific applications while aligning their innovation process decision making with such framework.
Proposals should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Proposals are encouraged to cooperate with relevant projects. Where relevant, proposals should actively contribute to and cooperate with the EU Innovation and Substitution Hub(s). Proposals should allocate the necessary resources to the proposed activities
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnerships Innovative Advanced Materials for the EU (IAM4EU) and Processes4Planet.
Who can apply
- A consortium of at least three independent organisations from three different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, at least one from an EU Member State.
- Ukraine has been associated to the programme since 2022: Ukrainian organisations can coordinate and receive funding on equal terms.
- Universities, research organisations, companies (including SMEs), public authorities and NGOs can take part.
Topic-specific condition: 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[[Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulations (EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1724 and (EU) 2019/1020]], 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[[https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/areas-specific-interest/raw-materials-diplomacy_en]] 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)[[https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/negotiations-and-agreements_en]]. 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.For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or a non-eligible country entity, shall not participate in the action.
Applicant types in our database: Higher Education Institutions (HEI), Research Institute or Organization (RnD), A Government Structure or Central Authority, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), Start-Up, Non-governmental organization (NGO).
How to apply
- Register your organisation on the Funding & Tenders portal and get a PIC (9 digits).
- Build a consortium or join one: use Partner Search on the topic page.
- Download the proposal template (Part A forms, Part B narrative) in the submission system on the topic page.
- Submit by 02.02.2027, 17:00 Brussels time. The system opens on 13.10.2026.
The official topic text, templates and submission are on the Funding & Tenders topic page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline for HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-22?
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