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Horizon Europe · European Union

Technologies for innovative processing of raw materials (IA)

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The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 4 awards of €10 million – €12.5 million each, from a total budget of €49 million. Applications close on 2 Feb 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time). Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries such as Türkiye can usually take part; the topic conditions control.

Deadline
2 Feb 2027 (in 79 days)
Grant amount
€10 million – €12.5 million per project
Total budget
€49 million
Funding rate
70% for companies, 100% for non-profits Standard rule for this programme; the call can differ.
Total budget
€49 million
Expected awards
4
Type of action
HORIZON Innovation Actions · HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based
Likely applicant types
Companies, SMEs / start-ups, Non-profits, Universities & research, Public bodies From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder
Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
Reference
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-16
Call
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01
Last checked
14 Nov 2026

Open the official call ↗ Add deadline to calendar

Expected outcome

• Increased recovery rates of valuable raw materials, particularly critical raw materials from low grade or complex ores and/or from mining waste;

• Increased economic performance in terms of higher material-, water-, energy- and cost-efficiency and flexibility in minerals processing and metallurgical processes; and

• Improved health, safety and environmental performance of the operations throughout the whole life cycle that is considered, including a reduction in waste, wastewater and generation of emissions of air pollutants and a better recovery of resources from generated waste, reducing the environmental footprint and contributing to biodiversity and ecosystems preservation.

Scope

Actions should develop and validate / demonstrate pilot scale facility located in the EU integrating relevant processing and refining technologies for improved recovery of raw materials from low grade and/or complex ores from extractive wastes, reduction of waste and water and air pollution, higher energy efficiency and reduction of land and sea-use change, habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. The action can also focus on reducing the content of toxic elements or compounds in the resulting material products. The actions should target minerals and metals, particularly critical raw materials.

The solution proposed should be flexible enough to adapt to different or variable ore grades and extractive waste streams and should be supported by efficient and robust process control. Where relevant, any solution proposed for the reduction of the content of toxic elements or compounds in the resulting materials should also include the appropriate management of the hazardous substances removed.

Read the full text

Actions should develop intelligent and innovative production systems which better utilise natural resources by minimising losses during waste-rock separation in an optimised and energy-efficient process and by minimising use of water.

Recycling of end-of-life products is excluded from this topic.

Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate resources accordingly.

Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider standardisation aspects when relevant. The action should also include the analysis of financial opportunities ensuring the market exploitation and replication of the circular business model behind the developed solutions as new processes, products and/or services. The industry based in the EU, and users of recovered secondary raw materials should assume prominent role in the proposed actions, supported by adequate allocation of resources.

Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve full-scale deployment in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the leading partners after the end of the project.

International cooperation is encouraged with countries with which the EU has signed Strategic Partnerships on raw materials, especially with Ukraine. [1]

Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects

Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

[1]…

Who can apply

Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule). Country restriction: 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 as well as trade…

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-02-02. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

  1. Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
  2. Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
  3. Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries (Horizon Europe standard rule; Türkiye is associated). Confirm in the topic conditions.
  4. Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
  5. Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.

From the call text

Who can apply
Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage
Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium
Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Where applicants must be based
Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Where to apply
Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Where these facts come from

FactValueHow we knowTaken from the source
Deadline2 February 2027
“Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-02-02. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).”
official data field15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicantUnknown — not stated in the source we holdunknown—
Total budget€49 millionofficial data field15 Nov 2026
Funding rate70% for companies, 100% for non-profitsprogramme standard rule15 Nov 2026
Who can applyConsortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule). Country restriction: participation in this…programme standard rule15 Nov 2026
Where to applyRead the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.read from the official text15 Nov 2026

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the official source and were last checked 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.

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