Horizon Europe European Union
Neutral-Atom Platform Technologies
This action aims to establish European leadership in neutral-atom quantum simulation and digital quantum computing by delivering: • Fully programmable industry-ready quan…
Horizon Europe · European Union
Living labs to monitor and mitigate carcinogenic substances in and originating from soils
Full title in the source: Living labs to monitor and mitigate carcinogenic substances in and originating from soils: Evaluating their effects on human cancer risks
Opens 4 Feb 2027
The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 2 awards of €12 million each, from a total budget of €24 million. Applications close on 21 Sep 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
- 21 Sep 2027 (in 310 days)
- Opens
- 4 Feb 2027
- Grant amount
- €12 million per project
- Total budget
- €24 million
- Funding rate
- 100% of eligible costs Standard rule for this programme; the call can differ.
- Total budget
- €24 million
- Expected awards
- 2
- Type of action
- HORIZON Research and 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-MISS-2027-06-SOIL-CANCER
- Call
- HORIZON-MISS-2027-06
- Last checked
- 14 Nov 2026
Expected outcome
Activities under this topic will directly progress towards the goal of the Mission Soil to set up 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition to healthy soils by 2030. Activities will also contribute to the goal of the Cancer Mission, i.e.: ‘to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030, through prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer including their families, to live longer and better’. Activities should also contribute to meeting the European Green Deal ambitions and targets and more specifically those of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 , the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, the proposal for a Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive , the Zero Pollution Action Plan , the Europe's Beating Cancer Plan , the One Health approach, the European Health Data Space , the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainabilit y, the European Chemicals Industry Action Plan , as well as to the Sustainable Development Goals [1] .
Read the full text
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
• increased capacities for participatory, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and innovation to co-create, and co-implement economically viable soil health solutions tailored to soils contaminated with or at risk of contamination by carcinogenic substances;
• enhanced understanding of the environmental pathways through which these substances affect humans and the food chain, and the links (drivers and processes) between carcinogenic substances [2] in soil and cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence in humans.
Scope
Environmental and occupational cancer risks are estimated to contribute to over 10% of the total cancer burden in Europe, with soil pollution by carcinogenic substances, such as PFAS, and heavy metals like arsenic and cadmium, posing significant concerns for human and environmental health [3] . However, the complex relationships between land management practices, soil parent material, soil properties, and presence of carcinogenic substances remain largely unknown. Moreover, significant knowledge gaps exist regarding biomonitoring, the bioaccumulation and transfer processes of soil pollutants into the food chain, water, and air, the pathways of human exposure and the impact of such exposure on cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence.
Projects under this topic are intended to expand and complement the network of Mission Soil living labs and lighthouses initiated with projects funded under Work Programmes 2023, 2024 and 2025 of the Mission Soil, with the aim of gradually establishing 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.
Read the full text
The Mission Soil proposes a novel approach to research and innovation in the area of soil health, including the implementation of living labs. Living labs have the potential to facilitate a green and fair transition by involving multiple actors in real-life sites within a local/regional setting to co-create soil health solutions and achieve large-scale impacts on soil health and soil governance.
Living labs are long-term collaborations between multiple actors to address common soil health challenges in real-life sites at local or regional level (10 to 20 sites in each living lab). Living labs can address soil health challenges in or across different land uses (agricultural, (peri-)urban, (post)-industrial, forest and (semi-)natural). Depending on the level at which each living lab operates and the specific context (e.g. land use covered, or soil health challenge addressed), applicants can exceptionally propose living labs with fewer sites. Individual sites can be farms, forest holdings, urban green areas, industrial areas, etc. Sites that are exemplary in their performance in terms of soil health improvement and serve as places for demonstration of solutions, training and communication are lighthouses. Lighthouse sites can be part of a living lab or be situated outside a living lab. Projects funded under this topic are expected to kick-start the participatory process. If building on existing processes, the new proposed living labs should complement the existing network of Mission Soil Living Labs and deliver unique project results. While on average, projects run for around four years, the duration of the projects under this topic should accommodate longer timescales required to establish participatory processes and/or for soil processes to take place.
Actors working on common shared soil health challenges within and across the living labs of the same project, will be able to compare…
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).
Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.
Topics
Oncology Soil biodiversity Soil biology Soil chemistry Soil science Soilborne pathogens Carcinogenic substances from soils Human cancer Human cancer risks Human health Integrated sciences Interdisciplinary Living labs Monitor carcinogenic substances Multi actor approach Soil health Soil organisms Transdisciplinary
Timing
Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-09-21. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).
How to apply
- Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
- Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
Where these facts come from
| Fact | Value | How we know | Taken from the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 21 September 2027 “Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-09-21. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).” | official data field | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Amount per applicant | Unknown — not stated in the source we hold | unknown | — |
| Total budget | €24 million | official data field | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Funding rate | 100% of eligible costs | programme standard rule | 15 Nov 2026 |
| 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). | programme standard rule | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Where to apply | Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route. | read from the official text | 15 Nov 2026 |
Official sources
Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.
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