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Horizon Europe · European Union

Better understanding, anticipating and addressing the biodiversity benefits and impacts of the clean and…

Full title in the source: Better understanding, anticipating and addressing the biodiversity benefits and impacts of the clean and digital industries

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The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 3 awards of €6 million each, from a total budget of €18 million. Applications close on 14 Jan 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.

Expected outcome

Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• society, end-users, industry and decision makers better understand, anticipate and address biodiversity impacts of Europe’s reindustrialisation and decarbonisation across the value chain, from the demand-side and the design and operational phase to the end-of-life and waste phases, thus preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services by choosing least-harm transition options;

• society, end-users, industry and decision makers understand the benefits and impacts on biodiversity of societal, political, economic and technological choices, taking into account the direct, indirect and cumulative, and spatial and temporal dimensions, thus avoiding burden-shifting across ecosystems, regions and value chains;

• clean and digital industries are more resilient and provided with solutions to mitigate their impacts on terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems and work towards a nature-positive economy, in line the EU Taxonomy and the Do No Significant Harm principle.

Scope

One of the EU’s biggest priorities is to achieve the sovereign clean transition and digital transition. The Clean Industrial Deal is Europe’s plan to improve competitiveness and reduce carbon emissions through circularity, focusing on energy-intensive sectors and clean technology, including the critical raw materials and energy infrastructure that supports them. The European Union also aims to lead the digital transition and the AI revolution, notably through the construction of data centres. These sectors contribute to climate mitigation and broader environmental objectives, by moving away from the fossil-based, non-circular, business-as-usual models. However, as the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment states, it is necessary to address the biodiversity impacts and dependencies of these industries and the underlying societal demand to reduce trade-offs and foster nature-positive benefits. By equipping stakeholders with practical and science-based decision-support capabilities, this topic aims to enhance the biodiversity performance of these industries compared to the status quo, increase public acceptance and deliver a wider range of benefits to society. Industries in scope of this topic are all European-based industries relevant to the Clean Industrial Deal, and the digital and artificial intelligence industry including the European-based physical infrastructures directly supporting them (i.e. transport, energy production and electricity grid, mining, extractive and mineral processing, data centres, etc.). Data-intensive industries, in particular Intellectual Property rights industries and copyright, should be supported in assessing the biodiversity impacts of their digital production and consumption.

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

artificial intelligence biodiversity clean industrial deal digital impact assessment industry spatial planning

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-14. 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

Official sources

Official call page

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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