Development of safe and sustainable by design alternatives (IA)
European Comission
ExpectedOutcome :
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- European industry will have access to safer and more sustainable innovative alternatives of chemicals and materials with reduced substitution barriers (e.g., performance, cost and supply demand);
- Industry will be able to test and demonstrate the applicability of the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework[1] to develop innovative chemicals or materials to substitute substances of concern [2];
- The EU climate ambitions[3] will be supported by contributing to a decrease of greenhouse gas emissions through a more sustainable production and use of Safe and Sustainable by Design chemicals and materials;
- The EU strategies/policies and regulation, such as the proposal for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation[4], the EU Ecolabel[5], REACH[6] or CLP[7] will be supported with safe and sustainable alternatives of chemicals and materials;
- The proof of concept of developing new Safe and Sustainable by Design chemicals or materials will bring evidence for new skills needed to apply the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework;
- Market uptake of the Safe and Sustainable by Design chemicals and materials will be encouraged by citizens better understanding their benefits. Scope :
The Commission initiative for Safe and Sustainable by Design [8] sets a framework for assessing safety and sustainability of chemicals and materials and which should be considered as a reference in the proposal.
Proposals should develop one or more new chemical substances or materials to replace existing substances of concern with surfactant, flame retardant or plasticising functionalities for a chosen application. Proposals should address at least one industrial application. The new substances or materials shall be aligned with the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework, and demonstrate improved sustainability and a contribution to lower the impact on climate. The selected industrial application(s) should be in areas where substitution with safer and more sustainable solutions is not yet in place, or in progress.
Proposals should address all of the following:
- Proof of concept of the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework. The developed substances or materials will have to comply with the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework. Findings from the selected projects will be considered for the further refinement of the defined framework, if applicable;
- The selection of the chemical/materials to be developed should be justified with a technology and socio-economic analysis;
- Proposals should involve all relevant actors along the value chain;
- Identify the substitution barriers for the selected applications and propose a driving mechanism for a maximal substitution in the targeted value chains;
- Identify and address challenges for the adaption of existing production lines;
- Explore collaboration with existing Open Innovation Test Beds (OITBs)[9], where relevant;
- Interoperability for data sharing should be addressed across the entire value chain;
- Communication actions to all stakeholders and specifically citizens about the benefits of the developed Safe and Sustainable by Design chemicals and materials.
Proposals should indicate to which chapters of the Strategic Research and Innovation Plan for chemicals and materials[10] they will contribute.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Proposals should involve appropriate expertise in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), in particular in the socio-economic analysis of the relevant substance or application.
Projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and platforms. For example, with projects resulting from the topic, HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-08 as well as other relevant projects from the topic HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION. Proposals should allocate the necessary resources for collaboration with other relevant projects.
Synergies with Horizon Europe missions as relevant are encouraged.
Specific Topic Conditions :
Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
[1]See documents defining the SSbD framework on: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/advanced-materials-and-chemicals_en
[2] See Article 2 of the Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for setting Ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC; https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12567-Sustainable-products-initiative_en
[3]https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/european-green-deal/2030-climate-target-plan_en
[4]https://ec.europa.eu/environment/publications/proposal-ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en
[5]https://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/the-ecolabel-scheme.html
[6]https://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_en.htm
[7]https://echa.europa.eu/regulations/clp/legislation
[8]See documents defining the SSbD framework on: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/advanced-materials-and-chemicals_en
[9]https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/sustainable-production-processes_en
[10]https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/advanced-materials-and-chemicals_en
General conditions
- Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
In order to include a business case and exploitation strategy, the page limit in General Annex A of the General Annexes is exceptionally extended by 3 pages.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
- Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide .
Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award:
Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual .
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
- Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
- Specific conditions: described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA) — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) — will be used with the necessary adaptations
HE General MGA v1.0 — MGA
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual