Enhancing ecodesign and circularity of construction products
Innovation Actions to enhance ecodesign and circularity of construction products for sustainability and climate goals.
This call supports projects that develop and demonstrate ecodesigned construction materials and products. It aims to improve durability, recyclability, and circularity in construction. Projects should evaluate environmental performance and promote sustainable product design aligned with EU climate and circular economy goals.
Likely relevant for
- Construction product manufacturers
- Circular economy innovators
- Sustainability-focused SMEs
- Environmental technology developers
- Material science researchers
Project signals
What it funds
- Development, testing and demonstration of new/improved ecodesign for construction materials and products
- Design for durability, reusability, reparability, separability, recyclability, and recycled content uptake
- Solutions promoting assembly/disassembly and reuse of recovered materials
- Assessment of mechanisms and incentives rewarding circular design and durability
- Lifecycle environmental performance evaluation using product environmental footprint methodology
- Consideration of contaminants impact on circularity and quality control of reuse/recycling
Expected outcomes
- Material and product manufacturers apply ecodesign principles contributing to EU climate, zero pollution, circular economy, and biodiversity goals
- Consumers and professionals benefit from sustainable, durable, safe, reusable, reparable, upgradable, recyclable products with increased recycled content
Who can apply / participate
- Industry including SMEs
- Research organisations
- Universities
- Public bodies
- Non-profit organisations
- Consortium composition details must be checked in the specific topic conditions
- Eligible countries as per Horizon Europe Annex B
- Participation of partners from associated countries with growing construction sectors encouraged
- Legal entities established in China are not eligible for participation under this destination
- Specific consortium size and composition
- Exact eligibility criteria for all participant types
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of participant countries and entities
- Specific consortium composition requirements
- Budget and funding rate details
- TRL targets and expected outcomes
Money
Total budget around €10 million for 2027 with expected grants of about €5 million each for 2 projects.
- Total budget for 2027 — 10000000EURApproximate total budget for this call in 2027
- Expected grant per project — 5000000EURExpected maximum contribution per grant
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout as per Annex A and E of Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
- Eligibility and admissibility conditions as per Annex B and C of Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
- Evaluation criteria and process described in Annex D and F of Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
- Prepare proposal following the specific application form in the Submission System.
- Submit proposal by the deadline date 22 September 2027.
- Follow evaluation and award procedures as per Horizon Europe guidelines.
- Check specific topic conditions for consortium and eligibility requirements.
- Legal entities from China are excluded under this destination.
- Funding is provided as lump sum grants according to Horizon Europe rules.
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 15:55 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Related calls
These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: material and product manufacturers apply ecodesign principles in developing and manufacturing products that are safe and contribute significantly to EU climate, zero pollution, circular economy, and biodiversity goals, e.g., through biodiversity-enhancing circular design; consumers and professionals benefit from more sustainable and circular products, i.e. durable, safe, reliable, reusable, reparable, upgradable, recyclable products including increased recycled content. Scope: Construction is one of the most resource-intensive sectors of the economy. The construction sector is responsible for almost 39% of the EU’s total waste generation. [1] Greenhouse gas emissions from material extraction, manufacturing of construction products, construction and renovation of buildings are estimated at 5-12% of total national GHG emissions. [2] Greater material efficiency could save 80% of those emissions. [3] Cement, steel, aluminium and plastics are the materials contributing by 15% to EU carbon emissions. Proposals should: develop, test and demonstrate new and improved ecodesign of construction materials and products, including design for durability, reusability, reparability, separability, recyclability, and uptake of recycled content. Solutions promoting assembly and disassembly of products should be considered, and solutions for the reuse of recovered materials; assess and provide recommendations for mechanisms and incentives to reward design for circularity, disassembly, and product durability – such as extended guarantees, VAT reduction, and others –, and analyse potential trade-offs and propose solutions to overcome them. The environmental performance of the proposed solutions in comparison to existing products should be evaluated from a lifecycle perspective using product environmental footprint methodology wherever applicable. The possible presence of contaminants in construction products and waste and its impact on circularity must be taken into account. Reuse and recycling options should involve quality control and assessment. Proposals should seek to contribute to the goals of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative. Joint activities with NEB projects are encouraged. Proposals should also seek to build synergies with construction-focused projects funded under Clusters 6 and 4, and are strongly encouraged to organise joint activities, ensure synergies and undertake clustering activities with those. Participation of partners from (associated) countries with growing construction sectors is encouraged. Proposals should seek to involve SMEs and regional ecosystems. The topic supports the European Green Deal, the Construction Products Regulation, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and its working plan, and Europe’s efforts to develop a single market for sustainable products. null Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. [1] Eurostat data for 2022, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/f0673b56-1bf2-490f-86e2-56bebc77e009?lang=en [2] https://www.boverket.se/sv/byggande/hallbart-byggande-och-forvaltning/miljoindikatorer---aktuell-status/vaxthusgaser/ [3] Hertwich, E., Lifset, R., Pauliuk, S., Heeren, N., IRP, (2020), Resource Efficiency and Climate Change: Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low-Carbon Future.
Destination
This destination will support the EU Commission priorities ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’ and ‘A new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness’. The destination supports the EU Green Deal [1] and contributes to Europe’s competitiveness and sustainable prosperity by supporting the development of a more resilient circular economy in line with the EU Competitiveness Compass [2] , the announced EU Clean Industrial Deal [3] and the EU Circular Economy Act. It aims to increase market demand for secondary materials and establish a single market for waste, whilst enhancing Europe’s efforts to develop a single market for sustainable products. It will also support the implementation of the framework conditions set by the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy. Furthermore, the destination aims to facilitate the emergence and uptake of innovative, circular and bio-based materials, products, processes and value chains that play a key role for the defossilisation (reduction of feedstocks of fossil origin), climate neutrality and strategic autonomy of our economy, in line with the new EU bioeconomy strategy as well as with the New European Bauhaus. In addition, this destination supports several key EU policies including the industrial strategy, the European Chemicals Industry Action Plan [4] and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation [5] and its working plan. It also contributes to the EU Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, the SME strategy, the communication on safe and sustainable by design framework, the sustainable blue economy, the European Ocean Pact [6] , the European Water Resilience Strategy [7] , the European Life Sciences Strategy, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, and the Nature Restoration Regulation. Further support extends to the CAP, the EU forest strategy for 2030, the proposal for a Regulation on a forest monitoring framework, the EU proposal for a directive on soil monitoring and resilience, and the Vision for Agriculture and Food. The destination supports unlocking the unique assets for research and innovation of the EU outermost regions, in line with the EU strategy for outermost regions [8] . Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this destination. For additional information please see “Restrictions on the participation of legal entities established in China” found in General Annex B of the General Annexes. Expected impact : Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to “ achieving healthy soils and forests, as well as clean air, fresh and marine water, whilst ensuring water resilience and the transition to a clean, competitive and circular economy and sustainable bioeconomy ”, and more specifically to one or more of the following expected impacts : Improved climate change adaptation and mitigation through the transition to a more sustainable and circular economy and bioeconomy, underpinned by biotechnologies and sustainable industrial solutions, such as carbon capture and utilisation and recovery of materials, water and energy. Industrial competitiveness, sustainability and strategic autonomy are improved through the development of safe, sustainable, circular and/or bio-based value chains. This is done by promoting the efficient and circular use of secondary materials and water, fostering the multi-functionality of forests, and ensuring the sustainable supply of critical resources from land and sea. Living conditions for individuals and communities are improved through innovative, affordable and sustainable safe and sustainable by design products and services based on circular and/or bio-based solutions while demonstrating a reduction of environmental and climate pressures. Advanced societal transformation based on a systemic approach, as well as people’s involvement and integration of social sciences and humanities for fair, safe, sustainable and circular value chains, sustainable consumption patterns, environmental justice, gender equality and social inclusion. [1] The European Green Deal - European Commission [2] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/competitiveness-compass_en [3] Clean Industrial Deal - European Commission [4] European Chemicals Industry Action Plan – European Commission [5] Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation – European Commission [6] The European Ocean Pact - European Commission [7] Water resilience strategy - European Commission [8] COM(2022) Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions.
Conditions and documents
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
2. 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.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support information
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant. Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe. Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management. Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’). Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers. Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Raw budget overview
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