Bio-based chemicals and/or materials from woody residues
Demonstrate innovative technologies to produce bio-based chemicals/materials from woody residues with sustainable end-of-life solutions.
This call seeks projects that develop and demonstrate new technologies to convert woody residues from forestry and wood industries into bio-based chemicals and materials. Projects should validate product performance and apply eco-design principles for sustainable end-of-life. Collaboration with local forest owners and supply chain optimization are required.
Likely relevant for
- Bio-based chemical/material producers
- Forestry industry stakeholders
- Sustainable materials developers
- Circular economy innovators
- Environmental technology researchers
Project signals
What it funds
- Demonstration of innovative technologies (TRL 6+) for bio-based chemicals/materials from woody residues
- Validation of chemicals/materials into end products (TRL 5+)
- Application of eco-design principles for sustainable end-of-life (excluding incineration)
- Collaboration with local forest owners/cooperatives
- Optimization of biomass supply chains
- Application of Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework
- Complementarity with past and ongoing R&I projects
Expected outcomes
- Increased availability of bio-based chemicals/materials from woody residues
- Enhanced sustainability of forest-based value chains
- Improved end-of-life solutions for bio-based products from woody residues
Who can apply / participate
- Research organisations
- Industry participants
- SMEs
- Forestry cooperatives and associations
- Consortia involving multiple stakeholders
- Multi-actor approach required including local forest owners and cooperatives
- Eligible countries as per Horizon Europe Annex B
- Must comply with Horizon Europe general and specific eligibility conditions
- Exact consortium size and composition requirements
- Specific country eligibility for non-EU participants
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of specific woody residue feedstocks
- Consortium composition requirements
- Funding rates and budget limits
Money
Expected grant per project is around €7 million for Innovation Actions under this topic in 2026.
- Minimum grant per project — 7000000EURFor Innovation Actions under topic HORIZON-JU-CBE-2026-IA-03 in 2026
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes and Application Form
- Eligibility conditions as per Horizon Europe Annex B
- Financial and operational capacity requirements per Horizon Europe Annex C
- Evaluation criteria and process as per Horizon Europe Annex D and F
- Legal and financial set-up as per Horizon Europe Annex G
- Prepare proposal following Application Form templates in Submission System
- Ensure compliance with eligibility and admissibility conditions
- Submit proposal before deadline 22 September 2026
- Follow evaluation and award procedures as described in Horizon Europe documentation
- Incineration of bio-based products is excluded from scope
- Close collaboration with local forestry stakeholders is mandatory
- Complementarity with past and ongoing projects should be ensured
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 16:30 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
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Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the EU Forest Strategy for 2030, the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the Carbon Removal Certification Framework Regulation, the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy and the upcoming Circular Economy Act. Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Increased availability of bio-based chemicals and/or bio-based materials from woody residues. Increased sustainability of forest-based value chains in cooperation with local forestry owners/cooperatives. Improved end-of-life (EoL) of bio-based products from woody residues. Scope: Besides thin branches, leaves and needles, which are usually left on the soil to maintain the long-term viability of the forest and soil in good condition, forestry and forest industry operations generate large amounts of woody residues which are typically used for energy or low value applications. Established process technologies for round wood and wood chips are not well suited for other streams from the forest industry which are abundantly available at production sites and could be exploited as a source of feedstock for the bio-based industries. Thus, there is the need to demonstrate techno-economic feasibility of innovative valorisation pathways to increase the value which can be derived from residues from the wood and forest-based industries while also improving sustainability compared to state-of the art valorisation routes. Proposals under this topic should: Demonstrate (TRL 6 and above) innovative technologies to obtain bio-based chemicals and/or materials from woody residues. Feedstock in scope includes woody residues generated at forestry and/or at industrial processing sites, including, but not limited to, bark, sawdust or residues from wood harvesting and processing. Demonstration should cover the optimal combination of innovative and scalable technologies aimed at maximising yield, selectivity and productivity across upstream pretreatment/fractionation, further conversion into chemicals/materials, separation/purification processes. The proposed technologies should address flexibility to feedstock quality variability. Validate (TRL 5 and above) the obtained chemicals/materials into end products. Assess the products’ performance and ensure that they fulfil technical performance requirements according to the end market application(s). Apply the eco-design principles, in line with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation , to the end-product(s) for sustainable EoL and test it at TRL5 and above. Incineration is not in scope. In addition to the specific requirements applicable for the type of action, as described in section 2.2.3.1 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2026 [1] , proposals under this topic should: As part of the multi-actor approach (MAA), ensure close collaboration with local forest owners and managers, including cooperatives and/or sectorial associations. Optimise biomass supply chain models, including sourcing, storage and/or transport as relevant for selected woody residues. Include a task to apply the SSbD framework, developed by the European Commission for the assessment of targeted chemicals/materials and derived bio-based product(s). For more information on the SSbD framework and criteria, refer to Safe and sustainable by design . Ensure complementarities with past and ongoing R&I projects addressing similar challenges, including projects funded under Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe (under Cluster 6 and other Clusters of Horizon Europe) and BBI JU/CBE JU projects. [1] https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents
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 Eligibility 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
described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
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
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in section 2.2.3 Calls for proposals in the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2026
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates
Please use the application form that you will find in the Submission System.
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 and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
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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