Open now · HORIZON JU Innovation Actions · HORIZON-JU-CBE-2026-IA-05
Expected Outcome:
Successful proposals will contribute to the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.
Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
Scope:
Many research projects have focused on developing and piloting bio-based coatings and films for application in food and non-food packaging. When targeting packaging, a primary challenge is achieving adequate barrier properties (against oxygen, moisture, grease and volatiles), as bio-based materials are typically more hydrophilic than conventional plastics like PE or PET. Processing methods, including bio-based coating deposition, face scalability and reproducibility issues. Coatings must adhere well to substrates while maintaining technical properties and not hindering sustainable EoL. Printability is another concern, as bio-based surfaces can cause ink issues like smudging or poor adhesion. Durability under stress and operating conditions is still a challenge for certain bio-based applications. Finally, design for sustainability and sustainable EoL are critical to reduce over-packaging, avoid littering and increase circularity, according to the principles set out in the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.
Proposals under this topic should:
Trimmed here, the full scope, expected outcomes and award criteria are on the official topic page ↗.
| Item | Estimate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Drafting effort | 6–8 weeks | single submission |
| Partner search | 4–8 weeks | runs in parallel, and it is the part that slips |
| Your own money | €37M | 30% of project cost, over the project's life |
| Time to first payment | 6–9 months | cut-off → evaluation → grant agreement |
These are Bemzu's estimates from the call's structure (the number of stages and whether a consortium is required) not figures published by the Commission. Only the co-financing share is read from the call itself.
Two kinds of row. Most are the sentence we read the condition from, quoted out of the call itself. Some say plainly that they are not a quotation but the programme's own rule for this type of action, the EU portal publishes a table of contents where the conditions should be, so for a Research and Innovation Action the rate comes from the rulebook rather than from the fiche.
| Condition | Quoted from the call, or the rule behind it |
|---|---|
| Consortium size | Not quoted from this call — Innovation Actions under the Horizon Europe rules are at least three independent legal entities from three different Member States or Associated Countries, at least one established in a Member State. |
| Funding rate | Not quoted from this call — Innovation Actions under the Horizon Europe rules are funded at 70% of eligible costs for profit-making organisations, and 100% for non-profit legal entities — the rate shown here is the one that applies to a company. |
| Maturity | Proposals under this topic should: • Demonstrate (at least TRL 6) innovative technologies for obtaining bio-based films and/or coatings suitable for improving performance of packaging products. |
Eight questions, no account, nothing sent anywhere. You will know which of the 1526 open calls you can actually enter before you finish your coffee.
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