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SSbD bio-based alternatives for fertilising and/or crop protection products

Open now · HORIZON JU Innovation Actions · HORIZON-JU-CBE-2026-IAFlag-02

Next cut-off
22 Sept '26
in 16 days
Per grant
€171M
the call's own average
Grants expected
1
projects that will be funded
Funding rate
70%
the rest is your own money

In context of Horizon Europe

This grant€171M
The track runs to the largest grant in Horizon Europe (€171M). The median across the 482 calls we publish is €5.3M, this one is above it.

What this call funds

Expected Outcome:

Successful proposals will contribute to the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy, Farm to Fork Strategy, the Horizon Europe Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, in particular the objectives: ‘Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration’, the European Chemical Industry Action Plan as well as the Clean Industrial Deal.

Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:

  • Full industrial scale biorefinery and related value chain(s) for the sustainable production of bio-based fertilisers and/or crop protection solutions.
  • Increased availability of cost-competitive and SSbD bio-based alternatives for fertilising and/or crop protection products with suitable agronomic efficacy.
  • Reduced reliance on synthetic/mineral agricultural chemical products.
  • Increased EU strategic autonomy, resilience and competitiveness through a robust cooperation among bio-based industries and farmers.
  • Increased soil health, including minimising accumulation of microplastics and pollutants in soil and water, with positive effects on quality, security and resilience of food production in agriculture.

Scope:

FAO estimates that up to 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases globally every year.[1] Chemical synthetic products are conventionally used to protect crops and other plants from pests and diseases. In parallel, the EU is largely dependent on imports of both mineral and chemical fertilisers to grow crops. In both cases, over-use of synthetic/mineral products also poses concern for soil health and food quality. Moreover, the unequal distribution and depletion of non-renewable sources risks disrupting supply chains, particularly during energy crises.

Trimmed here, the full scope, expected outcomes and award criteria are on the official topic page ↗.

What applying costs you

ItemEstimateNote
Drafting effort6–8 weekssingle submission
Partner search4–8 weeksruns in parallel, and it is the part that slips
Your own money€73M30% of project cost, over the project's life
Time to first payment6–9 monthscut-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.

Where these conditions come from

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.

ConditionQuoted from the call, or the rule behind it
Consortium sizeNot 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 rateNot 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.
MaturityProposals under this topic should: • Demonstrate (at TRL 8) the efficient industrial production of SSbD bio-based solutions as alternatives to current fertilising and/or crop protection products.

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