Technologies for innovative processing of raw materials (IA)
Horizon Europe · Grant topic
Summary
A Polish company can use this call for R&D.
Funds companies and researchers developing EU pilot facilities for improved metal recovery from low-grade ores, complex ores and extractive waste.
- Who can apply
- Companies can lead: SME, large company, startup, research org, university.
- Amount
- €10M – €13M per projectTotal budget €49,000,000
- Deadline
- 02 Feb 2027 01:00 CETin 101 days
- Status
- Openopened 13 Oct 2026
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.
Description
Expected Outcome:
• Increased recovery rates of valuable raw materials, particularly critical raw materials from low grade or complex ores and/or from mining waste;
• Increased economic performance in terms of higher material-, water-, energy- and cost-efficiency and flexibility in minerals processing and metallurgical processes; and
• Improved health, safety and environmental performance of the operations throughout the whole life cycle that is considered, including a reduction in waste, wastewater and generation of emissions of air pollutants and a better recovery of resources from generated waste, reducing the environmental footprint and contributing to biodiversity and ecosystems preservation.
Scope:
Actions should develop and validate / demonstrate pilot scale facility located in the EU integrating relevant processing and refining technologies for improved recovery of raw materials from low grade and/or complex ores from extractive wastes, reduction of waste and water and air pollution, higher energy efficiency and reduction of land and sea-use change, habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. The action can also focus on reducing the content of toxic elements or compounds in the resulting material products. The actions should target minerals and metals, particularly critical raw materials.
The solution proposed should be flexible enough to adapt to different or variable ore grades and extractive waste streams and should be supported by efficient and robust process control. Where relevant, any solution proposed for the reduction of the content of toxic elements or compounds in the resulting materials should also include the appropriate management of the hazardous substances removed.
Actions should develop intelligent and innovative production systems which better utilise natural resources by minimising losses during waste-rock separation in an optimised and energy-efficient process and by minimising use of water.
Recycling of end-of-life products is excluded from this topic.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate resources accordingly.
Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider standardisation aspects when relevant. The action should also include the analysis of financial opportunities ensuring the market exploitation and replication of the circular business model behind the developed solutions as new processes, products and/or services. The industry based in the EU, and users of recovered secondary raw materials should assume prominent role in the proposed actions, supported by adequate allocation of resources.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve full-scale deployment in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the leading partners after the end of the project.
International cooperation is encouraged with countries with which the EU has signed Strategic Partnerships on raw materials, especially with Ukraine.[1]
Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
[1] https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/areas-specific-interest/raw-materials-diplomacy_en
Who can apply, in detail
- Applicant types
- SME, Large company, Startup, Research org, University
- Purpose
- Research and innovation
- R&D relevance
- 3 of 3
- Poland eligible
- Yes
- Country limit
- EU Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union members, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and additional countries unspecified in the excerpt
- Region
- Any
- Consortium
- Required
- Readiness level (TRL)
- —
- Topics
- Critical raw materials
- Metal recovery
- Mineral processing
- Metallurgical refining
- Mining waste valorisation
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026
Conditions
Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.
- Applicant restriction
- participation in this topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Member States, MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, Andean Community and countries with which the EU has concluded strategic partnerships on raw materials as well as trade agreements (or association/economic partnership or equivalent agreements, including the new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships) containing raw materials cooperation provisions (i.e. Energy and Raw materials chapters); entities established in an eligible listed country but directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity shall not participate.
- Eligible project scope
- The focus is on raw materials (metals only), particularly on critical raw materials.
- Other condition
- Innovation Actions.
- Other condition
- Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
- Other condition
- Horizon Europe General Annexes describe personnel as actual costs unless declared as a unit cost; they separately list SME-owner/natural-person personnel unit costs, subcontracting as actual costs, purchases as actual costs unless unit cost, and FSTP only if provided by the specific call. Therefore these personnel categories do not turn an external service purchase or subcontract into a hire, and no specific FSTP entitlement is asserted for this topic.
- Other condition
- For A.1 employees/equivalent, the HE MGA states annual personnel costs divided by 215 as the daily-rate basis; declared day-equivalents must be identifiable and verifiable. The total declared day-equivalents per person across EU grants in a year cannot exceed 215, minus parental leave time where applicable.
- Other condition
- 2026–2027 Horizon Europe topic HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-16: Technologies for innovative processing of raw materials (IA).
Amounts and costs
- Indicative budget
- €49,000,000
Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.
- Eligible cost
- Directly contracted natural persons (under a non-employment contract) and paid seconded persons may be personnel costs when assigned to the action and meeting general eligibility conditions; they must work under conditions similar to employees, results belong to the beneficiary unless agreed otherwise, and actual costs must not be significantly different from employees performing similar tasks.
- Eligible cost
- Employees/equivalent may be charged as personnel costs only if general eligibility conditions are met, the person works for the beneficiary under an employment contract or equivalent appointing act, is assigned to the action, and remuneration-linked amounts arise under national law or the employment terms; this category is based on costs actually incurred.
- Eligible cost
- The HE MGA allows nonsalaried SME owners and natural-person beneficiaries to claim personnel costs as unit costs under Annex 2a, subject to general eligibility conditions; the AGA gives a daily-rate formula of EUR 8,745.4 divided by 18 days, multiplied by the applicable country-specific correction coefficient for calls opened on or after 30 July 2024. This is a unit-cost calculation, not an employee salary cap or rate guaranteed for every country.
- Expected project funding, up to
- €12,500,000
Indicative expected contribution only; the topic expressly allows different requested amounts; not a hard cap.
- Expected project funding, from
- €10,000,000
Indicative expected contribution only; the topic expressly allows different requested amounts.
- Topic allocation
- €49,000,000
Topic-level indicative allocation; not the per-project expected contribution.
Personnel and services
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category only when the grant conditions and Article 6.2.A.2 apply; assigned to the action, work under conditions similar to an employee, result belongs to beneficiary unless agreed otherwise, and actual direct-contract costs are not significantly different from comparable employees. It is a contractor engagement category, not employee payroll; no qualification, headcount, FTE, duration or rate is set by this topic.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category under the applicable Horizon Europe General MGA, conditional on actual action assignment and all eligibility rules. This is not a call-specific required team, named job, or promise of award. Qualification, headcount, FTE, duration and salary are not stated by the topic. Employee remuneration must be actual and linked to national law/employment terms; daily-rate and reporting rules are described in the cited MGA.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential personnel unit-cost category where the applicable grant agreement includes Article 6.2.A.4. Applies only to an SME owner not receiving a salary or a natural-person beneficiary not receiving a salary, with work assigned to the action and general unit-cost conditions met. The daily unit rate is country-adjusted; it is not a salary and this packet does not assert a per-person EUR rate without the recipient country coefficient. No required headcount, FTE, duration or qualification is named in this topic.
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Potential fundable personnel category only when the grant conditions and Article 6.2.A.3 apply; assigned to the action, works under conditions similar to an employee and actual costs are not significantly different from comparable beneficiary employees. This is a paid secondment, not a new employment contract with the beneficiary. No call-specific qualification, headcount, FTE, duration or pay rate is stated.
Source documents
Call facts
- Opens
- 13 Oct 2026
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Programme
- Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
- Call
- HORIZON-CL4-2027-01 · INDUSTRY
- Types of action
- HORIZON Innovation Actions
- Source
- ec.europa.eu
- Checked
- 23 Oct 2026
- Portal updated
- 14 Oct 2026
- Review status
- Partial review
- Reviewed
- 22 Oct 2026
This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.