Clean environment and zero pollution (Horizon Europe)

Anthropogenic pollution undermines the integrity of Earth’s ecosystems and severely affects natural resources essential for human life. Keeping our planet clean and our ecosystems healthy will not only help addressing the climate crisis but also help regenerate biodiversity, ensure the sustainability of primary production activities and safeguard the well-being of humankind. In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and related initiatives targeting environmental challenges, particularly the EU zero pollution action plan, the 2030 climate target plan, and other relevant EU legislation, this destination seeks to halt and prevent pollution.

It covers the following impact areas:

• water pollution in a global and climate change context
• N/P flows within safe ecological boundaries
• clean, unpolluted oceans and seas
• circular bio-based systems
• environmental impact of food systems

What is the goal to be achieved?

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway that helps to halt and eliminate pollution to guarantee clean and healthy soils, air, fresh and marine water for all and ensure that natural resources are used and managed in a sustainable and circular manner. To reach this objective, it will be vital to advance the knowledge of pollution sources and pathways to enable preventive measures to be rolled out, improve sustainability and circularity, apply planetary boundaries in practice and introduce effective remediation methods.

Calls for 2023:

Submission: 28.03.2023; Budget: 64.50 Mio. €

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-1: Knowledge and innovative solutions in agriculture for water availability and quality

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-2: Integrated assessment and monitoring of emerging pollutants

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-3: Tackling human and climate change induced pollution in the Arctic - building resilient socio-ecological systems

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-4: Environmental sustainability and circularity criteria for industrial bio-based systems

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-5: Industrial biotechnology approaches for improved sustainability and output of industrial bio-based processes

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-6: Biosensors and user-friendly diagnostic tools for environmental services

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-7: Strategies to prevent and reduce plastic packaging pollution from the food system

 

Calls for 2023 Two-Stage:

Submission: 28.03.2023 (First Stage); 26.09.2023 (Second Stage); Budget: 15 Mio. €

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-02-1-two-stage:  Optimisation of manure use along the management chain to mitigate GHG emissions and minimize nutrients/contaminants dispersion in the environment

HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-02-2-two-stage: Safe-and-sustainable-bydesign bio-based platform chemicals, additives, materials or products as alternatives

 

Calls for 2024:

Submission: 22.02.2024; Budget: 38 Mio. €

HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-1: "Demonstrating how regions can operate within safe ecological and regional nitrogen and phosphorus boundaries"

HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-2: "Best available techniques to recovering or /recycle fertilising products from secondary raw materials"

HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-3: Environmental impacts of food systems

 

Calls for 2024 Two-Stage:

Submission: 21.02.2024 (First Stage); 17.09.2024 (Second Stage); Budget: 23 Mio. €

HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-02-1-two-stage: "Holistic approaches for effective monitoring of water quality in urban areas"

HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-02-2-two-stage: "Innovative technologies for zero pollution, zero-waste biorefineries"

 

Links:

Destination 4 im Funding & Tenders Portal mit Auflistung der Call Topics im Arbeitsprogramm 2023-24 finden Sie hier.

Vollen Text des Arbeitsprogramms "Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment" (2023-2024) finden Sie hier.