Deadline: 22 February 2024

HEU CL6 calls on Food, bio-economy, natural resources, agriculture and environment are open! Applicants can apply by 22 February 2024.There are single-stage and two-stage calls. Applicants submit a final proposal for the single-stage call for proposals by the call deadline. For the two-stage call for proposals, applicants submit an outline application (max 10 pages) by the first deadline which will be evaluated against only two award criteria: ‘Excellence’ and ‘Impact’. Successful applicants are invited to submit a full proposal by the second deadline, which will be evaluated against the full award criteria. First-stage proposals of two-stage submissions will be evaluated blindly, and applicants may not disclose their identity in Part B of their proposal. The calls include 75 new topics proposing over €890 million of funding to support innovative solutions in the areas of:

• Biodiversity and ecosystem services: HORIZON-CL6-2024-BIODIV-01 (9 topics) & HORIZON-CL6-2024-BIODIV-02 (3 topics).

E.g.: Dependence of society and the economy on pollinators; Digital for nature; Nature-based solutions; Minor crops in farming systems; Selective breeding for organic aquaculture; Invasive alien species.

• Fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food systems from primary production to consumption: HORIZON-CL6-2024-FARM2FORK-01 (11 topics) & HORIZON-CL6-2024-FARM2FORK-02 (7 topics)

E.g.: food waste prevention; food safety; tackling food fraud; agro-pastoral/outdoor livestock systems and wildlife management; sustainable organic food; EU-African Union cooperation on agroforestry; resilient fisheries.

• Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors: HORIZON-CL6-2024-CIRCBIO-01 (10 topics) & HORIZON-CL6-2024-CIRCBIO-02 (6 topics)

E.g.: Increasing the circularity in electronics, plastics and textiles value chains; Innovative circular solutions for furniture.             

• Clean environment and zero pollution: HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-01 (3 topics) & HORIZON-CL6-2024-ZEROPOLLUTION-02 (2 topics)

E.g.: Environmental impacts of food systems; Holistic approaches to monitor water quality in urban areas.

• Land, oceans and water for climate action: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CLIMATE-01 (7 topics)

E.g.: Paludiculture; irrigation practices and technologies in agriculture; climate-smart use of wood in the construction sector.

• Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities: HORIZON-CL6-2024-COMMUNITIES-01 (3 topics) & HORIZON-CL6-2024-COMMUNITIES-02 (2 topics)

E.g.: Societal perceptions and benefits of rural life and jobs; new sustainable business and production models for farmers and rural communities.

• Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal: HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-01 (12 topics)

E.g.: Developing EU advisory networks on forestry and sustainable livestock systems; Thematic networks on biodiversity and organic farming If you missed EC Cluster 6 Info Days (27-28 September 2023), you may watch the recording to learn more about the topics open for funding HERE.