Destination 2 – Achieving technological leadership for Europe’s open strategic autonomy in raw materials, chemicals and innovative materials industry
The tender topics of this destination are intended to contribute to a paradigm shift with regard to the availability, development, use and disposal of chemicals and materials.
This is necessary to ensure Europe’s technological sovereignty and ability to cope with the twin green and digital transitions. A total budget of €293 million is available for the 13 call topics for Destination 2 in the current Horizon Europe work program.
One thematic area of this destination deals with the extraction, processing and recycling of raw materials. The aspects to be addressed in the 2025 call topics include technologies for critical raw materials and strategic raw materials from end-of-life products, innovative approaches for the sustainable production of critical raw materials and innovative solutions for the sustainable production of raw materials for the semiconductor industry.
The research and development of innovative advanced materials will focus on materials for product monitoring, smart maintenance and repair strategies in the construction sector and the creation of a European digital infrastructure that provides data for materials research and development. In addition, new materials will be developed for robust, fast-curing sealants and coatings, for telecommunication applications with low power consumption and ultra-broadband performance as well as for adaptable, flexible or stretchable electronics.
The call topics in the “Safe and Sustainable by Design” thematic area deal with the development of safe and sustainable alternatives to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the acceleration of the introduction of life cycle analyses (LCA).
In the field of textiles, the tender topic is aimed at digitally supported local textile and clothing production.
The following framework conditions apply to the calls for proposals in this destination with submission deadlines in 2025:
• Topics – HORIZON-CL4 INDUSTRY 2025-01-MATERIALS-xx
Budget: € 178 million
Call opening: May 22, 2025
Submission deadline: September 23, 2025
• Topics – HORIZON-CL4 2025-03-MATERIALS-xx
Budget: € 25 million
Call opening: June 10, 2025
Submission deadline: October 02, 2025
• Topics – HORIZON-CL4 2025-05-MATERIALS-xx-two-stage
Budget: € 90 million
Call opening: May 22, 2025
Submission deadline stage 1 (project outline): September 23, 2025
Submission deadline stage 2 (full proposal): April 14, 2026
On May 13 and 14, 2025, the EU Commission held the Horizon Europe Info Days on the 2025 calls for proposals in Cluster 4.
In the various sessions on the six destinations, the individual call topics were presented by the responsible scientific staff of the EU Commission and the participants in the Info Days were able to ask their questions.
The recordings are available on the NCP DIT website in the sections on the destinations via the following link: https://www.nks-dit.de/indtech_25
Contact person:
Ingo Rey
NKS DIT/Projektträger Jülich
Tel.: 02461/61-2623
E-mail: i.rey@fz-juelich.de
