Carbon farming in living labs

Closed

Code: 27130 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-09 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

Carbon farming can be defined as a green business model that rewards land managers for taking up improved land management practices, resulting in the increase of carbon sequestration in living biomass, dead organic matter and soils by enhancing carbon capture and/or reducing the release of carbon to the atmosphere, in respect of ecological principles favourable to biodiversity and the natural capital overall.

Living labs are collaborations between multiple partners that operate and undertake experiments on several sites at regional or sub-regional level. Individual sites could be e.g. farms, forest stands, urban green or industrial areas, enterprises and other entities, where the work is carried-out and monitored under real-life conditions, regardless of the land size, tenure (land ownerships) or the type of economic activity.

Lighthouses are individual, local sites (one farm, one forest exploitation, one industrial site, one urban city green area, etc.) that either can be part of a living lab or be situated outside a living lab.

Co-creating solutions for soil health in Living Labs

Closed

Code: 27128 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-08 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

More research is needed to restore and maintain healthy soils in the EU. There are three components are recognizable within the now well-established living labs research concept, which include (a) co-creation with a large set of stakeholders, (b) carried out in real-life settings and (c) involving the end-users.

Living labs are collaborations between multiple partners that operate and undertake experiments on several sites at regional or sub-regional level. Individual sites could be e.g. farms, forest stands, urban green or industrial areas, enterprises and other entities, where the work is carried-out and monitored under real-life conditions, regardless of the land size, tenure (land ownerships) or the type of economic activity.

Lighthouses are individual, local sites (one farm, one forest exploitation, one industrial site, one urban city green area, etc.) that either can be part of a living lab or be situated outside a living lab.

Soil pollution processes – modelling and inclusion in advanced digital decision-support tools

Closed

Code: 27125 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-02 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

The capacity to carry out a comprehensive scenario analysis at EU level on the impact of key drivers on soil pollution (e.g. societal behaviour, changes in emissions, climate, land management practices) is currently lacking. Soil-oriented fate and transport models exist for certain pollutants (e.g. pesticides, radionuclides, nutrients, metals) but they are generally not integrated with each other, often lack a temporal capacity, and do not always provide a quantification of actual risk to human and environmental health. Models that address the extent, fate, and transport, of emerging contaminants (e.g. microplastics, pharmaceuticals, PFAS) are even scarcer.

Environmental pollution modelling is also often compartmentalized despite a clear understanding that soil can be both a recipient of atmospheric deposition (e.g. nitrogen and sulphur) and a source of atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases (e.g. N2O, NH4, CO2, dust, nutrients). While also acting as a buffer to water bodies from pollutants, soils can be at the origin of some of the main problems affecting terrestrial ecosystems, freshwater and marine ecosystems (e.g. nitrification, eutrophication, pesticides, in both water column and sediment) as well as compromise the production of safe food and human health.

There is a clear need to demonstrate that policy measures that affect air quality or industrial emissions can, over time, have a positive impact also on soils and water bodies.

Atlantic and Arctic sea basin lighthouse – Addressing climate change and human activities threats to marine biodiversity

Closed

Code: 27123 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-03 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

Proposals will focus on developing and demonstrating ecosystem-based conservation measures and approaches for reducing cumulative pressure from human activities to address marine biodiversity loss at basin/regional level.
Project results are expected to contribute to the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the EU Arctic policy as well as to a basin-scale cooperation in the Atlantic and Arctic, including through transition arrangements that create socially and economically sustainable propositions for local stakeholders.

Cross-basin topic – Analysis of the obstacles and opportunities for repurposing aged/unused offshore infrastructures

Closed

Code: 27121 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-07 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

The increasing number of offshore infrastructures to be decommissioned in the near future in the European seas requires a sound assessment of environmental, social and technical impacts that decommissioning processes carry. Alternatives to decommissioning can be viewed as an opportunity to preserve the marine habitats around these platforms and to convert these infrastructures to other potentially valuable uses with environmental, economic and/or scientific benefits.

Proposals under this topic should focus on analysing options to decommissioning offshore platforms, in light of marine conservation and ecosystem protection, identifying possible business models and assessing related implications for policy/decision making and for public acceptance.

Incentive Scheme for the Upgrade of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations in Rural, Mountainous and Remote Areas to Modernize and Improve the Competitiveness of the Tourism Product – Call 2023

Closed

Code: 27117 | Identifier Code: C3.1I8 | Programme name: 13602 | Start submission calls: 14/02/2023 | End submission calls: 01/12/2023

The Deputy Ministry of Tourism announces the 1st Call of Incentive Scheme for the Upgrade of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations in Rural, Mountainous and Remote Areas to Modernize and Improve the Competitiveness of the Tourism Product, under the Recovery and Resilience Fund, to improve the competitiveness of the hotel sector by adding, improving and enriching the composition of the product in the mountains, the countryside and remote areas, thus aiming to extend the tourist season and penetrate new markets.

Scheme for the Digital Upgrade of Enterprises

Closed

Code: 27114 | Identifier Code: (Measure C3.3I4) | Programme name: 13602 | Start submission calls: 07/03/2023 | End submission calls: 31/03/2023

The Scheme aims to encourage investments in digital entrepreneurship and to strengthen the degree of integration of digital technology in existing or new SMEs, thus contributing to the strategic objectives of the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) to strengthen and accelerate the digital transition of the Cypriot economy. The main objectives of the Scheme are:

• The contribution to the digital transformation of the Cypriot economy
• The promotion of digital entrepreneurship.
• The increase in the number / percentage of small and medium enterprises that use information and communication technologies, including the field of e-commerce.
• Strengthening the digital identity of businesses.
• The creation of new opportunities for businesses through digital transformation.

The promotion of digital technology actions and advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain, cloud computing and big data.

Cross-basin topic – Innovative nature-inclusive concepts to reconcile offshore renewables with ocean protection

Closed

Code: 27110 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-06 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

The EU offshore renewable energy strategy sets ambitious objectives for renewable energy production at sea, namely in relation to the REPowerEU Communication. These objectives are particularly relevant to quickly move away from our dependency on fossil fuels. Deployment of renewable energy solutions needs to be fast and coherent with the EU biodiversity protection and restoration targets. Offshore renewable infrastructures need to be built in such a way that they do not significantly harm the marine environment (e.g.: facilitating the expansion of invasive species) and even, where possible, contribute to restore marine ecosystems. Offshore infrastructures can already have positive impacts on the surrounding biodiversity and act as reefs and refuges for certain species. Nature-inclusive designs might further decrease the negative impacts and enhance desired effects.
Proposals should focus on truly multidisciplinary approaches for the development of nature-inclusive concept design of offshore renewable energy devices.

Roadmap towards the integration of inland waters into the Digital Twin Ocean

Closed

Code: 27107 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-09 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

The Digital Twin ocean will host a digital infrastructure with data services to facilitate data analytics, advanced modelling and high performance computing, development of what if scenarios to assess policies development in a context of resilience to climate change and sustainable development, supporting as well the implementation of local twins addressing specifics requested by stakeholders at all relevant scales from global to local.

The objective of the CSA is to prepare the development of the inland waters part (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, snow and ice etc.) of the Mission Knowledge system, and address activities to be developed to make it integrated or interoperable with the Digital Twin Ocean for a unified Digital twin of Ocean and waters (addressing the hydrosphere as a whole) for the Mission and the lighthouses.

Different scales shall be addressed from catchment to global perspective of the water cycle.

The targeted inland water digital twin shall support the implementation of the Mission through its different lighthouses and specially supporting the one dedicated to Danube.

European Blue Parks – Protection and restoration of marine habitats

Closed

Code: 27104 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

Proposals under this topic will develop and demonstrate protection and restoration solutions to address the degradation of coastal and marine ecosystems. Proposals should significantly improve the management of marine protected areas in particular through definition of clear science-based conservation objectives and implementation of the necessary conservation measures to achieve those objectives. Amongst the conservation measures, proposals should entail implementation of passive restoration actions through e.g.: strict protection, either as a newly designated strictly protected areas or as part of the zoning in the existing marine protected areas. Proposals should address the whole marine ecosystem functioning in the designated area, including the seabed and its role in carbon storage and as fish spawning and nursery area. Proposals may address either specific vulnerable species or habitats that are under strong pressures or that have the most potential to capture and store carbon.

European natural lakes: demonstration of integrated approaches for protection and restoration of natural lake ecosystems and their biodiversity

Closed

Code: 27101 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-04 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

The proposals under this topic should design and demonstrate integrated and replicable approaches to protect and restore natural lake ecosystems and their biodiversity that result in a significantly improved ecological and chemical status and maintain it in the long-term. The integrated approaches should cover physical and biochemical elements and address in an integrated way all main pressures on the lake ecosystem. Proposals should also consider threats and risks associated to climate change and pressures on biodiversity.

The demonstration activities should combine measures and solutions to reduce pressures and stressors, to restore and protect the lake ecosystem and its biodiversity, in particular using effective nature-based and circular-biobased solutions in the lakes, along shorelines and across their catchments to reduce use of chemicals and retain nutrients. The demonstration sites should be located on natural lakes with a surface area exceeding 1 km2.

Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea basins – Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea basins – Green and energy-efficient small-scale fishing fleets

Closed

Code: 27098 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-05 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

Proposals under this topic are expected to identify a set of suitable innovative and sustainable solutions, technologies, practices and processes to be tested, validated and demonstrated in real conditions to reduce emissions and fuel consumption of small-scale fishing vessels (length of less than 12 m), to increase energy efficiency in their range of activities and comply with EU regulatory frameworks. Solutions should consider multi-disciplinary approaches and guarantee full integration in the vessels. The integrated solutions need to be tested at sea to ensure fitness for purpose in harsh marine environment and for all range of fishing-related activities. Innovative solutions such as battery/hybrid systems, wind-propulsion vessels as well as use of sensors, predictive analytics, data, etc. can be considered.
Impact assessment on the marine environment and its biodiversity should also be carried out as well as an analysis of the obstacles, opportunities and recommendations about good practices for reducing fuel consumption and emissions from small-scale fishing vessels and improving energy efficiency in their range of activities.

Choose your fish: a campaign for responsible consumption of products from the sea

Closed

Code: 27095 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-10 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

The selected proposal under this topic should help citizens to make responsible choices in relation to the seasonality of fishes and to fish population decline and, when relevant, to the sustainability of fishing techniques.

Ocean & water and arts: the contribution of creative sectors to Mission Ocean and waters

Closed

Code: 27093 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-11 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

Art and creative sectors can play an important role in the mobilisation of citizens, stakeholders and civil society actors for the protection and restoration of the ocean and inland waters, their biodiversity, aesthetic and cultural heritage. In this context, this action should benefit from close cooperation with the scientific community and the philanthropists.
Mobilisation, cooperation and coordination should be envisaged at interregional/transnational level. Proposals are encouraged to build synergies with relevant activities supported under the Creative Europe programme and with other New European Bauhaus projects, notably those based in coastal and maritime regions.

Integration of socio-ecological models into the Digital Twin Ocean

Closed

Code: 27090 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-08 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

This call aims to support the necessary actions and tool developments to appropriately include the social-ecological component of the European Digital Twin Ocean, including the links and interactions with other parts of the system (data, underlying models, ecosystem models, local twins, etc.), the necessary social-economic data considerations and the development of models and other applications to simulate and predict the social and economic part of marine and coastal systems linked to the environmental/ecological components, enabling the development of normative (what-if scenarios) and decision-support tools.

Danube river basin lighthouse – Demonstration of effective and sustainable management of sediments in the Danube river-Black sea system

Closed

Code: 27084 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-02 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

Sediments, a key component of river ecosystems, provide habitats to many aquatic organisms, regulate the morphology and shape of river basin and provide key ecosystem services. Effective sediment management at a river basin scale requires trans-national, cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach. Moreover, sediment management accounts for the different demands on sediments; it considers relevant protection aspects and multiple uses of a river and its floodplain (also diverging use interests, conflicts).

The proposals should focus on the demonstration of sustainable and effective solutions for sediment management at river basin scale, including solutions for restoration of sediment balance and flow in the Danube river-Black sea system and measures to improve sediment quality. The demonstration activities should entail a holistic approach to sediment management, involving all relevant actors at a transnational/national scale and across relevant sectors, such as ICPDR, relevant national authorities, riparian communities as well as concerned economic actors.

Mission Climate adaptation, Mission Ocean & waters and Mission Soil Deal for Europe – Joint demonstration of an integrated approach to increasing landscape water retention capacity at regional scale

Closed

Code: 27082 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-MISS-2023-CLIMA-OCEAN-SOIL-01-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Missions | Start submission calls: 17/01/2023 | End submission calls: 20/09/2023

This joint topic aims to support at least 75 full-scale deep demonstrations of climate resilience, to the Mission Ocean & Waters’ objective 1, protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, and objective 2, prevent and eliminate pollution of marine and freshwaters. It also contributes to the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), as well as to the freshwater objectives of the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 on the re-naturalisation of rivers and the restoration of floodplains.

Landscape water retention capacity is understood as the ability of water bodies, soils and other ecosystems to retain water after it has fallen as precipitation; it is fundamental for the protection of biological diversity as life depends on water. High landscape water retention capacity prevents accelerated surface run-off, increases water content in soils and surface and ground water availability for vegetation, improves the quantity and quality of groundwater and aquifer recharge, reduces soil erosion and nutrient run off into surface water bodies, and improves local micro-climate by reducing local air and biomass temperature. As such, it has the potential to prevent and mitigate impacts of extreme hydrological events such as floods and to act as a buffer against heat extremes.
Projects should demonstrate socio-ecological approaches and nature-based solutions to increase landscape and soil water retention capacity, leading to improvement of quality and quantity of ground and surface waters in the area where they are deployed, and boosting resilience to climate change impacts.

Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI)’s circular systemic solutions

Closed

Code: 27078 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CircBio-02-1-two-stage | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Cluster 6)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 22/12/2022 | End submission calls: 26/09/2023

In the context of this topic, a circular systemic solution is defined as demonstration project for deploying a circular and climate-neutral economy at urban and/or regional scale, involving key stakeholders and, ideally, addressing more than one product value chain. Proposals are expected to implement and demonstrate at large scale circular systemic solutions for the deployment of the circular economy (including the circular bioeconomy) in cities and regions or their groupings. They should form part of the implementation of the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) and they should be carried out in close coordination and cooperation with the CCRI Coordination and Support Office (CCRI-CSO).

Novel, sustainable and circular bio-based textiles

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Code: 27076 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CircBio-02-2-two-stage | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Cluster 6)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 22/12/2022 | End submission calls: 26/09/2023

Overall, the call addresses the design, demonstration and scale-up of production of sustainable and circular, bio-based textiles for one or more applications: e.g., technical textiles, garments, industrial textiles, home textiles; including also innovative smart textiles and those providing additional functionalities (e.g., antimicrobial or fire resistance properties). Blended, but only bio-based compositions, are included hereby.

Non-plant biomass feedstock for industrial applications: technologies and processes to convert non-lignocellulosic biomass and waste into bio-based chemicals, materials and products, improving the cascading valorisation of biomass

Closed

Code: 27070 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CircBio-02-3-two-stage | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Cluster 6)(2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 22/12/2022 | End submission calls: 26/09/2023

Circular bioeconomy will rely on the availability of diversified and low/no-ILUC (Indirect Land Use Change) sources of biomass but also on the ability to design, develop and scale-up processes to valorise such feedstock towards high-value, sustainable bio-based products. Non-Lignocellulosic Biomass (NLBM), and related residual non-lignocellulosic biomass’, provide options beyond plant biomass. However, NLBM from aquatic and terrestrial sources, often face challenges to reach economies of scale and biorefining production intensification, driven also by a complex and varying feedstock composition.