Description

HORIZON-CL4-2026-01-MAT-PROD-13

Expected Outcomes

Projects under this topic are expected to deliver results that enhance the EU’s knowledge and capabilities on secondary raw materials. Expected outcomes include:

• Improved knowledge base: Enhanced understanding of secondary raw materials in the EU and partner countries, covering potential, resource estimation, production, refining processes, and biodiversity footprint.
• Accelerated commercial exploitation: Development of projects enabling the sustainable use and market uptake of secondary raw materials within the EU.
• Strategic foresight and planning: Reports analyzing future raw materials market trends, identifying supply-demand bottlenecks, and improving EU intelligence for strategic planning and policy development.

Scope

To support a climate-neutral, circular, biodiversity-friendly, and digitized EU economy, actions should:

• Standardization and classification: Develop a common understanding of anthropogenic resources, including classification criteria for recovery projects, ensuring transparent, consistent, and objective resource assessments.
• Biodiversity and sustainability reporting: Include biodiversity footprint assessments for primary and secondary raw materials using natural capital accounting frameworks.
• Data acquisition and harmonization: Collect new data via in situ sampling across the EU, integrate existing datasets, and present information in a harmonized UNFC format. Monitoring should cover intra-EU waste flows and exports to ensure comprehensive secondary raw materials statistics.
• Focus streams: Prioritize secondary raw materials streams with particular attention to critical raw materials, including waste batteries, WEEE, mining waste, slags and ashes, and construction and demolition waste. The action should anticipate evolutions of relevant EU directives, such as the WEEE directive.
• Open data sharing: All data generated must be shared openly and free of charge with the European Commission for internal use and publication.
• Cross-project collaboration: Include a dedicated work package for clustering with other relevant projects, joint consultations, and shared communication events to maximize synergies and impact.
• International cooperation: Strongly encouraged with countries holding Strategic Partnerships on raw materials, particularly Ukraine.