Bio-fabricated materials for sustainable and beautiful construction
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-NEB-2025-01-REGEN-02
- Programme
- A research agenda for a beautiful, inclusive and sustainable transformation of neighbourhoods
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- May 6, 2025
- Deadline
- November 12, 2025
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €12,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €6,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €6,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 2
- Keywords
- HORIZON-NEB-2025-01-REGEN-02HORIZON-NEB-2025-01Architectural designArchitectural engineeringCircular economyClimate change mitigationGender in industrial biotechnologiesMaterials engineering
Description
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Bio-fabricated construction materials[1] and their beneficial properties are better known and accepted by construction ecosystem[1] professionals.
- Innovative, sustainably sourced, beautiful[1] bio-fabricated construction materials can be produced at mass-scale at competitive costs.
Along with the current paradigm shift towards a sustainable[1] and circular bioeconomy and the use of circular design principles in the built environment, new materials and innovative technologies are emerging to help reach zero-waste goals and the lowest environmental impact. Bio-fabricated materials open new avenues for reaching higher ambitions in terms of sustainability, especially if associated with high-technological solutions that can accelerate and simplify their manufacturing, retrofitting and renewal.
Bio-fabricated materials and their potential as an alternative to conventional materials are still underexplored. The widespread integration of bio-fabricated materials in the built environment[1] faces several barriers, from technical and regulatory hurdles to high production costs, limited knowledge and expertise among construction professionals, and low acceptance by the construction ecosystem. Bio-fabricated materials and their potential as an alternative to conventional materials are underexplored.
Research is required to investigate new ways to address the main technical challenges of bio-fabricated materials.
Proposals are expected to address all of the following:
- Develop and test at least two innovative sustainable bio-fabricated construction materials that:
- Have innovative features compared to current materials on the market (such as, but not limited to, the capacity to self-repair, to adapt to an evolving environment, to store carbon or act as a carbon sink, to heat and/or cool buildings, extended lifespan, etc.).
- Can be used for interior, exterior or structural purposes.
- Comply with relevant EU standards and regulatory frameworks.
- For each material developed:
- Assess its properties, benefits, as well as design and construction applications. This should cover at least the structural, mechanical, thermal, acoustic, health-related, durability and aesthetic properties and take into consideration the variations within a changing environment (e.g. weather conditions).
- Study the feasibility for mass-scale production to increase production volumes and affordability. This should consider the use of high-technological manufacturing techniques and processes (such as 3D printing, robotics, building information modelling (BIM), parametric design, high-performance sensor, artificial intelligence (AI), etc.).
- Analyse the environmental footprint of the bio-fabricated materials following a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to validate their contribution to the reduction of the whole life carbon emissions in the built environment.
- Analyse the social and economic impacts throughout the material’s whole life cycle, for example using social life-cycle assessment (SLCA) and life-cycle costing (LCC) approaches.
Proposals are expected to follow a participatory and transdisciplinary approach[6] through the integration of different actors (such as public authorities, local actors from the targeted neighbourhoods, civil society, private owners, etc.) and disciplines (such as architecture or design, arts, (civil) engineering, etc.).Proposals are expected to dedicate at least 0.2% of their total budget to share their intermediate and final results and findings with the Coordination and Support Action 'New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact' (HORIZON-MISS-2024-NEB-01-03).
[1] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[2] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[3] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[4] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[5] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[6] See definition on NEB working principles in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
Destination & Scope
The development of a circular and regenerative European construction ecosystem[1] is key to support the sustainable competitiveness of the sector, and to achieve our climate, environmental and social ambitions. This implies more sustainable materials but also better use and re-purposing of existing buildings. However, this cannot be achieved without ensuring that people understand, accept and support the necessary transformations.
Although considerable research efforts are underway on this matter, there remain significant gaps. Innovation spreads slowly in the construction ecosystem in the context of construction materials, methods and approaches. For instance, renovations are still not correctly targeted, too expensive, too slow, and often of insufficient quality, resulting in renovation rates that are too low; buildings are inefficiently used and undermine people’s well-being; a lack of awareness of sustainable[1], circular and innovative approaches amongst the different actors of the construction ecosystem; and a market that remains very attached to low costs in the short-term.
In Work Programme 2025, this Destination contributes to the following expected impacts set out in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027:
- 2. Living and working in a health-promoting environment
- 15. Achieving global leadership in climate-neutral, circular and digitised industrial and digital value chains
- 28. Putting biodiversity on a path to recovery, and protecting and restoring ecosystems and their services
- 31. Sustainably developing rural, urban and coastal areas
The Destination aims to address certain gaps and make the construction ecosystem more sustainable, resilient, circular and regenerative, while also ensuring it is inclusive[1], accessible and contributes to the health and wellbeing of all living beings. The Destination aims to deliver on this objective by:
- Making buildings, building elements, construction materials and products more sustainable, adaptable, multi-purpose, durable and re-usable, increase their recycling rate and expand their lifespan, leading to a more circular construction ecosystem and a more efficient use of resources. This will contribute to limiting the extraction of new materials and waste generation in the construction ecosystem, thus strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy and contributing to the European Green Deal’s objectives, the EU’s Zero-Pollution vision for 2050, the new Circular Economy Action Plan, and intergenerational justice. Concepts and solutions that serve the above-mentioned objectives such as, among others, sufficiency[1], regenerative design[1], nature-based solutions[1] or circular bio-fabricated materials[1] should be explored.
- Improving the climate adaptability[8] and resilience of private or public buildings and common spaces[1] through, for instance, regenerative designs and nature-based solutions that contribute to longevity, resource and energy efficiency, natural ecosystem restoration and overall climate resilience in the face of the environmental evolution.
- Collecting, processing and using data and making use of technologies such as Artificial intelligence (AI) in combination with Building Information Modelling (BIM) and digital fabrication to significantly reduce costs, optimise resource utilisation, and enhance efficiency of renovation and construction processes and make construction and renovation more sustainable, circular, regenerative, affordable and culturally sensitive.
- Ensuring that the solutions developed are user-centred and place-based, connect with local cultural identity, historical knowledge and cultural heritage, and answer the needs of and are accepted by people on the ground - including minorities, vulnerable and underrepresented groups -, strengthening the sense of belonging and societal resilience.
This Destination considers neighbourhoods[1] in urban, peri-urban or rural environments.
[1] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[2] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[3] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[4] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[5] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[6] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[7] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[8] See EU-level technical guidance on adapting buildings to climate change. Best practice guidance, March 2023 (https://build-up.ec.europa.eu/en/resources-and-tools/publications/best-practice-guidance-buildings-adaptability-climate-change) .
[9] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[10] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 13. New European Bauhaus Facility (NEB)
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
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