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Five Horizon Europe Industry 2027 topics under the call HORIZON-CL4-2027-01 offer funding for innovative advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, remanufacturing and circular industrial solutions. With a combined indicative budget of EUR 160 million, these opportunities under the destination “Leadership in materials and production for Europe” target research organisations, manufacturing companies, technology developers, material suppliers and industrial end-users.

The call opened on 13 October 2026, with a submission deadline of 2 February 2027.

Call topic	Type of Action	Budget (EUR million)	Budget/ project (EUR million)	Exp. number of funded projects
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-22: Innovative advanced materials and new production processes, reducing dependencies on Critical and Strategic Raw Materials	IA	36	6.00 to 7.50	6
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-02: Advanced manufacturing for key products	IA	36	6.00 to 8.00	6
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-03: Factory processes and automation for de- and re-manufacturing	RIA	36	5.00 to 6.50	6
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-06: Circular innovative advanced materials: facilitating the transition from design to markets	RIA	36	5.00 to 6.50	7
HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-08: Textile circularity through advanced processing and manufacturing technologies and system approaches	IA	16	4.00 to 6.00	3

Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) generally focus on earlier-stage research and technology development, typically progressing from around TRL 2–3 to TRL 4–5, whereas Innovation Actions (IAs) usually start from more mature technologies and target demonstration, scale-up and market readiness at around TRL 6–8, although the exact TRL expectations depend on each topic.

Reducing Europe’s dependence on critical raw materials

HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-22 supports innovative advanced materials and production processes that substitute or reduce the use of critical and strategic raw materials. Projects should target industrial applications in sectors such as energy, mobility, construction, electronics, medical devices or chemicals. The proposed solutions must meet the technical requirements of the selected applications while reducing material dependencies. Applicants should cover the development of advanced materials and processes through to their integration into products. Where relevant, proposals should address the adaptation of existing production lines. The Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework must be applied throughout the innovation process, with a business case and exploitation strategy supporting industrial uptake.

Pro tip: Quantify the expected reduction in critical raw material use and demonstrate how the alternative materials or processes maintain the performance required for industrial applications.

Advanced manufacturing technologies for key European products

HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-02 focuses on manufacturing technologies and machinery for key products and components whose production is at risk of moving outside Europe or depends heavily on imported materials and parts. Projects should improve manufacturing performance and circularity while reducing the use of critical or imported raw materials. Proposals may develop innovative additive and hybrid manufacturing, photonics, advanced joining technologies, polymer composite manufacturing or in-line testing. The use of secondary raw materials, biobased materials and revalorised components is encouraged. Innovative advanced materials may be integrated where they improve product performance, but their development should not be the main focus. Battery production is excluded from this topic.

Pro tip: Select products with a clearly demonstrated strategic relevance for European manufacturing and show how the proposed technologies reduce dependencies while improving manufacturing competitiveness.

Factory automation for de- and re-manufacturing

HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-03 aims to improve factory-level processes for recovering, repairing and remanufacturing products and components. Proposals must address at least three technological approaches specified in the Work Programme, including:

• AI-supported assessment of component condition and predictive maintenance.
• Robotic technologies for disassembly, handling and sorting.
• Model-based systems using CAD data and digital twins.
• On-site repair and remanufacturing of high-value components.
• Planning tools that adapt operations to incoming products and components.

Projects should consider how these technologies can be integrated into industrial operations, including the variability of components entering remanufacturing processes. A business case and exploitation strategy should demonstrate the economic viability of the proposed solutions.

Pro tip: Explain how the selected technologies work together in a realistic factory environment and demonstrate improvements in process efficiency, component recovery and economic performance.

Bringing circular advanced materials closer to market

HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-06 supports the development and industrial uptake of circular innovative advanced materials. The topic focuses particularly on recyclable polymers and composites, magnets and metal alloys for additive manufacturing. Proposals should address the full innovation cycle, from material design and functional integration to scalable recovery, recycling and incorporation into industrial products. Projects must support strategic value chains in either energy or construction, with applicants declaring their main application area. The Commission intends to fund at least one project in each area. Collaboration across material developers, manufacturers and recycling actors is expected, alongside FAIR and interoperable data sharing and circular business models.

Pro tip: Clearly identify your main application area and demonstrate how the proposed material can be manufactured, recovered and reused at an economically viable scale.

Accelerating circularity in the textile industry

HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-08 addresses the industrial uptake of renewable textile fibres and sustainable chemical solutions. Projects should develop advanced processing and manufacturing technologies that overcome cost and performance disadvantages compared with conventional fossil-based materials. Maintaining product quality, durability and functionality is essential. The topic also calls for business models and system approaches that distribute costs and risks across textile value chains. Proposals should bring together material suppliers, processing technology providers, textile manufacturers and other relevant actors to demonstrate the practical uptake of circular solutions.

A specific requirement is to allocate 10% to 25% of the EU contribution to financial support for third parties, supporting SME-led innovation activities.

Pro tip: Explain how the proposed technologies and business models address both technical and commercial barriers. Plan the financial support for third parties from the outset and connect it to the project’s industrial objectives.

Although the technologies differ, all five Horizon Europe Industry 2027 topics require credible business cases and exploitation strategies (particularly important for IAs). Applicants should involve the relevant industrial partners early, define measurable improvements over existing solutions and demonstrate how project results can contribute to European industrial competitiveness.