Improving recycling technologies: advancing critical raw materials recovery from electronic waste in HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-CIRCBIO-03
19th November 2025 at 12:14 pm
From smartphones to solar panels, critical raw materials (CRMs) power Europe’s green and digital transitions. Yet the EU remains heavily dependent on imported resources, leaving industries vulnerable to supply disruptions. The Horizon Europe call HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-CIRCBIO-03 addresses this challenge by funding research and innovation actions (RIAs) that deliver scalable technologies for advanced recovery of CRMs from electronic waste. With a deadline on 17 September 2026 and a budget of €10.00 million, this topic supports the European Green Deal, the Clean Industrial Deal, and the Critical Raw Materials Act, aiming to reduce Europe’s import dependency, cut the environmental footprint of extraction, and create a sustainable, competitive market for secondary CRMs. It also complements the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the Circular Economy Act, all key pillars in building a circular, resource-efficient European economy.
1. Europe’s strategic shift: from extraction to recovery
As Europe strives to secure its supply of CRMs essential for high-tech and green technologies, WEEE has become a strategic “urban mine”. Each year, millions of tonnes of e-waste containing valuable materials like lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements and gold are lost due to inefficient recovery. This call seeks innovative, scalable solutions that can capture these resources efficiently and reduce the environmental footprint of extraction.
• Demonstrate how your process improves collection, sorting and recycling yields for targeted CRMs.
• Integrate automated or AI-assisted systems to optimise recovery.
• Quantify how your solution contributes to reduced reliance on imported primary materials.
• Highlight environmental benefits such as lower energy use and reduced biodiversity loss compared to conventional mining.
2. Advancing scalable recovery technologies
The Commission expects proposals to develop new or improved recycling technologies that can be upscaled industrially while ensuring cost-effectiveness, safety and material purity. Solutions may include bio-based or bio-inspired processes, hybrid recovery systems, or chemical and mechanical separation techniques that minimise waste and emissions.
• Combine innovative sorting, separation and purification technologies to increase recovery efficiency.
• Present evidence of scalability and process optimisation, demonstrating both technical and economic feasibility.
• Include measures for safety and quality assurance of recovered materials to meet industrial standards.
• Show how your innovation complements existing recycling value chains and facilities.
3. Ensuring quality, cost and safety in recycled materials
For Europe to establish a viable market for secondary CRMs, recovered materials must meet strict quality, cost and safety standards. This call encourages projects that demonstrate consistent purity, performance and reliability comparable to virgin resources. Achieving this requires process control, standardisation and verification mechanisms.
• Develop or validate standards and testing protocols for secondary CRM quality.
• Quantify improvements in purity and recovery efficiency against current benchmarks.
• Address cost competitiveness to ensure industrial adoption and market acceptance.
• Involve standardisation bodies or certification partners early in the project.
4. Integrating automation and digital innovation
Automation and digitalisation are key to making recovery systems more efficient and economically viable. Horizon Europe encourages applicants to integrate AI, robotics, machine learning and digital twins to optimise sorting and recycling workflows, enhance traceability and ensure process reproducibility.
• Combine AI-driven sorting with sensor-based detection for precise CRM recovery.
• Develop digital monitoring tools to track material flows and system performance.
• Use digital twins to model and optimise recovery processes in real time.
• Ensure interoperability with existing industrial and waste management platforms.
5. Building an economically viable and sustainable waste market
Beyond technology, this call underlines the need to strengthen Europe’s secondary raw-materials market in line with the Critical Raw Materials Act, the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Act, and the Clean Industrial Deal. Proposals should present pathways for economically sound, environmentally safe and socially responsible CRM recovery that also comply with the WEEE Directive and ESPR. By doing so, projects can help establish a truly circular market for electrical and electronic products while ensuring the quality, cost and safety of recovered materials.
• Engage industry partners, recyclers and end-users to validate business models.
• Develop circular economy frameworks integrating logistics, standards and consumer engagement.
• Include economic analysis and environmental validation to demonstrate feasibility.
• Align project outcomes with all relevant EU policies.
6. Collaboration across Clusters and partnerships
This topic promotes synergies with Cluster 4 and the European Partnership on Raw Materials, encouraging cooperation between material science, engineering, and environmental disciplines. Projects that build bridges across industrial ecosystems will help drive Europe’s transition toward resource independence and sustainable growth.
• Collaborate with Cluster 4 and ongoing Cluster 6 projects on circular value chains.
• Engage with EU raw materials and recycling partnerships for joint dissemination activities.
• Include academic and industrial partners with complementary expertise in automation, chemistry and market development.
• Plan clustering activities to ensure knowledge transfer and policy alignment.
Do you need support with writing your proposal for critical raw materials recycling?
At accelopment, we work with consortia advancing sustainable technologies, circular resource management and industrial innovation across Europe. Our experience includes projects such as MIRELAI, REFINE, SIMS and SYSWIND, which exemplify our expertise in digitalisation, data-driven process optimisation, sustainable materials and environmental systems innovation. Together, these projects reflect our commitment to helping partners turn cutting-edge research into market-ready solutions that align with EU priorities for resource efficiency and strategic autonomy. With our experience in proposal writing, consortium coordination and impact communication, we help research teams design competitive and policy-relevant projects under Horizon Europe’s Cluster 6 and beyond.
Dr. Johannes Ripperger
Research & Innovation Manager
Andreia Cruz
Research & Innovation Project Manager