GRANT Garant is looking for a partner to participate in HORIZON-EIC-2025-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-01

Empowering excellence. Unlocking research potential. With over 200 successfully submitted intl R&I proposals plus support of over 175 EU-funded projects, GG has a substantial network of partners in the CE region and expertise in these relevant areas: alternative financing for innovation, dissemination & communication of results, EU policy analysis, innovation stakeholder contacts in the CE region, proposal development, and Structural Funds implementation & program evaluation.

We are interested in the following call: 

Biotech for Climate Resilient Crops and Plant-Based Biomanufacturing

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-EIC-2025-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-01

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2025 (HORIZON-EIC-2025-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01)

Type of action: HORIZON-EIC HORIZON EIC Grants

Type of MGA: HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]

Status: Forthcoming

Deadline model: single-stage

Planned Opening Date: 24 July 2025

Deadline dates: 29 October 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Scope:

Background and scope

Land based agricultural production is the source of approximately 95% of human food nutrients (UN FAO). Intensive and often inappropriate practices in agriculture have however resulted in severe soil degradation, thereby reducing the capacity of soils to support food production and other important ecosystem services such as the regulation of water, nutrients, and carbon cycles. Soil degradation is further accelerated by the effects of climate change, with abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, salinity, and waterlogging, often in combination, having negative effects on the world’s crop production. The direct impact of a changed climate is also frequently accompanied by indirect impacts due to alterations in the composition and behaviour of weeds, insects, pathogens, and soil microbiome, alongside the impacts of increased amounts of human-generated pollutants.

Plants react to such stresses with what are often conflicting physiological and metabolic responses. These may prioritise one acclimatisation/adaptation strategy over the other, a blend of one or more responses, and/or through developing a completely new strategy, all of which can, in turn, impact final production including nutrient content.

When combined with an increasing human population, likely to increase net demand for food, there is a clear rationale to reinforce existing food and nutrient production systems and explore complementary routes to food production that are more efficient, resilient, sustainable and maintain or increase biodiversity.

This Pathfinder Challenge therefore aims to support projects that enhance adaptation pathways for the production of climate-resilient crops and develop alternative pathways to produce high value ingredients in plants by increasing nutrient profile of crops based on plant native and/or non-native ingredients.

Please, find more information here: https://www.developmentaid.org/grants/view/1459622/biotech-for-climate-resilient-crops-and-plant-based-biomanufacturing