Valorisation of untapped forest biomass

Topic updates

23 September 2025

PROPOSAL NUMBERS

Call HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025 has closed on 18/09/2025.

248 proposals have been submitted.

The breakdown per topic is:
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-01: 45

Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in the second half of January 2026.

04 April 2025

A new version of the Application Form (Part B) template is now available in the Submission System. Please ensure you use this version, which is updated as of 04/04/2025.

Valorisation of untapped forest biomass

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-01

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025)

Type of action: HORIZON-JU-RIA HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions

Type of MGA: HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]

Status: Open for submission

Deadline model: single-stage

Opening Date: 03 April 2025

Deadline dates: 18 September 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

Successful proposals will contribute to the implementation of the EU Forest Strategy for 2030, the EU Biodiversity strategy 2030, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation, the Carbon Removal Certification Framework Regulation, and the EU Nature Restoration Law.

Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:

• Enhanced contribution of the forest-based sector to climate change mitigation and adaptation, forest restoration and resilience, biodiversity, and rural development objectives.
• Added value to the feedstock at the point of origin with optimised transportation and logistics costs throughout the value chain.
• Informed decision-making by forest owners and managers adopting sustainable forest management practices and novel technologies to better valorise unused and underutilised biomass.
• Development of new value chains, innovative business models and technologies resulting in novel bio-based chemicals, compounds, materials, and products from unused and/or underutilised forest biomass.
• Increased engagement and innovation capacity of regional and local actors, as well as positive social impact in rural areas. This includes additional sources of income for forest owners and managers, and rural actors through increased synergies with bio-based industries.

Scope:

Forest managers often face challenges in implementing more sustainable practices. Additional value can be gained from forestry (both monocultured and mixed forests), agroforestry and horticulture as well as from their residual streams, and from the biomass removed for fire, flood, drought, and disease prevention. Valorisation of such biomass streams can contribute to address the risk of forest abandonment while preserving biodiversity. This is particularly important where the resulting forest or forest-like biomass is low in volume, value, or both. The available biomass mainly consists of small wood, damaged wood (e.g., wood affected by parasites), and various types of wood from mixed forests. Additionally, it includes non-wood biomass, such as shrubs, bark, cork, branches, and resin. These kinds of biomass generally have low or even negative economic value, meaning they often need to be disposed of at a cost. Typically, this biomass is burned locally for energy or simply incinerated, releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere and providing little or no economic benefit to forest managers. This topic should explore valorisation pathways for the targeted feedstock beyond bioenergy and biofuel production.

Proposals under this topic should:

• Develop innovative planning tools and technologies for harvesting, storage, pre-treatment of residual and/or low value, unused or underutilized forest biomass or lower volume or/and less homogeneous biomass. Adopt decentralised approaches, including small-scale, mobile, containerised units, that consider the unique challenges across different European regions and among large, medium-sized, and small companies.
• Develop and test the feasibility of conversion routes to bio-based chemicals and compounds, materials, products, assessing the viability of new business models around these concepts.
• Test the local value chain by optimising logistics, improving cost efficiency, and collaborating with central hubs for further processing and refining. Actively involve local forest owners, managers, and other primary sector operators (e.g., farmers, horticulturists) to develop and test novel value chains in pilot areas.
• Address the feasibility for different ownership types and cooperative structures to ensure alignment with value-chain cooperation.

In addition to the specific requirements applicable for the type of action, as described in section 2.2.3.1 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2025^[1], proposals under this topic should:

• Provide recommendations for the development of EU carbon farming certification methodologies for the unused and underutilised forest biomass in long-lasting products (e.g., through forest protection, afforestation, and sustainable forest management).
• As part of the Multi-Actor Approach (MAA), ensure adequate involvement of all key actors in the value chains relevant for this topic and across the sustainable circular biobased system, including feedstock providers, industrial players, consumers, advisors, and policy makers. Explore synergies with existing initiatives and networks, such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the European and national CAP, the EIP-AGRI and the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems.
• Go beyond the specific feedstock environmental sustainability requirements by actively preventing soil degradation and biodiversity and carbon loss during the extraction of previously unused or underutilized forest biomass. Additionally, safeguards should be implemented to differentiate between various forest types and management practices. Assess impact on soil quality and health.
• Ensure complementarities with past and ongoing R&I projects addressing similar challenges, including projects funded under Horizon 2020/ Horizon Europe and BBI/CBE JU.^[2]

[1] https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents

[2] For example, with BBI JU projects TECH4EFFECT and EFFORTE, CBE JU projects: OptiForValue, SingleTree, and call HORIZON-JU-CBE-2024-CSA-01 projects, and HORIZON-CL6- projects Small4Good and SMURF. The list is not exhaustive.

Start submission

To access the Electronic Submission Service, please click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point.

To access existing draft proposals for this topic, please login to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

Get support

Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application.

Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.

Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.

Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.

Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.

National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).

Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.

IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.

European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.

CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.

The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.

Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.