Official call identifier: RIVCircular
Objective of the call
The objective of the RIVCircular Open Call is to support interregional innovation projects in circular economy, with projects starting and finishing between TRL 6 and TRL 8. The call aims to fund the development and/or deployment of technologies, products and services in the circular economy area, including breakthrough and disruptive innovations, through cooperation between actors from the participating RIVCircular regions and territories.
RIVCircular supports collaboration between seven European regions and territories in southern, central, northern and eastern Europe: Madrid, Extremadura, Greece, Hauts-de-France, Vienna, Innlandet and Kyiv Oblast. The call is designed to strengthen circular economy innovation ecosystems, improve interregional cooperation and support the market deployment of new and disruptive circular economy solutions.
Scope of activities
The call supports Innovation Action-type projects focused on circular economy technologies, products, processes and services. Funded projects should propose activities to produce plans, arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. These activities may include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication.
The call covers five topics:
• Topic 1: Construction and demolition waste (CDW) circularity
This topic focuses on maximising CDW prevention, reuse and high-value recycling, reducing the environmental footprint of the construction sector and supporting sustainable resource management. Projects should develop and demonstrate innovative solutions for CDW circularity in rural, urban and industrial areas, including closed-loop systems, advanced dismantling and separation techniques, high-quality recycled construction materials and safe reuse of recovered materials.
• Topic 2: Circular Energy Integration: Valorising local waste streams for industrial efficiency
This topic focuses on the circular use of local side streams and waste for increased energy efficiency and optimised resource use in industrial processes. Projects should demonstrate technologies that use biomass, organic waste, residues, sludge, and low- and medium-temperature heat to improve circular energy systems, industrial symbiosis and cross-sectoral energy resource optimisation.
• Topic 3: Electric vehicles (EV) batteries recycling and reuse
This topic focuses on enabling and supporting the reuse, repurposing and recycling of batteries for electric vehicles. Projects should contribute to value-added loops for materials, products or components resulting from optimised battery management, integrating life-cycle thinking for EV batteries. The scope includes battery reuse, repair, remanufacturing, recycling, eco-design, end-of-life management, second-life batteries and stationary reuse applications.
• Topic 4: Circular economy in the textile industry
This topic focuses on maximising circularity in textile industries, covering materials, products, components and processes. Projects should integrate life-cycle principles into textile production and may address eco-design, durability, materials quality, fibre innovation, digitalisation, bio-based innovation, value-chain structuring, circular business models, standards and tracing.
• Topic 5: Digital solutions for circular economy
This topic supports digital platforms, data-driven analytics and automation systems for circular economy ecosystems. Projects should use technologies such as AI, blockchain, IoT and big data analytics to improve resource management, material tracking, waste reduction, supply-chain optimisation, interoperability, digital infrastructure security, circular business models and public engagement.
Projects should contribute to the green transition, digital transition and a more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe. Proposals should also consider territorial goals of the involved regions, regional priority areas, Life Cycle Analysis and/or market analysis, synergies with the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative, and the Do No Significant Harm principle.
Eligible applicants
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least three legal entities from three different RIVCircular partner territories from different countries. Natural persons are not eligible to apply.
Only entities based within the RIVCircular regions and territories are eligible to participate, and entities may participate only in topics where their region or territory participates. Applicants legally based outside the region, or entities headquartered elsewhere that do not have a formally registered and operational presence in the relevant region directly linked to the project activities, are not eligible for funding.
Eligible regions and topic coverage:
• Madrid, Innlandet, Hauts-de-France, Kyiv Oblast and Extremadura: Topics 1–5
• Greece and Vienna: Topics 1, 2 and 5
Eligible applicants by region:
• Madrid: all kinds of entities based in the Madrid region
• Hauts-de-France: all legal entities established in Région Hauts-de-France
• Innlandet: all legal entities relevant for the action based in Innlandet, including entities with formally registered and operational presence in the region
• Kyiv Oblast: all entities legally based and registered in Kyiv region
• Vienna: small, medium-sized and large enterprises with an existing or planned establishment in Vienna; non-profit entities are not eligible
• Greece: public and research and knowledge dissemination organisations, including relevant public authorities, supervised entities, NGOs, universities, research centres, chambers and associations
• Extremadura: private entities with headquarters or permanent production centre in Extremadura; enterprises and research and knowledge dissemination organisations are eligible
For Topic 5, participation of at least one SME is mandatory. For Topics 1–4, SME participation is encouraged.
Eligible costs
Eligible costs must be directly related to and strictly necessary for the implementation of project activities and incurred within the project period. Eligible cost categories include:
• Personnel costs
• Travel costs
• Equipment costs, limited to depreciation costs
• Other goods and services
• Subcontracting, up to 10% of direct costs, if duly justified
• Indirect costs, depending on the region or territory
Indirect costs are defined by region:
• Up to 20% for entities based in Madrid, Innlandet, Vienna and Extremadura
• Up to 5% for entities based in Greece
• 0% for entities based in Kyiv Oblast
• Entities based in Hauts-de-France should consult their regional representative
Recoverable VAT is not eligible for entities based in Madrid, Hauts-de-France, Kyiv, Greece and Extremadura. For entities based in Innlandet and Vienna, applicants should consult their regional representatives.
Funding conditions
Type of action:
Cascade Funding
Funding rate:
• Corporations: up to 50%
• Medium-sized enterprises: up to 60%
• Small enterprises: up to 70%
• Research and knowledge dissemination organisations based in Madrid, Hauts-de-France, Innlandet, Greece and Extremadura: up to 100%
• Research and knowledge dissemination organisations based in Kyiv Oblast: up to 70%
EU contribution per project:
Up to €600,000
Project duration:
• Topics 1–4: between 2 and 3 years
• Topic 5: between 1 and 2 years
Technology Readiness Level (TRL):
Projects must start and finish between TRL 6 and TRL 8. TRL 6 refers to technology demonstrated in a relevant environment, TRL 7 to system prototype demonstration in an operational environment, and TRL 8 to a system that is complete and qualified.
*Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) describe the maturity of a technology, from basic research (TRL 1) to fully deployed, market-ready solutions (TRL 9).
Deadline for submission
17 September 2026