Open Call Applicant Webinar was held

On 10 June 2026, the AGRI-BIOCIRCULAR-HUB Open Call Management Team hosted a free online webinar for prospective applicants. The session provided a comprehensive walkthrough of the Open Call, covering eligibility criteria, the seven thematic challenge areas, the application package, and the submission process on the F6s platform. The recording, presentation slides, and a written summary of the Q&A are now available on this page.

What the Webinar Covered

The session opened with an overview of the AGRI-BIOCIRCULAR-HUB project: a four-year, EUR 6 million Horizon Europe initiative bringing together 21 partners from Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, and Belgium. The Open Call is part of the project’s cascade funding mechanism under Work Package 5 and is designed to co-fund practical innovation in sustainable agriculture and the circular bioeconomy.

The team then presented the call parameters in detail. Twelve projects will be selected — four per eligible country — each receiving a EUR 50,000 lump-sum grant covering 100% of project costs, with no co-financing required. Selected projects run for 12 months, from December 2026 to November 2027. The grant is disbursed in three tranches: 40% as an advance, 30% at the midpoint, and 30% upon completion.

Eligibility requirements were clarified in depth. Applicants must be SMEs or startups meeting the EU definition (fewer than 250 employees, annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million), legally registered in Latvia, Poland, or Ukraine. Proposed solutions must have reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or above. Applications may be submitted by a single entity or a consortium of up to two organisations. Only the highest-ranked proposal per applicant entity will be funded, even if multiple applications are submitted across different challenges.

The webinar walked through each of the seven thematic challenge areas in turn: circular nutrient recovery and reuse; soil health and peat-free growing media; manure and residue valorisation with emissions reduction; water-smart farming and runoff reduction; bio-based farm inputs and end-of-life solutions; data-driven integrated pest management tools; and agricultural practices integrating end-to-end bio-circular principles. Participants were guided on how to identify the challenge most closely aligned with their solution and how to articulate that alignment in the proposal.

The evaluation process was also explained. Each proposal is reviewed by three independent experts against four criteria: excellence (innovation level, clear objectives, and team expertise); impact and ambition (scalability, long-term value, and understanding of the value chain); implementation (realistic work plan, timeline, and team composition); and budget efficiency. Up to three bonus points are available for proposals that address emission reduction, farmer income resilience, urgent societal challenges, or strong exploitation potential.

The final part of the session covered the support programme that comes alongside the financial grant. Each funded project receives a dedicated programme adviser, monthly online workshops covering business development, technology, branding, and investment readiness, expert mentoring from a network of technical and business specialists, an in-person study visit to a consortium partner facility, and participation in a mandatory final pitch event before stakeholders and potential investors. Funded organisations retain full ownership of all intellectual property developed during the project.

Application Timeline

The deadline for submission remains 31 July 2026 at 17:00 CET. This deadline is strict: late submissions are not accepted. Applications are submitted exclusively via the F6s platform using the 15-page proposal template. The indicative timeline following the deadline is: eligibility review from 1 to 15 August; expert evaluation from 16 August to 30 September; applicant notification by 15 October; contracting during October and November; and project start on 1 December 2026.

Next Steps for Applicants

Prospective applicants who were unable to attend the live session are encouraged to review the recording above before preparing their proposal. The full Guidelines for Applicants (PDF) and the Proposal Template (DOCX) are available for download on the Open Call page. For any questions, the helpdesk can be reached at opencall@agribiocircularhub.eu. Responses are provided within three working days.

AGRI-BIOCIRCULAR-HUB is funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe (Grant Agreement No. 101186869). The project connects research, innovation, and practice across Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, Belgium, and Spain to advance smart agriculture and circular bioeconomy in widening countries.