Alternative Routes Conditional Scholarship

Bio-based additives as alternatives to unlock and increase recyclability and/or biodegradability is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the implementation of the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Chemical Industry Action Plan. They will provide solutions in line with the objectives of the EU legislation on waste but also the Horizon Europe Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030" in particular to Objective 2: "Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, Seas and waters” as well as the Horizon Europe Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, in particular objectives “Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration”. Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Wider availability of bio-based additives targeting high functional properties, stability and compatibility with polymers/matrices. Contribution to improved circularity of end products in relevant market sectors. Potential replicability into other industrial sectors to widen market opportunity. Reduction or avoidance of environmental impacts related to life cycle of additives and additive-containing materials and/or products. Scope: While additives are often necessary to confer specific properties to materials and/or products, their presence can hinder their circular EoL (including – depending on the application – recycling and/or biodegradation). Risks upon recycling and biodegradation encompass the release into the environment of harmful substances, e.g., release of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxic metals, microplastics. Proposals under this topic should: Demonstrate (at least at TRL 6) innovative processes for the synthesis of bio-based SSbD additives that: Enable a circular EoL for materials and/or products that are currently not recyclable and/or not biodegradable, or Improve circularity of materials and/or products, e.g., by requiring resources/energy efficient and safe conditions for recycling or facilitating biodegradation. In the context of this topic, circular EoL includes recycling and/or biodegradation. Justify the choice of the proposed solution(s) in addressing existing bottlenecks in the circular EoL of targeted materials and/or products including where embedded additives play a fundamental role in hindering circularity. Provide alternative solutions that prevent the release of harmful chemicals during the product life cycle (including from products produced from recyclates) of materials and/or products, while enabling the relevant EoL options. Application of the demonstrated bio-based additives could be relevant for bio-based, partly bio-based or non-bio-based end products. Demonstrate (at least at TRL 6) the compatibility and processability of SSbD bio-based additives within the formulation/manufacturing of materials and/or products. Validate the technical performances of materials/products incorporating the novel bio-based additive(s) and proving to fulfil market requirements for selected application sector(s). Target at least two distinct market sectors in cooperation with end-users. If targeting biodegradability of end-products, assess that the additives, as well as the end-product, biodegrade safely in different environments (soil and water) according to existing EU/International standards, methods and protocols. If targeting recyclability as the EoL, test and validate it, including assessing the effect of the additives on the waste management system (encompassing sorting, separation and recycling). Any recycling route is in scope: mechanical, chemical, organic, enzymatic (including their possible combination). 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 2026 [1] , proposals under this topic should: As part of the multi-actor approach (MAA) approach, involve waste management, product manufacturers, brand owners and consumers Programme areas: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, Bio-based Innovation Systems in the EU Bioeconomy, Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Keywords: Applied and industrial chemistry, Bioprocessing technologies (industrial processes relying on biological agents to drive the process) biocatalysis, fermentation, Industrial biotechnology, Polymers and plastics, bio-based additives, bio-based materials, bio-based products, bio-degradation, biotechnology, circularity, recycling, safe and sustainable by design, STEP-Biotech

USDA NIFA's SBIR/STTR Phase I program is the principal non-dilutive federal funding channel for small businesses commercializing agricultural technology, and it has become a significant AI funding source without ever being branded as one. The program is organized into ten topic areas rather than a single AI call, which means applicants must locate their AI work inside an agricultural problem area - plant production and protection, animal production and protection, forests and related resources, food science and nutrition, rural and community development, aquaculture, biofuels and biobased products, small and mid-size farms, and agriculturally related manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy. In practice this structure rewards proposals framed around a specific production constraint rather than around a modeling technique. Machine learning for crop and soil monitoring from remote sensing, computer vision for pathogen and pest detection, autonomous harvesting and weeding robotics, decision-support and yield-prediction systems, and sensor fusion for livestock health all fit comfortably, but reviewers are agricultural scientists and commercialization specialists, not ML researchers, and proposals that lead with architecture rather than with the farm-level problem tend to score poorly. Phase I awards run from $125,000 to $181,500 for feasibility work, a range that has drifted upward in recent cycles, with Phase II available to successful Phase I awardees for full R&D. Eligibility is the standard SBIR profile: a for-profit small business concern qualifying for research or R&D purposes, US-based and majority US-owned; the STTR variant requires formal cooperative R&D with a nonprofit research institution, which is the natural route for teams spinning technology out of a land-grant university. Timing is the practical difficulty - NIFA has historically released the Phase I RFA around July with applications due roughly twelve weeks later in early October, but exact dates shift year to year and the FY2026 date was still pending at the time of review. Applicants should register on SAM.gov and Grants.gov well in advance and subscribe to Grants.gov alerts, since the release-to-deadline window is short for a program that expects a commercialization plan alongside the technical narrative.