LIFE Operating Grants

Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing to the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission by accelerating the transition towards climate neutrality in cities. To this end, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Cities involved in this action advance in achieving their climate neutrality targets, reducing greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions by improving energy efficiency in urban and sub-urban public transport systems , complemented by urban mobility service car fleets – taxis, ride-hailing, car sharing and other active and shared mobility services . Comprehensive inventory and assessment of existing instruments and measures to foster electrification and attractiveness of urban and sub-urban public transport systems , urban mobility service car fleets and shared mobility, accompanied by targeted guidance for responsible authorities, operators and providers through integration of measures to improve energy efficiency in public transport and new shared mobility services. Upscaling of innovative and sustainable integrated mobility solutions , identifying gaps and shortcomings in…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Measurable increase in the number of tools and solutions at district or city level that are supporting the application of circular economy models by public and private stakeholders active in the construction sector; Measurable reduction of material use and an increase of reuse and recycling in the construction sector as a result of the introduction of new and replicable business models; Measurable reduction in the energy and other resources use and the whole life-cycle GHG emissions of buildings [1] and building stock (residential and non-residential) by introducing circular economy activities at building, district and city level. Scope: Applying circularity principles in the construction sector at building, district and city level can reduce the whole life-cycle GHG emissions and support more efficient resource use of the building stock, and help deliver climate-neutral, smart and circular cities, and a more sustainable built environment. To achieve this, there is a need for tools, solutions and associated business models with market potential that facilitate the adoption of…

Expected Outcome: The projects are expected to deliver on one of or combination of the following topic outcomes: Faster transition of district heating systems towards low-temperature operations Faster transition of building heating systems towards low-temperature operations Increased use of renewable energy and/or waste heat. Scope: Low-temperature district heating systems in urban areas offer higher potential for integration of renewable energy sources and waste heat, but their deployment is slowed down because the existing stock of inefficient buildings has been designed for high-temperature heat delivery systems. The topic supports the creation of the conditions necessary for the conversion of existing supply solutions – district heating, as well as individual heating ones – into low-temperature alternatives, along with reducing and optimising the heat load of buildings. Efficient district heating systems are expected to meet increasingly stringent criteria in terms of the use of renewable energy, waste heat and/or co-generation in line with Article 26(1) of the Directive (EU) 2023/1791. To help district heating operators meet those criteria, there is a need to demonstrate…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Measurable reduction in the costs of deep renovation compared to current best practices; Measurable increase in resource and energy efficiency compared to current best practices; Measurable reduction in the number of days when occupants are disturbed due to renovation works; Measurable reduction of dust, noise, waste and pollutant and greenhouse emissions on the construction site compared to current best practices. Scope: Meeting Europe’s ambition for the renovation of the housing stock requires innovative approaches that improve buildings’ energy performance and occupants’ satisfaction, at a reduced cost while speeding up the renovation process and minimising impact on the construction site and disturbance for occupants. Renovation approaches should cover the whole workflow from design, off-site manufacturing and on-site installation to strategies for maintenance, operation and end of life. Proposals are expected to address all of the following: Demonstrate cost-effective approaches (comprising design, planning and construction processes and techniques) for deep renovation to…

Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Chemical Industry Action Plan, and the Clean Industrial Deal. Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Wider availability of bio-based thermoset materials meeting high technical performance requirements. Improved circularity of thermosets and downstream application(s) against specified market benchmarks taking into account production, use and EoL. Scope: Bio-based thermosets have a proven capability to achieve challenging technical performances for high demanding applications including transport, energy, electronics, among others. However, due to their cross-linking nature, the recycling of thermoset materials (including composites) is more challenging without compromising the technical performances. Thus, eco-designing bio-based thermoset materials to be both circular and high-performing remains a significant challenge in scaling-up towards competitiveness and higher sustainability. Some of the key challenges to address for bio-based thermosets include…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Based on the results of the project, at least one industrial sector with a significant heating demand in the EU and Associated Countries develops pathways and business models to measurably increase the recovery and upgrade of locally available heat for covering process needs and significantly or totally phasing out of fossil fuel use, while preserving or enhancing its global competitiveness. Measurable improvement of renewable and/or industrial excess/waste heat recovery and upgrade solutions, possibly combined with thermal and/or electrical energy storage, in terms of energy efficiency, flexibility of electrical demand, climate and environment protection, reliability and safety, physical and cyber security, and profitability. Scope: This topic aims to satisfy the need for process heat in the more industrial sectors by upgrading excess/waste heat from the process itself, possibly combined with heat recovered in nearby locations or local renewable heat, as a cost-efficient way to improve energy efficiency and reduce the GHG emissions and air pollutants and the use of fossil…

Scope: Provides financial support for the preparation of a proposal for a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) under the sub-programme Circular Economy and Quality of Life in the areas of Circular Economy, Waste, Water and Air, in order to implement - National or regional Circular Economy Action Plans, National and regional Waste Management Plans, River Basin Management Plans, Air Quality Plans or Noise Action Plans - at large territorial scale - with the involvement of all concerned stakeholders and - including a coordination mechanism for funding supporting complementary measures necessary for the full implementation of the targeted plan or strategy.

Expected Impact: Applicants are expected to define, calculate, explain and achieve ambitious and credible impacts in terms of conservation benefit, ensuring at the same time long term sustainability and replication (see sections 2 and 9 of the Call document). Objective: To contribute to the protection of nature and biodiversity by: raising awareness of the benefits of nature conservation, supporting compliance assurance, as well as public participation and access to justice (Aarhus Convention) enabling actions for the replication and upscaling of proven solutions Scope: The present Call topic targets Standard Action Projects (SAP) aimed at achieving the objectives of the LIFE Nature and Biodiversity sub-programme by improving governance and information at all levels, as defined in sections 1 and 2 of the Call document. This call topic focuses exclusively on governance and information projects; other projects in line with the objectives of the LIFE Nature and Biodiversity sub-programme but defined in the Call topic LIFE-2026-SAP-NAT-NATURE are excluded.

Expected Impact: Applicants are expected to define, calculate, explain and achieve the expected impacts as described in the Award criterion ‘Impact’ (see Call document section 2 and 9 ). Objective: The aim is to facilitate the transition toward a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy, a toxic-free environment and at protecting, restoring and improving the quality of the environment in line with the European Green Deal and recent policy developments. The specific objective is to cover one or more of the topics as fully defined in section 2 of the Call document (under the heading LIFE-2026-SAP-ENV-GOV). Please note that the assessment of the extent to which the project is in line with the specific priorities of the call (part of Award criterion 1) will be done exclusively on the basis of the topics identified and described under section ‘Compliance with LIFE programme objectives and call topic’ of the Standard application form . Please also note that a maximum of two sub-topics shall be selected (e.g: “Activities in support of public administration (…) private sector” and “Behavioural change (…) initiatives”) and only those will be considered in the…

Expected Outcome: Efficient delivery of the quantified objectives by the end of the project. Objective: LIFE Climate Change Governance and Information aims at supporting the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the Union legislation and policy on climate change, contributing to climate change mitigation and/or adaptation. This includes improving governance through enhancing the capacities of public and private actors and the involvement of civil society. Scope: Areas of Intervention: Raising awareness, incentivising behavioural change and supporting the activities of the European Climate Pact; Green skills & capacity building to implement climate mitigation and adaptation policies; Building capacity, raising awareness among end-users and the equipment distribution chain of fluorinated greenhouse gases; Support to the development, update and implementation of national, regional or local climate and energy strategies and plans; Activities linked to the implementation of Sustainable Finance actions; Greenhouse gas monitoring and reporting; Development of geographically-explicit inventories for the LULUCF sector, creation of carbon removal registries and…