Innovative circular solutions for end-of-life footwear through collection, sorting and recycling
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: all relevant stakeholders, including consumers, economic and social economy operators and waste managers, have an improved understanding of the technical, environmental, economic and social challenges and benefits to circularity in the footwear industry; economic operators and waste managers are provided with evidence-based,…
Funding and competition
- 2grants expected (official)
- €4M–€5MEU contribution per project
- €5Mmedian EU grant of the most similar funded projects
- 145projects funded in earlier topics of this programme line
Very few grants: expect strong competition. Only proposals well above threshold are funded, so a clearly differentiated idea and a complete consortium are essential.
Success rates vary widely between topics (often from below 5% to above 30%). Ask us for the success-rate history of this topic before you commit to a proposal.
Organisations with a track record in this topic
Organisations that took part in the EU-funded projects most similar to this call (Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020), ranked by how close those projects are to the call, how recent they are and whether the organisation coordinated them. Being listed does not mean an organisation is looking for partners: use the list to target your outreach.
Spanish organisations with experience in this field
The Spanish organisations that appear most often in the closest funded projects.
| Organisation | Country | Type | Similar EU projects | As coordinator | Examples (CORDIS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iris Technology Solutions, Sociedad Limitada Cornella De Llobregat | Spain | Company · SME | 8 | 0 | TexMat, TRUSTEX, SORT4CIRC |
| Aimplas - Asociacion De Investigacion De Materiales Plasticos Y Conexas Paterna | Spain | Research organisation · SME | 5 | 1 | BUILDERS, RETAIN, CISUTAC |
| Confederacion De La Industria Textil Asociacion Sabadell Barcelona | Spain | Other | 4 | 0 | Circula-TEX, STEPH, CISUTAC |
| Fundacion Circe Centro De Investigacion De Recursos Y Consumos Energeticos Zaragoza | Spain | Research organisation | 4 | 2 | PLASTICE, CIRC4Life, AutoCE |
| Instituto Tecnologico Del Embalaje, Transporte Y Logistica Paterna | Spain | Research organisation · SME | 4 | 2 | ENZYCLE, MoeBIOS, HALO-TEX |
| Asociacion Empresarial De Investigacion Centro Tecnologico Del Calzadoy Del Plastico De La Region De Murcia Alhama De Murcia | Spain | Research organisation · SME | 2 | 1 | ECOSTEP, MAGNO |
| Contactica Sl Madrid | Spain | Company · SME | 2 | 1 | ECOSTEP, GREENSPIRE |
| Sig De Raee Y Pilas Sociedad Limitada Madrid | Spain | Other | 3 | 0 | DemoEPR, CIRC4Life, SOPHIA |
What a typical winning consortium looks like
- 20partners (median)
- 7countries (median)
- 27%of partners are SMEs
Based on the 25 funded projects closest to this call. Use it as a benchmark, not a rule: always check the call conditions for the minimum consortium.
Most similar funded projects
Read their CORDIS pages to see the full consortium, results and deliverables.
- Circula-TEX – Fostering circularity in textile: innovative interoperable solutions and best practices for implementation and harmonization of epr schemes (HORIZON · 2025 · HORIZON-CL6-2024-CircBio-01-2)
- ECOSTEP – ECOdesign criteria for Sustainability in footwear and Testing methods for Evaluation of Performance (HORIZON · 2026 · HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-02)
- SCARPA – Sustainable and Circular Footwear Training Program (HORIZON · 2026 · HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01-01)
- TexMat – Automated collection and sorting solution for consumer textiles (HORIZON · 2025 · HORIZON-CL6-2024-CircBio-01-2)
- DemoEPR – Demonstrating Innovative Extended Producer Responsibility Solutions for Circular Economy (HORIZON · 2026 · HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-04)
- TRUSTEX – Advancing Sustainable Textiles in the Circular Economy through Innovative EPR Schemes (HORIZON · 2025 · HORIZON-CL6-2024-CircBio-01-2)
Live partner requests
Organisations actively looking for partners publish their requests on these official platforms.
Partner search on this topic
On the official topic page, open “Partner search announcements” to see organisations that have declared interest in this exact topic, or publish your own (EU Login required).
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Browse requests ↗Upcoming info days and brokerage events
Brokerage events are where most consortia are built.
- 10 Nov 2026 · European Research and Innovation Days 2026 (Brussels and online)
- 1 Dec 2026 · Interdisciplinary Pathways towards Green and Resilient Societies (Online)
- 13 Jan 2027 · Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Info Day: 2027 call (Brussels and online)
- 15 Jan 2027 · CARE4BIO brokerage event: Horizon Europe Cluster 6 2027 calls (Brussels)
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Track-record data: CORDIS open data (European Commission), organisation level only, refreshed weekly. Rankings are calculated automatically by Ullswater Investments from text similarity between the call and funded projects; they are indicative.