HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-05
Optimal combination of low embodied carbon construction products, technical building systems and circularity principles for climate neutral buildings (Built4People Partnership) -
Call text (as on F&T portal)
View on F&T portalExpected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Measurable reduction in whole life carbon emissions[1] and uptake of carbon removals in buildings;
- Increased integration of circular approaches for building construction and renovation works, with the aim of minimising lifecycle impacts;
- Availability of more accurate benchmarks and calculations of typical buildings’ whole life carbon emissions and carbon removals, based on Level(s) and consistent with the life-cycle global warming potential provisions under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
Scope:
Buildings result in greenhouse gas emissions over their whole life cycle (operational and embodied emissions). Buildings can also contribute to long-term carbon removals by storing carbon in construction products. Construction and renovation works must also meet a variety of inter-related requirements such as structural and fire safety, acoustics, and a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. Although much research has focused on developing materials and products with reduced whole life carbon emissions, the life cycle impacts of buildings depend on a complex interaction between individual products, components and technical building systems, spatial distribution, usage during their lifetime, and other design choices. There is therefore a need to deliver buildings and renovation works with minimal life cycle impacts, in particular global warming potential, based on circularity principles, also accommodating future building use-change through design for flexibility, and using innovative combinations of products and systems that result in optimal building-level performance.
Proposals are expected to address all the following:
- Develop solutions that facilitate optimal combinations of construction products and systems with minimal life cycle environmental impacts at the level of the building. The optimal combinations of products and systems must also account for relevant aspects of performance such as structural integrity, thermal, acoustic and hygrometric, durability, potential for deconstruction and preparation for reuse at end of life, and potential for automated or industrialised installation. The solutions should cover, among others, the design and construction phases of work;
- Develop decision-related processes and strategies for adaptive reuse of existing structures, such as repurposing buildings as opposed to demolish and rebuild, considering the whole life carbon emissions;
- Validate the solutions, processes and strategies in a relevant environment in at least three countries, with different climatic conditions and building stock characteristics;
- Research the whole life carbon emissions of the developed solutions on typical building typologies in the chosen countries and contribute to whole life carbon benchmarking efforts;
- Consider the cost effectiveness of the developed solutions including relevant business models taking into consideration end-user needs;
- Contribute to the development of European standards[2], where relevant;
- Contribute to the objectives of the Built4People partnership and to the Built4People network of innovation clusters[3].
Selected proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) whose contribution could consist of providing added value on circular design and building solutions that reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and enable carbon removals, as well as performing experimental research for validating those solutions on full-scale prototype buildings.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric sustainable built environment’ (Built4People). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on results to the European Partnership ‘People-centric sustainable built environment’ (Built4People) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.
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Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.
[1] “Supporting the development of a roadmap for the reduction of whole life carbon of buildings”, European Union, 2023’. This publication commissioned by the European Commission includes the following definition: “Whole life carbon encompasses all greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the materials, construction and the use of a building over its entire life, including its demolition and disposal. It is thus the total amount of embodied and operational emissions.”
[2] ‘harmonised standard’ means a standard adopted by one of the European standardisation bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC, on the basis of a request issued by the Commission, in accordance with Article 6 of that Directive
News flashes
EVALUATION results
Published: 16 September 2025
Deadline: 17 February 2026
Available budget: EUR 318.000.000
D3-01
D3-02
D3-05
D3-07
D3-08
D3-10
D3-12
D3-13
D3-14
D3-18
D3-19
D3-20
D3-22
D3-24
D4-01
D4-02
D4-03
D4-04
D4-05
D4-06
Number of proposals submitted (including proposals transferred from or to other calls)
35
28
26
74
43
20
19
2
33
12
56
43
20
118
72
75
59
50
56
35
Number of inadmissible proposals
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
1
2
0
Number of ineligible proposals
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
30
1
0
2
2
0
0
1
1
7
Number of above-threshold proposals
20
20
11
61
20
8
13
1
17
9
10
21
15
48
34
41
39
20
13
14
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals
(EUR/millions)
212.82
79.03
79.20
300.18
100.54
64.03
52.10
10.00
33.07
80.71
79.75
202.79
129.23
281,80
169.26
163.30
194.10
98.32
51.96
102.22
Number of proposals retained for funding
3
2
2
3
3
3
2
1
3
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Number of proposals in the reserve list
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
14.50
15.00
13.00
15.00
13.50
14.50
15.00
12.50
14.50
14.00
15.00
15.00
13.00
14.50
14.00
15.00
14.50
14.00
14.00
14.50
Ranking distribution
Number of proposals with scores lower or equal to 15 and higher or equal to 14
9
11
1
10
2
4
7
0
5
2
4
7
0
15
8
11
10
3
3
5
Number of proposals with scores lower than 14 and higher or equal to 13
6
3
2
19
5
3
3
0
5
5
3
7
3
17
3
9
7
3
2
7
Number of proposals with scores lower than 13 and higher or equal to 10
5
6
8
32
13
1
3
1
7
2
3
7
12
16
23
21
22
14
8
2
[1] Proposals with the same score were ranked according to the priority order procedure set out in the call conditions (for HE, in the General Annexes to the Work Programme or specific arrangements in the specific call/topic conditions).
To determine the ranking for ‘Innovation actions’, the score for ‘Impact’ is given a weight of 1.5.
[2] According to the specific condition of HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-01, to ensure a balanced portfolio coverage, grants are awarded to proposals not only in order of ranking but at least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within the area of liquid advanced biofuels and at least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within the area of liquid renewable fuels of non-biological origin, provided that proposals attain all thresholds (and subject to available budget).
According to the specific condition of HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-05, to ensure a balanced portfolio coverage, grants are awarded to proposals not only in order of ranking but at least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within the area of concentrated solar power (CSP) and at least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within the area of solar thermal heat and/or cold, provided that proposals attain all thresholds (and subject to available budget). Therefore, additional proposals are retained for funding to fulfil this condition.
According to the specific condition of HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-08, to ensure a balanced portfolio coverage, grants are awarded to applications not only in order of ranking, but priority will be given to high-ranking proposals that ensure, collectively, the best coverage of the different European sea basins (Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, North Sea and Mediterranean Sea), provided that the proposals attain all thresholds. Therefore, additional proposals are retained for funding to fulfil this condition.
According to the specific condition of HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-14, to ensure a balanced portfolio coverage, grants are awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to one project that is the highest ranked within area 1., 2. or 3., provided that the applications attain all thresholds. Therefore, additional proposals are retained for funding to fulfil this condition.
According to the specific condition of HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-24, to ensure a balanced portfolio coverage of both (i) point-source capture and (ii) direct air capture technologies, grants are awarded to not only in order of ranking but at least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within each area, provided they attain all thresholds (and subject to available budget).
Summary of observer report:
The process was professionally organized and executed with rigor. It was fair, impartial, expertise-driven, and transparently documented at every step. Consensus Reports, the definitive outputs of the evaluation, consistently met high quality standards, closely aligned with the published and communicated guidance, and complied with all applicable rules. Panels were composed to ensure balanced expertise, and newly introduced Vice-Chairs facilitated discussions that were structured, respectful, and evidence-based. Divergent assessments were addressed through focused, criterion-by-criterion debate, and rationales were clearly recorded to ensure traceability.
Robust safeguards supported integrity and consistency. Conflict-of-interest declarations were systematically collected and enforced. Calibration briefings promoted a common understanding of scoring scales and evaluation criteria, enabling consistent judgments across proposals and panels. Quality control mechanisms, including cross-checks, effectively harmonized outcomes without compromising the independence of assessments. Confidentiality was maintained throughout. Access controls in the SEP system and teleconferencing platforms were appropriate, data handling was secure, and sensitive information was treated with due care.
Operationally, the evaluation benefited from clear timelines, timely support to evaluators, and a reliable digital infrastructure. The documentation was complete and accessible, and the SEP system provided full transparency over inputs and decisions. Overall, the exercise adhered to its core principle, namely impartiality, fairness, and confidentiality throughout. The resulting evaluation summary reports and ranking list are consistent, well-reasoned, and aligned with the guiding documents.
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.
For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.
PROPOSAL NUMBERS
Call HORIZON-CL5-2026-02 has closed on the 17/02/2026 (17:00).
876 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-01: 35
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-02: 28
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-05: 26
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-07: 74
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-08: 43
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-10: 20
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-12: 19
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-13: 2
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-14: 33
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-18: 12
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-19: 56
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-20: 43
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-22: 20
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-24: 118
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-01: 71
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-02: 75
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-03: 60
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-04: 50
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-05: 56
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-06: 35
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in May 2026.
As call HORIZON-CL5-2026-02 is from the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, the following General Annexes apply:
Applicants must use the dedicated versions of the application form template for their proposal that are found in the Electronic Submission Service (see section ‘Start Submission’).
Opening date: 2025-09-16 (1 year ago)
Closing date: 2026-02-17 (7 months ago)
Procedure: single-stage
Budget: 12,000,000
Expected grants: 3
Contribution: 4,000,000 - 4,000,000
This call topic has been appended 3 times by the EC with news.
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2026-10-09
evaluation resultspublished: 16 septembe... -
2026-10-09
proposal numbers  call horizon... -
2026-10-09
as call horizon-cl5-2026-02 is from the...
HORIZON-CL5-2026-02
Call topics are often grouped together in a call. Sometimes this is for a thematic reason, but often it is also for practical reasons.
There are 19 other topics in this call:
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-01
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-02
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-05
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-07
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-08
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-10
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-12
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-13
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-14
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-18
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-19
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-20
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-22
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D3-24
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-01
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-02
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-03
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-04
- HORIZON-CL5-2026-02-D4-06
Showing the latest information. Found 9 versions of this call topic in the F&T portal.
Information from
- 2026-06-26_06-40-05
- 2026-02-24_06-34-29
- 2026-02-18_06-34-06
- 2026-01-16_06-32-27
- 2026-01-15_06-32-16
- 2025-10-28_15-45-42
- 2025-07-02_03-30-29
- 2025-06-07_03-30-09
- 2025-05-17_03-30-15
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Timeline
Outcome expected · 17 Jul 2026 (2 months ago)
Next: Grant agreement signed, 1 week from now (17 Oct 2026, estimated)
Call published
17 May 2025
Work programme published
16 Jul 2025 · est.
Call opens
16 Sep 2025
Call closes
17 Feb 2026
Outcome expected
17 Jul 2026 · est.
Grant agreement signed
17 Oct 2026 · est.
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Call published
17 May 2025 · 1 year ago
This topic was first published in TopicTree.
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Work programme published Estimated
16 Jul 2025 · 1 year ago
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Call opens
16 Sep 2025 · 1 year ago
Submissions can be made from this date.
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Call closes
17 Feb 2026 · 7 months ago
Deadline to submit a proposal.
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Outcome expected Estimated
17 Jul 2026 · 2 months ago
The maximum time to inform applicants of the evaluation outcome is five months after the call closes.
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Grant agreement signed Estimated
17 Oct 2026 · 1 week from now
The maximum time to sign the grant agreement is three months after applicants are informed of the outcome.
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