Austrian university coordinates Horizon Europe proposal in Austria; seeks industrial end-user and recycling partners
Horizon-JU-CBE-2026-IA-05 – Biobased films and coatings for circular packaging: consortium looking for industrial end-user partners and recycling partners
Term of Validity: 28 August 2026 - 28 August 2027
Deadline for EoI: 10 Sep 2026
Deadline of the call: 22 Sep 2026
Summary - Profile Type - Research & Development Request - POD Reference - RDRAT20260828001 - Term of Validity - 28 August 2026 - 28 August 2027 - Company’s Country - Austria - Type of partnership - Research and development cooperation agreement - Targeted Countries - Austria - Belgium - Bulgaria - Estonia - Croatia - Denmark - Czechia - Spain - Slovenia - Portugal - Ukraine - Italy - Sweden - France - Romania - Greece - Lithuania - Iceland - Latvia - Slovakia - Germany - Finland - Luxembourg - Türkiye - Hungary - Norway - Netherlands - Ireland - Poland - Malta General information - Short Summary - An Austrian university is coordinating a Horizon Europe project proposal under the call Horizon-JU-CBE-2026-IA-05 – Biobased films and coatings for circular packaging. The consortium is seeking industrial end-user partners from the food and non-food sectors, including cosmetics, personal care, healthcare and medical packaging, as well as a recycling partner with expertise in deinking and delamination of packaging materials. - Full Description - The project aims to develop a new generation of bio-based, light-curable inks and coatings for sustainable food and non-food packaging. It combines renewable polymer building blocks with dynamic covalent chemistry to create high-performance photopolymers that meet the mechanical, barrier and surface requirements of modern packaging while enabling improved end-of-life options. Two complementary application areas are addressed: functional packaging coatings and functional inkjet inks. A key innovation is the integration of dynamic polymer networks that facilitate both recycling of the polymer matrix and efficient de-inking through dynamic bond exchange, thereby supporting high-quality material recovery and circular packaging concepts. By combining advanced bio-based photopolymers with recyclable material design, the project will demonstrate sustainable packaging solutions with enhanced performance and improved circularity. The developed films and coatings will be validated for packaging applications across different market sectors. To strengthen market validation, the consortium is looking for industrial end-user partners from the food and non-food sectors, such as cosmetics, personal care, healthcare and medical packaging. End-user partners are expected to define application-specific requirements, test and validate the novel bio-based, light-curable coatings under real operating conditions, and assess their usability, recyclability and end-of-life performance. Furthermore, the consortium is seeking a recycling and deinking partner with expertise in industrial recycling, deinking processes and the specific applications and requirements for packaging materials. Link to the CALL: https:
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2026-IA-05?order=DESC&pageNumber=1&pageSize=50&sortBy=relevance&keywords=HORIZON-JU-CBE-2026-IA-05&isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094502,31094503 - Advantages and Innovations - The project addresses key European priorities linked to the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. The project results are expected to contribute to: • Wider availability of bio-based films and coatings for packaging products; • Improved technical performance of packaging products compared with fossil-based and existing bio-based benchmarks; • Improved circularity of packaging products against specific market benchmarks, taking into account production, use and end-of-life performance. - Technical Specification or Expertise Sought - Industrial end-user partners from the food and non-food industry should be willing to: • Define application requirements and acceptance criteria for bio-based films and coatings for packaging products • Support demonstrator application validation under real industrial conditions (TRL 6-7 at the end of the project) • Provide feedback regarding usability, recyclability and market requirements • Define process parameters for recycling
deinking of packaging materials • Contribute to exploitation and market uptake activities Potential target sectors include: • Food (including Beverages) • Cosmetics and personal care • Healthcare and medical packaging Furthermore, the consortium is seeking a recycling and deinking partner with expertise in industrial recycling, deinking processes and the specific applications and requirements for packaging materials: • Support demonstrator recycling and deinking activities under real industrial conditions (TRL 5–6 by the end of the project) The proposal is expected to be submitted to the call topic: Horizon-JU-CBE-2026-IA-05 – Biobased Films and coatings for circular packaging – Innovation Action. The estimated budget contribution is EUR 7 million. The funding rate for industrial company partners will be up to 60% of their eligible project costs. - Stage of Development - Under development - Sustainable Development Goals - Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure - Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production - IPR status - Secret know-how Partner Sought - Expected Role of a Partner - Industrial end-user partners from the food and non-food sectors are expected to define application-specific requirements, test and validate the novel bio-based, light-curable coatings under real operating conditions, and assess their usability, recyclability and end-of-life performance. The recycling and deinking partner should contribute expertise in industrial recycling, deinking and delamination processes for packaging materials and support demonstrator recycling and deinking activities under real industrial conditions, targeting TRL 5–6 by the end of the project. - Type and Size of Partner - SME 11-49 - Big company - SME 50 - 249 - Type of partnership - Research and development cooperation agreement Call details - Framework program - Horizon Europe - Call title and identifier - Horizon-JU-CBE-2026-IA-05 – Biobased Films and coatings for circular packaging - Submission and evaluation scheme - Single stage submission - Anticipated project budget - EUR 7 Mio - Coordinator required - No - Deadline for EoI - Deadline of the call - Project duration in weeks - 159 - Web link to the call - Project title and acronym - Biobased films and coatings for circular packaging - Horizon Europe Dissemination - Technology keywords - 06006001 - Biobased Materials - 06006005 - Biobased high-performance materials - 03004011 - Care, Hygiene, Beauty - 08001003 - Food Packaging
Handling - 06006002 - Bioplastics - Market keywords - 07003002 - Health food - 08005 - Other Industrial Products (not elsewhere classified) - 07006 - Other Consumer Related (not elsewhere classified) - 07004002 - Health and beauty aids - 07003003 - Soft drinks and bottling plants - Targeted countries - Austria - Belgium - Bulgaria - Estonia - Croatia - Denmark - Czechia - Spain - Slovenia - Portugal - Ukraine - Italy - Sweden - France - Romania - Greece - Lithuania - Iceland - Latvia - Slovakia - Germany - Finland - Luxembourg - Türkiye - Hungary - Norway - Netherlands - Ireland - Poland - Malta