Horizon Europe Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Cluster 6 is the part of Horizon Europe, the EU's €95.5 billion research and innovation programme, that funds the green transition of how Europe grows food, manages land and water, and turns biological resources into value. It backs collaborative projects (a "consortium" means a partnership of organisations from different countries working on one grant) across seven themes: biodiversity and ecosystems, fair and healthy food systems, the circular economy and bioeconomy, zero pollution, climate action on land and sea, rural and coastal communities, and environmental governance and digital solutions. The 2026-2027 work programme, adopted on 11 December 2025, carries an indicative budget of roughly €959 million, with over €580 million in calls closing in 2026. Two things changed materially this cycle: lump-sum grants (a single fixed payment instead of itemised cost claims) are now the default for around half of the budget, and the Commission cut the number of topics by about 35% versus 2023-2024 — fewer, larger calls — while shortening the standard RIA/IA proposal to 40 pages. Most grants are Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) funded at 100% of eligible costs, with EU contributions typically between €3 million and €15 million per project. This is not startup money — it is multi-country research funding for universities, research institutes, companies, public bodies and NGOs that want to push agri-food, bio-based and environmental science from the lab toward the field.

• Non-dilutive grant funding up to 100% of eligible costs for Research and Innovation Actions (actual-cost grants)
• Typical EU contribution of €3M-15M per project
• Seven themes: biodiversity, food systems, circular economy/bioeconomy, zero pollution, climate, communities, governance
• Requires a consortium of at least 3 organisations from 3 different EU or associated countries
• 2026-2027 work programme: lump-sum grants now the norm for ~half the budget; ~35% fewer topics; 40-page RIA/IA proposals

This is built for a research-driven partnership, not a lone founder. The typical winner is a consortium of universities, research and technology organisations, companies, public authorities and NGOs spread across at least three EU or associated countries, tackling a concrete agri-food, bioeconomy, biodiversity, pollution or circular-economy challenge. If you have a strong scientific team, real partners in other Member States, and a problem that sits at TRL 2-6 (Technology Readiness Level — roughly from a proven concept to a system demonstrated in a relevant environment), this is for you. If you are a single startup chasing fast money to scale a finished product, look elsewhere — the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator is the dilutive/grant route for individual companies, and Cluster 6 will feel slow, collaborative and research-heavy by comparison.

Cluster 6 is organised into seven destinations — thematic groupings that each contain specific call topics. You apply to a topic (identifiers like HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-BIODIV-01) as a consortium of at least 3 independent entities from 3 different countries, at least one in an EU member state, for a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) or Innovation Action (IA) grant. Many 2026 topics are two-stage: a short first-stage proposal (closed 16 April 2026) filters who writes the full proposal for the September second stage — and each destination has its own September date, so check yours on the Funding & Tenders portal.