The first Open Call of the European Circular Innovation Valley (ECIV) has successfully demonstrated the strong interest and engagement of European stakeholders in advancing the circular economy.
Launched on 22 December 2025 and closed on 16 March 2026, ECIV Open Call 1 aimed to support interregional innovation projects at advanced technology readiness levels (TRL 6–8), addressing key circular economy value chains.
The approved projects cover a diverse set of sectors and innovation approaches, notably industrial symbiosis, resource efficiency, waste reduction, and circular design. Their objectives are aligned with ECIV key challenges in water and wastewater management, circular and sustainable packaging, and electrical and electronic equipment.
Theme: Food & Agro-food Systems | Circular & Sustainable Bioeconomy
Mission areas: Industrial Symbiosis & Resource Efficiency (M1) · Business Models & Market Innovation (M3)
Budget: €1,665,090.70
Accepted funding: €1,480,865.18
Funding rate: 88,94%
Food production still depends largely on virgin resources, while valuable by-products are often underused or discarded — causing resource inefficiencies and environmental impacts.
C2BIOTICS turns agri-food side streams into high-value biotic ingredients for food applications, bringing together expertise across regions to show how circular bioeconomy solutions can create value from existing resources.
The impact:
- Development of innovative biotic ingredients for food applications
- More efficient resource use through circular valorisation
- Strengthened interregional collaboration across the value chain
- New market opportunities for sustainable, innovative food products
Partners:
- Navarra (Spain): Fundación CENER (lead), ECOVINAL SLU, Universidad de Navarra (UNAV)
- Normandy (France): ACTALIA
- Northern Netherlands (SNN) (The Netherlands): Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences (VHL)
Contact: Inés del Campo / idelcampo@cener.com
Theme: Food & Agro-food Systems | Water & Wastewater Management
Mission areas: Industrial Symbiosis & Resource Efficiency (M1) · Waste Reduction & Circular Design (M2) · Circular Materials & Strategic Sectors (M4)
Budget: €1,008,286.00
Accepted funding: €649,991.10
Funding rate: 64,46%
Starch-processing industries face significant challenges in water consumption and resource efficiency. Large volumes of wastewater are generated, while valuable resources contained in industrial effluents often remain unused, creating both environmental and operational pressures.
HYDROSTARCH turns wastewater from starch-intensive agro-food industries into reusable resources. By integrating advanced treatment, separation, and monitoring technologies, it demonstrates how circular water management can improve resource use and recover value from industrial streams.
The impact:
Environmental impact (per plant)
- 20–40% reduction in freshwater use (30,000–100,000 m³/year saved)
- Internal reuse raised from <20% to 30–60%
- 20–50% reduction in COD entering regeneration
- 50–300 t/year of starch recovered
- Zero chlorine-based biocides
Business impact (per plant)
- Operating savings: €120k–500k/year
- Payback: 1.5–3 years
Social impact and replication
- ≥70 stakeholders engaged
- ≥30 professionals trained
- 10 companies/SMEs involved in replication
- 3 direct jobs per region
Partners:
- Navarra (Spain): Urtech Water SL (URAPHEX)
- Normandy (France): Praxens
- Northern Netherlands (SNN) (The Netherlands): SiccaDania B.V.
Contact: Adrian Valdeolmillos / calidad@uraphex.com
Theme: Electrical & Electronic Equipment (EEE)
Mission areas: Waste Reduction & Circular Design (M2) · Circular Materials & Strategic Sectors (M4)
Budget: €1,859,461.57
Accepted funding: €1,354,410.38
Funding rate: 72,84%
REVALUE is not just another recycling project. It connects reuse, repair, recycling, digital traceability, and inclusive employment into one integrated circuit for e-waste, proving across three European regions that circular solutions can recover real value and bring regions closer together.
The impact:
- Treatment and reuse: ≥ 8% of WEEE prepared for reuse, around 4–5 times the current EU baseline of 1.5–2%, and ≥ 20% less WEEE sent to disposal
- Technical qualification: ≥ 80% of trainees gain certified technical and digital skills
- Digital traceability: ≥ 5 critical raw materials tracked from entry to output, and ≥ 30 platform transactions
- Inclusive employment: 60–90 people facing labour-market barriers take part, with ≥ 30% in employment six months after completing the pathway
- Three regions, one system: ≥ 3 cross-border transactions between Spain, France and the UK
- Climate impact: ≥ 300 t CO₂e avoided
Partners:
- Navarra (Spain): Fundación Koine Aequalitas (lead), AMIMET
- Normandy (France): IPC (Centre Technique Industriel de la Plasturgie et des Composites), WeeECycling, CRAR Normandie
- Scotland (UK): Vaste Technologies LTD
Contact: Paula Ruiz / paular@koine-aequalitas.es
Theme: Food & Agro-food Systems | Circular & Sustainable Packaging
Mission areas: Industrial Symbiosis & Resource Efficiency (M1) · Waste Reduction & Circular Design (M2) · Business Models & Market Innovation (M3) · Circular Materials & Strategic Sectors (M4)
Budget: €1,521,584.01
Accepted funding: €1,346,169.51
Funding rate: 88,47%
Food packaging systems still rely heavily on linear production and consumption models. Recycling into new food-contact applications remains limited due to contamination risks, regulatory requirements, fragmented infrastructures, and a lack of traceability across value chains.
The project develops and tests an integrated circular approach for food packaging. By combining advanced recycling technologies, digital traceability systems, and innovative business models, it demonstrates how circular solutions can support the safe use of recycled
materials in new food packaging applications.
The impact:
SABOR aims to demonstrate that circular food-packaging systems can be technically viable, environmentally beneficial and commercially replicable. By the end of the project, the target is to achieve:
- ≥95% purity in recyclable polyolefin streams
- ≥15% improvement in packaging circularity
- ≥15% lower CO₂e emissions
- Up to 35% lower virgin-material use, while validating industrial packaging solutions at TRL 7/8
Market impact will be demonstrated through ≥50% stakeholder adoption interest, at least three commercial or cooperation opportunities and three viable circular business models, supported by a Replication Toolkit for deployment in other European regions.
Partners:
- Navarra (Spain): CNTA — Centro Nacional de Tecnología y Seguridad Alimentaria (lead), NAITEC, Functional Print Cluster, Industrias Cárnicas de Navarra
- Northern Netherlands (SNN) (The Netherlands): ECORAS BV, Dye-FF BV, Ferr-Tech, Stichting NHL Stenden Hogeschool
- Northern Middle Sweden (Värmland & Gävleborg) (Sweden): Paper Province ekonomisk förening, Karlstad University (Service Research Center), University of Gävle / Högskolan i Gävle
Contact: Maria Busolo / mbusolo@cnta.es