Within the Horizon Europe programme, the European Commission has announced the call “Bioremediation of Ukraine’s ecosystems contaminated by conflicts” under topic HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-02. The call supports Innovation Actions aimed at restoring ecosystems in Ukraine that have suffered severe pollution as a result of armed conflicts.
The initiative focuses on deploying innovative biotechnological and nature-based solutions to address soil, water and air contamination. In addition, it seeks to contribute to environmental recovery, biodiversity protection and the long-term resilience of affected territories.
Objectives and expected outcomes
The funded projects are expected to support local communities, land managers, public authorities and researchers in applying effective remediation solutions. In particular, projects should help advance the objectives of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and broader zero-pollution ambitions.
As a result, innovative biotechnology and nature-based solutions should become available for practical use in Ukraine. At the same time, the projects should contribute to ecosystem restoration, economic recovery and the rebuilding of ecosystem services in conflict-affected areas.
Scope of supported activities
Project proposals should address the assessment and remediation of pollution caused by past and ongoing conflicts. This includes identifying contaminated areas, prioritising remediation actions and monitoring environmental recovery.
Projects are expected to develop and test cost-effective bioremediation approaches, including phytoremediation and other biotechnology-based solutions. Where relevant, applicants should also apply advanced tools such as Earth observation, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
Furthermore, proposals should demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed solutions in real conditions in Ukraine. Monitoring activities should assess both remediation results and the increased resilience of restored ecosystems to climate change.
Social, policy and international dimensions
Projects must evaluate potential impacts on the population, especially on vulnerable groups. Therefore, transparent engagement with stakeholders and civil society is required throughout project implementation.
In addition, funded actions should provide recommendations to policymakers, EU institutions and international organisations. These recommendations should support replication of successful approaches and inform future reconstruction and EU accession-related processes.
International cooperation is strongly encouraged. Consortia should follow a multi-actor approach and involve Ukrainian land managers, local administrations, academic institutions and research organisations. Participation of SMEs is also welcomed.
Research approach and collaboration
The call requires the integration of social sciences and humanities to better understand societal impacts. Moreover, projects should collaborate with relevant Mission Soil initiatives and other Horizon Europe projects addressing soil pollution and ecosystem health.
All generated data should follow FAIR principles and be compatible with the European Open Science Cloud. This ensures long-term usability, transparency and knowledge sharing at the European level.
Funding and timeline
The call is implemented as a Horizon Innovation Action with lump sum funding.
Planned opening date: 17 April 2026;
Submission deadline: 17 September 2026, 17:00 Brussels time;
Indicative budget for the topic: 11 000 000 EUR;
Expected EU contribution per project: between 5 000 000 and 6 000 000 EUR;
Indicative number of funded projects: 2.
Source of information
Official conditions, eligibility requirements and application documents are available on the European Commission’s Funding & Tenders Portal under topic HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-02.
More Horizon Europe calls and funding opportunities for environmental restoration and research can be found in the grants section of the GetGrant service.