Call for proposals: Nordic Secondary Critical Raw Materials Value Chains

Call for proposals Deadline 23.09.2026

Through this call, Nordic Innovation will support projects that develop concrete, industry-driven value chains to bring secondary critical raw materials into industrial use.

Available funding: 10 000 000 NOK
Project size: 2–5 million NOK per project
Deadline: 23. September 2026
Funding decision: November 2026
Project start: Q4 2026
Maximum: 36 months

APPLY HERE

About the call

Critical raw materials (CRMs) are essential for the green and digital transition. At the same time, Europe is highly dependent on imports, making supply security a strategic priority.

The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets targets for increased recycling and domestic supply. The Nordic region holds significant untapped potential in secondary resources, with an estimated 900 000 tonnes of CRMs embedded in waste and industrial side streams.

However, a key challenge is the lack of functioning value chains capable of bringing these materials into industrial use. Many initiatives do not progress beyond early-stage development.

This call for proposals is part of the Nordic Innovation programme Innovative Solutions for 2030, which aims to accelerate the introduction of solutions for the green transition. By supporting industry-driven projects with a clear pathway towards pilot implementation, investment and market uptake, the call contributes to strengthening Nordic competitiveness, resource security and the development of circular value chains for critical raw materials.

Through this call, Nordic Innovation aims to support projects that advance concrete cases towards pilot implementation, investment, market uptake or EU funding. This can include, but is not limited to:

Address key technical, operational and economic barriers.
Validate key assumptions in the value chain, such as material availability, process performance and potential industrial use.
Bring together relevant actors across the value chain to jointly develop and validate concrete cases and value chains based on specific material streams.

Funding

Nordic Innovation has allocated NOK 10 million to this call for proposals.
The funding sought per project can be in the range of NOK 2 000 000 – 5 000 000. 
The funding will be given in the form of a grant.
For details on how to calculate personnel costs please see Nordic Innovation's approved hourly rate 2024.pdf
Public project grants, including funding from Nordic Innovation, shall not exceed 50% of total project costs. 
Nordic Innovation requires a minimum of 50% co-funding from project participants.  
- Co-funding can be in the form of direct funding (capital) or in-kind contributions (working hours). The composition of the co-funding must be demonstrated in the proposal.  
- The co-funding requirement of 50% applies to the project as a whole and not to individual partners. However, each partner must have a minimum of 10 % co-funding.
- The total share of any in-kind contributions must be reasonable and well-balanced.  
Nordic Innovation can freely choose to split the total amount of NOK 10 million between several projects.    
Nordic Innovation reserves the right not to use the entire allocated budget.   
Nordic Innovation reserves the right not to award any funding under this call.

Activity description

Projects should focus on developing concrete value chains for secondary CRMs, based on a specific material stream. Relevant material streams may include, for example, batteries, industrial side streams, construction waste, electronic waste.

Projects are expected to:

Start from a defined feedstock (waste or side stream containing CRMs).
Involve relevant value chain actors (e.g. collection, sorting, processing, process industry, end use).
Demonstrate industrial relevance and demand.
Reduce key technical, operational, or economic barriers.

Relevant activities may include:

Verification of material streams (volume and quality).
Testing of sorting and separation processes.
Small-scale processing or pilot testing.
Validation of industrial use.
Techno-economic assessment and feasibility analysis.
Mapping of regulatory barriers.
The specific project plan will be developed by the project partners.

Out of scope

The following types of projects will not be supported:

Pure mapping or analytical studies
Broad ecosystem or networking initiatives
Events or dissemination-only activities
Technology development without access to feedstock
Pure policy or regulatory projects

Expected results

Funded projects are expected to deliver:

Verified data from testing of concrete material streams
Reduced uncertainty in critical parts of the value chain
Documented potential for industrial application
A clearly defined next step, such as:
- Pilot implementation
- Investment
- Market uptake / industrial use
- EU funding

Who can apply

The project partners can be:

Recycling and waste management companies.
Process industry actors.
Technology providers
End-users
Research and innovation institutions
Public sector actors
Clusters

Please note that strong industrial involvement and access to relevant material streams will be part of the evaluation.

Eligibility

Projects must meet the following requirement:

The project must be carried out by a consortium of at least three partners from three different Nordic countries

De Minimis aid obligations

Under EU law, an undertaking may receive State Aid of up to EUR 300 000 over a three-year period (de minimis aid). Since Nordic Innovation is financed by the five Nordic governments, only 20% of a grant counts towards the de Minimis limit for any one country. You will find more information related to State aid on Nordic Innovation’s website.

Evaluation criteria

Impact (40%)

To what extent does the project clearly identify and credibly address key technical, operational and economic barriers, and validate critical assumptions in the value chain?
To what extent is the project based on a clearly defined material stream and a concrete case with industrial relevance?
To what extent does the project demonstrate a clear and credible potential for industrial application, value creation and new business opportunities, including identified end-users or markets?
To what extent does the project address a clearly identified industrial need or opportunity?
How does the project contribute to circular solutions, increased resource security and reduced import dependency?
Exit strategy: To what extent does the project present a clear and credible plan for continuation and scaling of results after the project period, for example through pilot implementation, investment, industrial use or market uptake, or follow-on funding such as EU programmes?

Relevance and Nordic added value (30%)

To what extent is the project relevant to Nordic Innovation’s mission and the objectives of this call?
What is the Nordic added value of the project, including the benefits of developing the value chain across Nordic countries?  I.e., what is the benefit of carrying it out at the Nordic level rather than the national or regional level?  
To what extent does the project connect relevant actors across Nordic countries and create synergies across value chains?

Consortium competence and capacity (30%)

To what extent are the consortium members relevant to the project and what do they contribute?
To what extent is industry meaningfully involved, including access to relevant material streams and potential end-users?
To what extent does the consortium demonstrate a strong and credible capacity to deliver the proposed results, including relevant experience, resources, roles and risk management?

Evaluation

All proposals will undergo an eligibility check by Nordic Innovation. Eligible proposals will be assessed by Nordic Innovation against the evaluation criteria. Based on this assessment, a shortlist of proposals will be established for further evaluation. The shortlisted proposals will be evaluated in detail by an external expert panel against the evaluation criteria, which will provide a recommendation for funding. The final funding decision will be made by the management of Nordic Innovation.