EIC Pathfinder Challenge 4
Waste valorization for circular production of fuels, chemicals, and materials
Writer
Celeste Chidiac, PhD
Keywords
Microfluidic Devices, Intelligent Microfluidics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning
EIC Work Programme reference
HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-04
Call deadline
October 29, 2025
Publication Date
May 02, 2025
Keywords
Intelligent Microfluidics
Deep Learning
Microfluidic Devices
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Circular economy
Waste valorization
Waste-to-value
Feedstocks
The MIC can be your perfect SME partner for EIC projects!
Introduction to EIC Pathfinder Challenges
The EIC Pathfinder supports early-stage, high-risk research in science, technology, and deep-tech, aiming to lay the foundation for innovations that can reshape existing markets or create entirely new ones.
- Pathfinder Open: For breakthrough ideas across any scientific or technological field.
- Pathfinder Challenges: Focused on specific themes, funding coordinated portfolios of projects targeting strategic goals.
2025 funding at a glance
- Total budget: €120 million (4 Challenges, ~€30 million each)
- Project funding: Up to €4 million
- Projects per Challenge: 7–10
- 2024 success rate: 7.7% (31 of 401 proposals funded)
What is the Challenge on waste valorization about?
This Challenge aims to support the development of next-generation technologies that transform difficult-to-recycle waste streams into essential materials for a future circular economy. As fossil fuels remain the primary source of carbon feedstocks for fuels, chemicals, and materials, this Challenge seeks to “de-fossilize” production by using renewable energy and alternative carbon sources derived from waste.
This Challenge targets synthetic polymer materials (mixed and composite plastics, micro-/nanoplastics, untreated plastic waste, diapers, rubber, etc.), flue gases, wastewater, and streams where recycling is hard due to impurities, toxic additives, or material complexity. Solutions must be scalable, economically viable, and capable of generating high-value outputs while fostering collaboration within a portfolio of aligned projects.
More information on the EIC Pathfinder Challenge 4 can be found on the official page of the European Commission.
How can the MIC help with your project?
- Sorting micro-/nanoplastics, removing trace metals, or separating noxious additives from complex waste mixtures
- Screening microbial strains, enzymes, or synthetic biology constructs
- Parallelized experimentation
The MIC as the perfect SME partner
SMEs play a vital role in Horizon Europe projects by translating advanced scientific research into practical, scalable technologies. With deep expertise in microfluidics, we provide cutting-edge solutions to support the transition of complex waste streams into valuable feedstocks.
Our microfluidic systems accurately separate polymers, trace metals, and harmful additives from mixed waste. Furthermore, our platforms enable rapid, parallel screening of microbial strains, enzymes, and synthetic biology constructs, significantly accelerating the identification of effective biological agents for waste breakdown and resource recovery. These technologies are essential for developing efficient, scalable, and environmentally sustainable processes in line with the objectives of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge on circular waste valorization.
Objectives of the call
The funded project portfolio will collectively address three core areas. Only one proposal from each of Areas 2 and 3 will be selected, while Area 1 aims to fund projects covering a broad range of device categories.
Area 1: Fully integrated waste-to-value devices
This area focuses on developing fully integrated, waste-to-value devices that convert complex waste streams into high-value products, beyond hydrogen as the sole end product.
Proposed technologies must upcycle waste into products of higher economic and environmental value, while being energy- and material-efficient, fully sustainable, and designed for safe, recyclable operation with minimal environmental impact. Solutions should address the entire waste valorization chain, function independently of large infrastructures, handle minimally sorted waste, and clearly benchmark their performance against current and emerging recycling methods. In addition, they must reach TRL 4 within 3–4 years.
Area 2: Understanding underlying mechanisms by means of computational material science and AI
- Investigate key physical, chemical, and biological phenomena relevant to various waste valorization devices, including catalyst development, interface engineering, and medium effects.
- Develop efficient, accurate, and less resource-intensive quantum mechanical and AI-based methods to support and interpret experimental work.
- Apply multiscale modeling to connect atomic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic levels and capture behaviors across different timescales.
- Take a holistic approach to mechanisms shared across device types, using devices from Area 1 to validate theoretical models.
Area 3: Cells from scratch by means of bottom-up synthetic biology
Projects should address all the following specific objectives:
- Achieve breakthroughs in bottom-up synthetic biology to create tailored microbial systems.
- Develop artificial cells with carbon fixation for large-scale biotechnological use.
- Engineer systems to synthesize valuable compounds from basic building blocks like water and carbon oxides.
- Design systems capable of converting wastes to produce fuels, chemicals, and materials, with integrated but not necessarily autonomous modules.
Each proposal should address exactly one (and only one) of the three areas (first category), and be mapped according to values in the area (second category). Additional second categories include: waste feedstock, envisioned products, targeted sectors, future application scenarios, energy inputs, and desired functionalities.
What are the expected outcomes and impacts?
This Challenge aligns with key EU strategies, including REPowerEU, Fit for 55, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Waste Framework Directive, the Critical Raw Materials Act, and the Circular Economy Action Plan.
In the long term, this initiative will support localized and sustainable resource supply chains, especially for remote areas, by enabling access to advanced recycling technologies and reducing dependency on imported raw materials. Integrating waste valorization aims to increase the proportion of recycled waste, reduce environmental harm from landfilling and incineration, and support micro-/nanoplastic removal. Furthermore, it promotes decentralized, circular production of fuels, chemicals, and materials—transforming waste into a valuable local resource while significantly reducing fossil fuel reliance and associated emissions.
