The European RAMP Partnership (Raw Materials Partnership for the Green and Digital Transition) has launched its first joint international call, Joint Call 2026. The call focuses on research and innovation in the extraction, processing, and recycling of mineral resources across the entire value chain. The deadline for submitting project proposals (pre-proposals) is September 22, 2026.
The goal of the call is to support research and innovation contributing to the sustainable availability and efficient use of mineral resources in the context of the green and digital transformation. Forty funding agencies from 27 countries are participating in the first joint international calls for 2026, with their national and regional commitments totaling nearly 41 million euros.
The call covers six thematic areas across the entire raw materials value chain, from exploration and extraction through design and manufacturing to reuse and recycling:
- Topic 1 – Ensuring a resilient supply of raw materials from primary sources
Projects under this topic should address challenges in the primary supply chain, including the sustainable exploration, extraction, refining, and processing of raw materials. Relevant areas include innovative exploration techniques, sustainable mining and extraction practices, advanced metallurgical processing, and environmental and social impact assessments.
- Topic 2 — Targeting secondary sources to enhance access to raw materials
Projects under this topic should focus on recovering raw materials from secondary sources such as end-of-life products, industrial and urban waste, and landfills, and reintegrating them into supply chains. Relevant areas include recovery and recycling technologies, urban mining, the integration of secondary feedstocks into production, and material flow analysis.
- Topic 3 – Efficient and effective use of raw materials in design and production
Projects under this topic should focus on design and production approaches that make more efficient use of raw materials, minimize social and environmental impacts, enable reuse and recycling, and support the substitution of critical raw materials. Relevant areas include resource-efficient production processes, innovative product design, and digital tools for monitoring and traceability.
- Topic 4 – Overcoming technological barriers to circularity
Projects under this topic should provide technological advances to increase the service life of products or components through reuse, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and repurposing. Relevant areas include decision-support tools for circular use, technologies for extending product service life, and reverse logistics and disassembly.
- Topic 5 – Putting circular economy ambitions into action
Projects under this topic should provide knowledge and practical solutions for overcoming non-technological barriers such as regulatory, social, behavioral, and economic obstacles to the adoption of circular economy practices. Relevant areas include innovative business models, policy and regulatory frameworks, consumer engagement, and circular economy standardization.
- Topic 6 – Innovative approaches for analyzing raw materials value chains:
Projects under this topic should develop new ways of understanding and characterizing raw materials value chains through enhanced data management and standardization, dynamic modeling, life cycle analysis, and financial modeling. Relevant areas include supply chain stress testing, end-of-life analysis, mass flow analysis, and tools for supply chain transparency and traceability.
Projects may be submitted by international consortia composed of at least three eligible partners from at least three participating countries, of which at least two must be EU member states or associated countries. The consortium may include additional partners from other countries, provided they secure their own funding. The project duration is a maximum of 36 months; the estimated grant per project ranges from 1 to 2 million euros. Each partner must meet the eligibility criteria of its national funding agency.
Funding for Czech entities will likely be provided through the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, specifically the Sigma program (Sub-objective 4 – International Cooperation). Only applied research will be supported. The total allocation from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA ČR) for this international call is 1 000 000 euros; the maximum amount of funding per project is 250 000& nbsp;EUR with a maximum funding intensity of 80 %.
List of participating countries (as of the call announcement date):
Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, France – New Caledonia, Croatia, Israel, Canada, Hungary, Moldova, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.
For the current list, visit the call website.
Project proposals must be submitted electronically via the call’s international online system by the project coordinator. Czech participants must also submit the mandatory national annexes to the TA ČR via a data box by the same deadline.
- Deadline for submitting short project proposals (pre-proposals): September 22, 2026, 3:00 p.m. CET
- Estimated deadline for submitting full proposals: February 15, 2027, 3:00 p.m. CET
Useful links
- RAMP Joint Call 2026 – timeline, thematic focus, call documents, participating countries, key links, etc.
- Call text – detailed description of topics, eligibility criteria, etc.
- TA ČR page for this call – documents for Czech applicants, news.
Those interested in participating in the call or seeking assistance with preparing a project proposal may contact the staff of the UP Project Service.