Open Call

Convert2Green is an Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) offering a holistic combination of innovation services, technology infrastructures and pilot lines for faster and cheaper deployment of low-carbon circular material innovations.

What?

Project acronym: Convert2Green

Project full name: Converting Facilities Network for accelerating uptake of climate-neutral materials in innovative products

Project grant agreement number: 101092347

The Convert2GreenOpen Innovation Test Bed launches an Open Call for Pilot Case projects to support companies in the faster and cheaper deployment of low-carbon circular material innovations, helping to create eco-friendly products made in Europe.

In the framework of the Open Call, up to 20 small and medium enterprises (SME) will get access to top-notch European Research Infrastructure and Innovation Services provided by the Convert2Green OITB members through pre-commercial pilot case projects.

Interested companies targeting e.g. the following application areas may apply:

• clean autonomous vehicles
• smart health
• industrial internet of things
• low carbon industry
• clean energy

We are looking for SMEs, who develop a novel, bio-based, recyclable, recycled, or upcycled materials, and require support in developing, testing, validating, and producing the materials for the abovementioned applications. However, also companies interested in introducing novel materials from third-party sources to their products may apply.

When?

The Open Call will open from July 2023 to December 2024. Applicants will be able to apply anytime during this period. Any submitted proposal will be evaluated by the nearest cut-off dates (deadline: 17:00 CET / CEST).

Who?

The Call is open for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and/or large enterprises:

• from all activities fields addressing the above-mentioned application areas;
• with technical or nontechnical background.

Please note that the main factors determining the type of the company are staff headcount and, either, turnover or balance sheet total (see here)

Given the project’s aim of fostering the competitiveness of European SMEs, the primary target of the Convert2Green Open Call is Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). That means, provided they score above the required threshold, a certain proportion of European SME applicants may take priority over higher-ranked proposals submitted by other organisation types. Nevertheless, large enterprises are also eligible applicants.

To be eligible for this Call, your company will also have to be established in one of the eligible countries. Please check the list of countries in the attached document.

Why?

All successful applicants to the Convert2Green Open Call will receive subsidized access to:

• a comprehensive service portfolio to assess the eco-balance of novel materials, to develop materials converting processes and to test such materials in user products.
• lab and pilot scale technical facilities for material recovery & recycling; for circular material integration, evaluation and qualification.
• holistic innovation support combining technical and non-technical services for maximum outcomes covering also business innovation services, intellectual property consulting and support, access to finance and funding and complete social, business and ecological life-cycle assessments.

The overall budget for the programme is 2 M€. We aim to support 20 projects from this budget. Convert2Green considers that proposals requesting a contribution between EUR 80 k€ and 120 k€ would allow the objectives of the call to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Each use case will be co-funded by the applicant and the Convert2Green project. The Convert2Green project will fund up to 100% of the total cost of delivering the services from the Convert2Green members. The total cost of the case will be defined as part of the negotiation of the Service Delivery Plan between the successful applicant and Convert2Green. The free-of-charge contribution by the Convert2Green consortium is composed of:

• Qualified human resources dedicated to the execution of the project;
• Consumables and materials, required for the product/part/prototype demonstrator as well as travel costs for OITB experts to the Pilot Case project partner;
• Access to top-notch equipment and infrastructure of the pilot lines.
• business innovation services and consulting on IP issues, business model development and access to funding/finance, where appropriate.

The applicants are expected to cover their expenses concerning the project (e.g., own personnel cost, travel, material provision and preparations, etc.) which should amount to approx. 30% of the overall project budget. These will be considered as in-kind contributions to the project. Neither will the applicants receive direct financial support from the project consortium, nor are the applicants required to pay for the services received by the Convert2Green consortium.

Please consult the Joint Implementation Agreement for detailed information about:

• Terms and Conditions for the Financial Support
• Liability
• Intellectual Property Rights Policy
• Confidentiality
• Dissemination
• Checks and audits
• Termination
• Specific obligations
• Joint Implementation Plan
• Final Report Template.

Process?

Any submitted proposal will be assessed shortly after the closest cut-off date and evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Excellence (challenges to be overcome; proposed solution; current state-of-the-art; alignment with the scope of the Convert2Green initiative; regulation, standardization and certification issues);
• Implementation (work plan description; resources to be committed; TRL level; risk management);
• Impact (market opportunity; go-to-market strategy; key exploitable results; other expected impacts).

Each criterion will be scored on a scale from 0-5 and the maximum overall score is 15. The standard threshold for individual criteria is 3, and the standard overall threshold applying to the sum of the three individual scores, is 10. The average of the 3 scores given by evaluators per section and total will be calculated for each proposal. Proposals failing to achieve the threshold score per individual criteria and the overall threshold will be rejected. Proposals will be ranked according to the overall scores in descending order.

Rejected proposals may reapply in the next cut-offs. In case a proposal reaches the evaluation threshold but is not selected, it will be kept in a reserve list. They might be re-approached in case a higher-scoring proposal fails to negotiate a Joint Implementation Agreement with Convert2Green.

The most successful proposals, having passed the evaluation and technical feasibility check, will be offered the chance to negotiate and define a Joint Implementation Agreement with the Service Delivery Manager (SDM) assigned by Convert2Green.

An Evaluation Summary Report will be sent to applicants approximately 6 weeks from the submission deadline. The entire process from proposal submission until the end of service delivery could take up to 12 months in the case that your proposal is selected for funding.

Your data and the content of your application will be kept confidential and will be shared only internally with Convert2Green partners, evaluators and European Commission. General data (such as type of company or country of origin) will be used to create statistics and reports which will be exploited through the project in terms of communication activities. In addition, the names of selected companies and their countries of origin will be published on Convert2Green website as part of Public Evaluation Reports.

How?

If you are interested in applying to the Call, please follow the steps listed below to submit your application.

1. Read this page carefully 
2. Download & review:
   • Application Guidelines;
   • Joint Implementation Agreement template;
3. Make sure that you meet eligibility criteria;
4. Consult the idea with Convert2Green consortium
   • Book an introductory call with the Single Entry Point (KETMarket) via this form.
   • Contact helpdesk@convert2green.eu or convert2green@ketmarket.eu with a simple description of the proposed idea in bullet points.
5. Register through the submission software at https://apply.Convert2Green.eu;
6. Fill in the application data in the submission software;
7. Download the Application Form from the software;
8. Complete the Application Form, save it as a PDF file (MAX 5 pages), upload it and submit it through the submission software.

We will primarily accept applications in English language. If you would like to submit your application in another language, please contact the Open Call helpdesk first (helpdesk@convert2green.eu)

Important: We encourage all applicants to check the feasibility of their ideas well in advance of submission. The Convert2Green consortium is happy to support this check through a mentoring programme. Therefore, applicants are highly encouraged to consult their idea prior to submission to receive maximum support in the proposal preparation process.

Call Documents

Application Guidelines

Project Handbook

Catalogue of Facilities

Joint Implementation Agreement template

Project Factsheet

Contact

If you need assistance with applying to the Call, or explanations about technology offerings and your possibilities with Convert2Green, please send us your inquiries by phone to: +420 226 217 422 or by email to helpdesk@convert2green.eu. Helpdesk will be active Monday – Friday from 09:00 to 17.00 (CET/CEST). We will be happy to help you. 

Complaints

Upon reception of the evaluation feedback, applicants will have the possibility to submit to the Convert2Green Evaluation Panel complaints related to decisions of proposal evaluation and selection in case there is an indication of a shortcoming in the way a proposal has been evaluated. The complaint procedure is not meant to question the judgment made by the evaluators; it will look at procedural shortcomings and – in rare cases – factual errors.

Complaint requests should be raised within 7 working days from the date of the evaluation feedback sent by the Convert2Green Helpdesk. Shall a complaint be submitted after that deadline, it will be rejected without further examination.

Complaint requests sent by applicants must be:

• related to the evaluation process;
• sent by email to Convert2Green Helpdesk;
• received within the specified time limit specified.

An initial reply will be sent to complainants no later than two weeks after the deadline for complaint requests. This initial reply will indicate when a definitive reply will be provided.

A complaint committee may be convened to examine the peer review evaluation process for the case in question. The committee’s role is to ensure a coherent interpretation of requests and equal treatment of applicants. The complaint committee itself, however, will not re-evaluate the proposal, but it will examine the eligibility of the complaints and factual arguments and claims of the complaints. Depending on the nature of the complaint, the committee may review the evaluation report and individual comments. In the light of its review, the committee will recommend an action. Only, if there is clear evidence of a shortcoming that could affect the eventual funding decision, it is possible that all or part of the proposal will be re-evaluated.

Please note:

• This procedure is concerned with the evaluation process;
• The committee will not call into question the judgment of the individual evaluators;
• A re-evaluation will only be carried out if there is evidence of a shortcoming that affects the quality assessment of a proposal. This means, for example, that a problem relating to one evaluation criterion will not lead to a re-evaluation if a proposal has failed anyway on the other criteria;
• The evaluation score following any re-evaluation will be regarded as definitive. It even may be lower than the original score;
• Only one complaint request per application will be considered by the committee;
• All complaint requests will be treated confidentially.