GROW/HARVEST call of the Metabuilding project to boost innovation in the construction industry
The first GROW/HARVEST call is the second one launched by the Metabuilding project and will be open until September 15. This project aims to boost innovation of SMEs in the construction sector, promoting cross-sector and cross-border collaboration. This call will focus on various challenges in the construction sector: ICT, nature-based solutions, circular economy and recycling, and 3D printing.
Through this call, projects of up to 60,000 euros will be approved for collaboration between two or more SMEs in the construction sector. The objective is to promote innovation and cooperation between SMEs at a European level. Proposals for collaborative projects of 2 partners or more (at least 2 SMEs) can be submitted until September 15, 2021.
A total of 960,000 euros will be distributed to the SMEs. At least one of the SMEs forming each consortium must be established in one of the 6 countries that are part of the project: Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and the other SMEs must be located in any of the countries associated to Horizon 2020. The proposals will be evaluated by an international panel of independent experts with respect to how they address the respective challenges.
Challenges in the construction sector covered by the call
The call addresses four key challenges in the sector. On the one hand, the ICT in construction challenge addresses energy monitoring and management, comfort and health in buildings, including digital tools and BIM for SMEs.
Another challenge addressed is the inclusion of nature-based solutions (SbN) in the rehabilitation of buildings, as well as digitalization for the management and monitoring of these systems.
Circular economy is also one of the main challenges of the sector, so the introduction of new recycled building materials and digital solutions for circularity in building is sought.
Finally, the call covers the reuse of waste through integration in large 3D printing processes for the construction sector, and the integration of new functionalities in building components through 3D printing.
