Formas, the Swedish Research Council, publishes a yearly open call for proposals by researchers in one of three defined priority areas: environment, agricultural sciences, and spatial planning.

There has to be a strong research component (i.e. often universities apply) in this call and a focus on global sustainability goals including climate, water, ecosystems, pollution, food, animals, consumption and production, built environment, cities and countryside, and governance.

Maxumum funding is SEK 9 million (~€ 0.9 million) per project.

 The Energy Technology Product list (ETPL) is a UK government-managed list of energy efficient plant and machinery, such as boilers, electric motors and machinery that qualify for full tax relief. For a product to be on the List, it must meet specific energy-saving or energy-efficiency criteria; this is a part of the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) tax scheme for businesses.

Supported measures: projects directly involved in the circular economy (i.e. demonstrable capital projects and innovative business models)

This fund is the energy-efficiency support service for SMEs in England, Wales and Scotland. It provides direct funded support through energy assessments, training workshops, equipment procurement support and up to £ 5 000 (~€ 5 600) capital contribution per company towards energy-saving equipment purchase.

The objective of the Catalan Circular Economy Projects Programme is to promote the transition of companies into a Circular Economy model, improving efficiency in the use of materials and decoupling global economic development from resource consumption.

Companies or groups of companies that have at least one operating establishment located in Catalonia or associations of companies that operate in Catalonia are eligible for funding.

Two types of projects are granted finanical support:

Subsidies to companies for environmental investments aimed at: protecting the environment (up to 60 %), adaption to future EU standards (up to 20 %), carrying out environmental studies (up to 70 %), waste recycling and reuse (up to 55 %), sanitation of contaminated sites (100 %), and external consultant services in environmental matters for SMEs (up to 50 %).

Budget: € 1.5 million per year (2018 - last call)

Available in: Basque country

Support for Basque companies applying for European RTD funding, mainly Horizon 2020 and LIFE. Project proposals under these EU programmes need to demonstrate their excellence and score very well to succeed. Small grants to cover time and expenses (flights to attend meetings, paying experts, etc.) incurred in project proposals are covered.

Budget: € 100 000 per year (2018 - last call)

Funding: 60 %; up to €14 000 per project proposal (depending on several criteria)

Available in: Basque country

This programme offers grants for new business models and actions serving the circular economy, whether it is improvements to a company's own products or those derived from industrial remanufacturing, secondary materials or other waste-reducing business ideas.

Budget: € 1.6 million per year

Funding: 50 % for individual projects (up to € 50 000 per company); 60 % for collaborative projects (up to € 35 000 per company and € 100 000 per project)

Available in: Basque country

Last call: 2018

A programme to promote new circular economy business opportunities in the Basque country by conducting semi-industrial or industrial tests (demonstration projects) that confirm the environmental-economic-technical feasibility of new solutions to separate, collect or recover secondary materials, manufacture products with a high secondary material content, or recovery of parts, components, products, etc. Read about circular economy demonstration projects (in 

Funded by the Scottish Government, SMEs can access interest-free, unsecured loans (5 % for renewables where government subsidies are claimed) of £ 1 000 to £ 100 000 (~€ 1 130 to € 113 000) for investments in equipment resulting in cost and carbon savings. Supported measures include commercial and industrial equipment, renewable technologies, building fabric improvements, waste-reduction and water-saving equipment leading to reduction in energy, water and material use, and waste production.

As part of Germany's national high-tech strategy, this initiative by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research fosters interdisciplinary research in the field of materials technology, including for example materials-based product and process innovation.

Funding depends on the following R&D categories:

• Up to 100 % for fundamental research
• Up to 50 % for industrial research
• Up to 25 % for experimental development
• Up to 50 % for feasibility studies