Living labs to monitor and mitigate carcinogenic substances in and originating from soils: Evaluating their effects on human cancer risks
Horizon Europe · HORIZON-MISS-2027-06-SOIL-CANCER
Funding for living labs that clean up soils polluted by carcinogens and study the links between soil contamination and human cancer.
This call is announced but not open yet. Dates and conditions can still change.
What is this call about?
The topic funds multi-actor living labs that remediate soils contaminated by carcinogenic substances and investigate links between soil pollution and cancer in humans. Each project sets up four to five living labs in at least three countries.
What does this call fund?
Scope
This joint topic of the Soil Mission and the Cancer Mission funds four to five research-centred living labs that work across land uses to remediate soils contaminated by carcinogenic substances, such as PFAS, heavy metals and pesticides, and to study how these substances reach people through air, water and the food chain and affect cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence.
Activities
- Co-implement locally adapted solutions to isolate, immobilise, reduce or eliminate carcinogenic substances in soils, and monitor their pathways in the soil-water-air system and the food chain.
- Set a soil baseline for each living lab, based on the indicators in the proposed Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive.
- Analyse bioavailability and bioaccumulation in crops, identify critical exposure pathways and examine correlations with cancer data using human biomonitoring, modelling and cancer registries.
- Demonstrate technical, social, economic and environmental viability and scalability, identify sites that could become lighthouses and plan long-term financial sustainability of the living labs.
Financial support to third parties
Projects may provide financial support to small actors such as land managers, landowners, SMEs or civil society, for example for site management, monitoring, data collection, capacity building, equipment or compensation for loss of production.
Expected outcomes
Stronger participatory research capacity to co-create soil health solutions for contaminated soils and better understanding of the links between soil carcinogens and human cancer. Data should be FAIR and shareable through the EU Soil Observatory, the Cancer Data Space and the Common Data Platform for Chemicals.
What are the key facts?
- Topic budget
- €24,000,000
- Funding per project
- €12,000,000
- Call code
- HORIZON-MISS-2027-06-SOIL-CANCER
- Programme
- Horizon Europe
- Funder
- European Commission, Horizon Europe, joint call of the Soil Deal for Europe Mission and the Cancer Mission (Research and Innovation Action)
- Expected number of projects
- 2
Who can apply for this call?
- Each project supports four to five living labs, located in at least three different EU Member States and/or Associated Countries.
- Projects must adopt the multi-actor approach; actors may include researchers, landowners and land managers, industry including SMEs, public administrations and civil society.
- Participation may take the form of beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties.
Check your eligibility and how your project fits
In your free account, we check the eligibility conditions against the call documents for your organisation and assess how well your project fits this call.
What are proposals expected to do?
- Projects should plan dedicated tasks and resources to collaborate with SOILL and the EU Soil Observatory.
When is the deadline?
21 September 2027 (320 days)
Interested in this call? Summary written with AI from the official call documents. Details can differ, so check the official call page before you apply. Read the official call documents before you decide. The official text is always binding.
Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal and the official call documents. Official call page Last updated 6 October 2026.