iCOSHELLs announces Open Call winners: 13 innovators to boost soil health across Europe
The iCOSHELLS project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme and part of the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, is thrilled to announce the results of its Open Call. Following a robust evaluation process, 13 innovative prototypes have been selected from 148 eligible proposals submitted by applicants across 23 countries.
These winning projects, allocated €899,478.80 (>99% of the available FSTP budget), will integrate into our six Living Labs in the Basque Country, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. They address key regional challenges like soil structure improvement, salinity reduction, circular restoration, and erosion control, becoming full network members for co-creation and real-life testing.
Key Highlights
- Exceptional participation: 148 proposals from 23 countries, showcasing broad European interest and diverse solutions.
- Transparent evaluation: Independent internal/external assessors used predefined criteria; only 32 proposals needed consensus.
- Efficient funding: Lump-sum grants up to €75,000 per project, with 60% pre-financing and structured contracting for accountability.
Selected beneficiaries gain financial support, Living Lab access, expert coaching, and EU-wide visibility to validate soil restoration innovations.
Open Call Winners
| Project title (Acronym) | Legal name | Legal status | Country | Project Budget (EUR) | Total score |
| SWE LL | |||||
| Field-testing mineral-interface sampling probes (MISPs) to quantify early accrual of mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) carbon stocks following soil restoration (MAOM-TRACK) | Lunds Universitet | Academic | Sweden | 75,000.00 | 22.68 |
| Field-Scale Aerobic Composting as a Soil Health (FASST-Soil) | Mossagården Eko AB | SME | Sweden | 75,000.00 | 22.40 |
| GREENNOMED | |||||
| Innovative Real-Time Monitoring & Decision Support Services For Soil Health, Salinity And Irrigation Optimization (SENSE4SOIL) | Odin Solutions, S.L. | SME | Spain | 72,058.80 | 25.53 |
| Mobile Pyrolysis for Regenerative Agriculture: On-site Biochar and Wood Vinegar Production to Enhance Soil Health (MOBIGEN) | Beaver Nexus B.V | SME | Netherlands | 50,000.00 | 23.15 |
| Soil Living Pack – SALT edition (SLP-SALT) | Clean-Biotec S.L. | SME | Spain | 29,000.00 | 22.68 |
| BASQUE LL | |||||
| Risk-Controlled Algae Blends and Encapsulated Bio-Solutions to Restore Soil Functions in the Urdaibai Living Lab (ALGA-SOIL BLOOM) | Algaloop S.L.U. | SME | Spain | 74,500.00 | 22.83 |
| Amendment of contaminated soils with bio-based materials (ABBA) | Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca | Academic | Italy | 75,000.00 | 22.78 |
| ITA LL | |||||
| A multimodal approach for water and carbon monitoring in vineyards (iCOVINE) | Fondazione Riccagioia 5.0 | Academic | Italy | 74,120.00 | 22.48 |
| Drought-Resilient Successional Agroforestry Systems (DRY-SAF) | Soulfood Forestfarms Hub Italia – Impresa Sociale Srl | SME | Italy | 74,800.00 | 22.15 |
| GREEK LL | |||||
| Decontamination with Materials for Ecological Transition and Enhanced Restoration (DE-METE-R) | Ethniko Kentro Erevnas Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (CERTH) | Research organisation | Greece | 75,000.00 | 24.88 |
| Enhanced Phytoremediation with airNBs, PGPR and Organic Acids: Restoring Mine Soils and Circular Valorization (NanoPhyto) | CHQ Technologies P.C. | SME | Greece | 75,000.00 | 24.30 |
| BUV LL | |||||
| An agro-textile delivery platform for soil biosolutions (MatSHELL) | Yphen SAS | SME | France | 75,000.00 | 22.55 |
| Integrated technology solution for automated sensor-based irrigation and precise fertigation, NDVI-based monitoring and AI-based analyses (SCALE FARM) | Bi El Agro | SME | Bulgaria | 75,000.00 | 22.05 |
Next Steps
Funded projects start April-May 2026. Full details on winners, evaluation process, and integration plans are documented for transparency per Horizon Europe standards. By scaling cascade funding and stakeholder co-creation, iCOSHELLS accelerates practical soil health solutions toward the 2030 restoration goals. Learn more at iCOSHELLs project website.
