University of Burgos (ICCRAM) – Partner search for Horizon Europe Mission Soil 2026: Living Labs, Soil Monitoring, One-Health & Soil Resilience

ICCRAM (International Research Centre in Critical Raw Materials for Advanced Industrial Technologies) at the University of Burgos (UBU) is looking to join consortia preparing proposals under the following topics:

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-01 (Living labs: managed forests & natural/semi-natural lands)

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-02 (User-centred & open innovation in Ukraine)

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-03 (Soil health monitoring in practice)

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-05 (AMR & antibiotic biosynthesis in soils – One Health)

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-two-stage (Living labs in Alpine & Atlantic regions)

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-08-CLIMA-SOIL (Soil resilience to extreme weather & food security)

Who we are
ICCRAM covers key research lines including Environmental Biotechnology, Sustainability (LCA/LCSA), and Microbiology & Toxicology through the ICCRAM-EST group (Environment, Sustainability & Toxicology), and participates in multiple European R&I projects.  We bring hands-on experience with living labs/lighthouses approaches, aligned with the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” ambition to scale Living Labs and Lighthouses for healthy soils.  We also have active involvement in Horizon Europe ecosystems including Cluster 6, CBE JU, and Mission Soil.

What we can contribute

• Soil health monitoring & indicators (lab + field + digital): standardized soil physicochemical and biochemical protocols; soil microbiology (microbial biomass, enzymes, PLFAs, BIOLOG EcoPlates), microbiome evaluation; high-resolution soil mapping, and remote sensing/drone-based monitoring.

• Nature-based solutions & remediation in real settings: bioremediation with microbial consortia, microbial-assisted phytoremediation/phytomanagement, wetlands pilots, enzyme-assisted bioremediation, and access to polluted sites (incl. brownfield contexts).

• One Health/ AMR in soils: environmental hazard/ecotoxicity assays and antimicrobial activity testing; soil microbiology tools and capacity to support evidence on exposure/risk pathways relevant to AMR/antibiotics.

• Sustainability & circularity assessment: LCA/LCC, TEA, CBA, social-LCA, MCDA; support to SSbD-related evaluation where relevant (materials, processes, alternatives).

• Co-creation, citizen science, communication & uptake: strong outreach infrastructure and experience to support stakeholder engagement, training, and communication work packages (including participatory monitoring).