Summary
- Profile Type
- Research & Development Request
- POD Reference
- RDRFR20260727003
- Term of Validity
- 27 July 2026 - 27 July 2027
- Company's Country
- France
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- Spain
- Italy
- United Kingdom
- Switzerland
- France
- Belgium
- Slovenia
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- Germany
- Portugal
- Cyprus
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Sweden
- Czechia
- Latvia
- Denmark
- Greece
- Austria
- Poland
- Finland
- Ireland
- Bulgaria
- Romania
- Malta
- Norway
- Croatia
General information
- Short Summary
- A French technological center is coordinating a H. Europe project to develop innovative lead-free brass alloys safer and more sustainable for the energy sector. The aim is to tackle remaining challenges such as higher temperatures, thermal cycling, etc. thus demonstrate their industrial feasibility and performance. Industrial partners active in the brass value chain, energy sector, fluid distribution are searched for validation within relevant use case under R&D and/or technological agreement.
- Full Description
-
A French technological center is coordinating a Horizon Europe project to develop innovative lead-free brass alloys for the energy sector.
Leaded brass is widely used in fluid distribution, automotive and electrical applications due to its excellent machinability, corrosion resistance and sealing properties. However, growing regulatory pressure in Europe, including the Drinking Water Directive, ELV (End-of-Life Vehicles), RoHS and REACH frameworks, is accelerating the replacement of lead-containing alloys with safer and more sustainable alternatives.
While several low-lead and lead-free brass grades have already been developed for drinking water applications, significant challenges remain in the energy sector, which operate under more demanding conditions such as higher temperatures, thermal cycling, pressure fluctuations and stringent long-term tightness requirements.
The project aims to develop and validate innovative lead-free brass grades capable of meeting these technical requirements while complying with Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles. A key objective is to demonstrate their industrial feasibility and performance through pilot-scale validation in representative use cases, paving the way for future market uptake and supporting the transition towards lead-free components in strategic European industrial sectors.
The methodology developed will be transferable to other sectors (automotive, medical, process industries).
Industrial partner (end-user), active in the brass value chain and target application markets, capable of leading the validation of the developed lead-free brass within a relevant use case at TRL 7 are searched in the frame of a Research agreement and/or technological agreement - Advantages and Innovations
-
- Innovative lead-free brass
- Safer and more sustainable alternatives
- SSbD – Safe and Sustainable by Design
- Operation under more demanding conditions (higher temperatures, thermal cycling, pressure fluctuations and stringent long-term tightness requirements)
- Compliant with new regulatory in Europe - Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
-
Industrial partner (end-user), active in the brass value chain and target application markets (fluid distribution, automotive and electrical applications, ...), energy sector, capable of leading the validation of the developed lead-free brass within a relevant use case at TRL 7 are searched.
The partner should have access to pilot-scale and/or semi-industrial manufacturing facilities for brass component production, enabling the integration, demonstration and validation of the developed material under representative operational conditions.
* Other technology partners and tech contribution may be considered for future developments and areas of application - Stage of Development
- Under development
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- IPR status
- Secret know-how
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
-
Role of the partner: lead the validation of a new lead-free grade on a use case (TRL 7)
Task(s) to be done:
- Pilot-scale demonstration of the material in a representative use case;
- Process and manufacturing validation under pre-industrial conditions;
- Performance, reliability and durability assessment;
- Technico-economic and environmental evaluation;
- Contribution to the business plan development and exploitation strategy. - Type and Size of Partner
- SME 50 - 249
- Big company
- SME 11-49
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Call details
- Framework program
- Horizon Europe
- Call title and identifier
-
HORIZON-CL4-2026-02-MAT-PROD-21-two-stage Development of safe and sustainable alternatives to substances of concern (IA)
- Submission and evaluation scheme
-
Two-stage evaluation
- Coordinator required
-
No
- Deadline for EoI
- Deadline of the call
- Web link to the call
- https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL4-2026-02-MAT-PROD-21-two-stage?isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094502,31094503&callIdentifier=HORIZON-CL4-2026-02-two-stage&order=DESC&pageNumb
- Horizon Europe
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 02007010 - Metals and Alloys
- 02002005 - Forming (rolling, forging, pressing, drawing)
- 02002013 - Moulding, injection moulding, sintering
- 02002010 - Machining (turning, drilling, moulding, planing, cutting)
- Market keywords
- 06010003 - Energy for Industry
- 06010002 - Energy for the community/public sector
- 06003003 - Wind energy
- 06003001 - Solar/thermal energy
- 06010001 - Energy for private/domestic housing
- Sector Groups Involved
- Energy-Intensive Industries - Materials
- Maritime Industries and Services
- Mobility - Transport - Automotive
- Energy-Intensive Industries
- Targeted countries
- Spain
- Italy
- United Kingdom
- Switzerland
- France
- Belgium
- Slovenia
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- Germany
- Portugal
- Cyprus
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Sweden
- Czechia
- Latvia
- Denmark
- Greece
- Austria
- Poland
- Finland
- Ireland
- Bulgaria
- Romania
- Malta
- Norway
- Croatia