Project description
Replacing cement with eco-friendly circular alternatives
The construction and built sector globally accounts for nearly 40 % of carbon emissions and a significant portion of worldwide resource extraction and waste generation. Overcoming these issues demands a fundamental shift towards circular, waste-to-resource building practices. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PHOENIX project will tackle this issue by developing circular alternatives to Portland cement by repurposing industrial and municipal waste. It aims to formulate a phosphate-based eco-binder made entirely from waste-derived composites, valorising sewage sludge ash, phosphogypsum leachates and recycled concrete aggregates. The resulting formulations will be optimised and assessed for their resilience, microstructural transformations and environmental safety, followed by performance and life-cycle evaluations.
Objective
The construction sector is responsible for nearly 37% of global CO2 emissions, with Portland cement alone contributing around 7%. At the same time, Europe faces resource challenges, including phosphorus scarcity, excess sewage sludge, and the annual management of over 830 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste. Addressing these challenges requires a paradigm shift toward circular, waste-based construction solutions. The PHOENIX project pioneers the first fully circular phosphate-based geopolymer binder produced entirely from municipal and industrial wastes. Unlike existing EU projects that focus separately on alkali activation or aggregate recycling, PHOENIX uniquely valorises sewage sludge incineration ash, phosphogypsum leachates, and recycled concrete aggregates (RCA), creating 100% waste-derived composites without synthetic activators. This dual innovation directly supports the EU’s Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, Raw Materials Strategy, and upcoming EN 206 / CEN/TC 350 standards. The project is structured into five objectives: (RO1) source and characterise EU-relevant waste streams; (RO2) optimise phosphate-binder formulations; (RO3) integrate RCA and assess binder–aggregate interactions; (RO4) evaluate durability, microstructural evolution, and environmental safety; and (RO5) validate pilot-scale performance (50–100 kg) with life cycle and techno-economic assessment. For 30 months, PHOENIX will advance from TRL 2–3 to TRL 5–6, reinforced by secondments at UniMAP in Malaysia and IIT Indore in India and a six-month industrial placement at Recycle it Global Ltd. in the UK for prototype development and market validation. By demonstrating scalable, low-carbon alternatives to cement, PHOENIX will cut emissions, valorise EU waste streams, and equip SMEs with affordable technologies, delivering scientific excellence, industrial impact, and EU-specific added value in the transition to net-zero, resource-efficient infrastructure.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- engineering and technology materials engineering composites
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
PL4 8AA Plymouth
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.