Boost4Circularity : Call for expressions of interest in structuring projects

The vademecum contains all the detailed information about the call for proposals (in French).

This call is aimed at:

• A single company submitting a project on its own
  OR
• A consortium, led by a company, which may partner with different types of organisations: companies, non-profit organisations, research centres, public bodies, etc. Partners may be located outside Wallonia.

The company leading the project must have an operational site in Wallonia.

Looking for a partner? You can find Walloon stakeholders active in the circular economy within our circular ecosystem.

Projects must be large-scale initiatives aiming to generate an impact at the level of a value chain or a territory.

To be eligible, a project must:

• Demonstrate a circular approach
• Be replicable or demonstrate a structuring impact on sectoral practices
• Fall within at least one of the four priority value chains of Circular Wallonia 2.0: Metals and Critical Raw Materials, Construction, Chemistry, Agri-food / Bio-based / Water
• Be implemented within a 6 to 36-month timeframe
• Require the activation of several levers of the regional policy mix (training, innovation, public procurement, digital tools, etc.) as part of its implementation

Boost4Circularity provides tailor-made strategic support, including:

• An in-depth needs analysis
• A dedicated contact person within the Circular Wallonia coordination unit
• Support for project structuring (governance, KPIs, milestones)
• Coordinated mobilisation of public levers (innovation, funding, regulation, skills, etc.)
• Enhanced institutional visibility

Please note: this is a support scheme only, with no direct funding.

Here are the different evaluation criteria (see the vademecum for more details, in French):

• Structural and systemic impact
• Territorial and sectoral impact
• Economic viability and impact
• Maturity and feasibility
• Governance and monitoring

Below are the different stages following the submission of applications:

1. April–May: Project assessment
2. June: Project leaders are informed of their selection or non-selection
3. June: If the project is selected, a dedicated contact person is appointed within the Circular Wallonia Unit and the commitment is formalised through a charter
4. Mid-June to mid-September: Workshop to co‑develop the support plan and define the project’s KPIs
5. Launch of the support programme

An electronic version of the application form can be downloaded here in PDF format and here in Word format.

The duly completed form must be sent to economiecirculaire@spw.wallonie.be by 13 April 2026 at 1:00 pm, with the mandatory subject line “Boost4Circularity Application”.
You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt by email once your application has been registered. If any information is missing, the Circular Wallonia Unit will contact you to complete your file.

SERVICE OFFER

• Does Boost4Circularity automatically provide access to funding?

No. Boost4Circularity offers tailor-made strategic support to accelerate your initiative by coordinating various public schemes, but it does not provide direct funding.

• Will support for selected projects be outsourced to external consultants, or fully handled by SPW Economy?

There is no plan to outsource the support for selected projects to external consultants. Support will be entirely coordinated internally by SPW Economy, Employment and Research. However, as provided for under Boost4Circularity, this support will rely on the coordinated mobilisation of public stakeholders, including in particular: Wallonie Entreprendre, SPW ARNE, AWEX/WBI, FOREM, IFAPME, the Digital Agency, as well as other SPW departments depending on identified needs.

The objective is to build on existing missions and tools and coordinate them around structuring projects. This is precisely the spirit of Boost4Circularity: activating the policy mix levers in a coherent manner, by bringing together the right public actors around a single project, rather than creating a parallel or externalised scheme.

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TYPES OF PROJECTS SELECTED

• What types of projects are expected?

Examples include:

- Creation of a new industrial facility (recycling, processing, circular production) handling significant volume
- Industrial scale-up of a validated process, including market deployment
- Major expansion of an existing site, supplying several regional actors
- Creation of a shared industrial hub or infrastructure used by several companies
- Relocation to Wallonia of a strategic value-chain segment, reducing external dependency
 

• Is my project sufficiently “structuring” to qualify for Boost4Circularity?

A structuring project:
- Has an impact beyond the lead company
- Mobilises several actors or creates a spill-over / multiplier effect
- Contributes to the scaling-up of circular practices

It is not:

✗ A simple internal optimisation project
✗ Isolated R&D with no industrial perspective
✗ A conventional investment with no collective impact

If your project enables other value-chain actors to progress (e.g. shared infrastructure, standardisation, creation of new circular markets, etc.), it is likely to be eligible.

• Is my project too small to be considered structuring?

Financial size is not a criterion. A project can be structuring if it removes a key barrier, creates standardisation or shared tools, enables regional replication, etc.

An SME can lead a structuring project if the impact goes beyond its own scope.

What is the difference between a standard R&D project and a structuring project?

Standard R&D project	Structuring project
Targeted technical innovation	Value-chain transformation
Company-level impact	Sector-level impact
Isolated funding	Multi-lever activation
Technical result	Economic spill-over effects

• Can I submit a project outside the four priority value chains?

Boost4Circularity primarily targets:

• Metals and Critical Raw Materials

• Chemistry

• Construction

• Agri-food / Bio-based / Water

Projects outside these value chains must demonstrate a clear strategic link with them. Textile-related projects are eligible provided they are explicitly integrated into one of the four priority value chains.

• Does selecting “Transversal / multi-value chains” mean the project can fall outside the four priority value chains?

No. “Multi-value chains” refers to projects that cover more than one of the four priority value chains, not projects linked to other sectors.

• Must the project belong to a sector identified as strategic (energy transition, digital, aerospace, defence, etc.)?

No specific strategic sectors have been identified. The project must contribute in a structuring way to at least one of the four priority value chains of Circular Wallonia 2.0. It may indirectly affect other sectors, but this is not a requirement.

• Must funding already be secured or imminent at the time of application?

No. Boost4Circularity also aims to guide project leaders towards relevant funding instruments following a needs analysis. Projects may apply without having identified funding sources.

• Must the project leader already have identified how to activate the policy mix levers?

No. The administration conducts its own needs analysis to identify relevant instruments and levers.
The post-selection support workshop is precisely intended to co-develop the support plan, including levers, responsibilities, milestones and timeline.

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WHO CAN APPLY?

• Is a consortium mandatory?

No. A single company may apply, provided that the project has a genuine collective impact. However, a consortium can strengthen credibility and structuring effects.

• Must the consortium be fully established at the time of application?

No. The partnership may be built or expanded during the support phase. This intention should be mentioned in the application.

• Can a company under formation submit a project?

No. The company must already exist and be identifiable via a Belgian company number (BCE) at the time of submission.

Can a foreign company apply?​​​​

- As project leader: Yes, provided it has an operational site in Wallonia and the project is developed there.

- As consortium partner: Yes, without requiring an operational site in Wallonia.

• If a company has several operational sites in Wallonia, must they all be mentioned?

No. Only the site where the project will be implemented (or coordinated) must be indicated.

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SELECTION PROCEDURE

• Is there an oral defence after submission?

No oral defence is planned after submission. However, project leaders may be contacted for clarifications if needed. Detailed oral exchanges take place after selection, during the support workshop.

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OTHER QUESTIONS

• What does “activation of the policy mix” mean?

A structuring project should be able to mobilise several existing public levers, such as:

- Funding
- Business support
- Training
- Regulation
- Public procurement
- European instruments
- etc.

• What KPIs are expected during the project set-up phase?

A list of potential KPIs, depending on the project’s TRL, is available in the vademecum (from page 12 onwards).