Implemented C2M activities

During recent weeks, the C2M team has been focusing on supporting LIFE C2M beneficiaries, offering targeted coaching and helping projects to improve market potential and promotion of their solutions.

This is illustrated by the key figures below:

• 73 introductory calls were implemented with C2M beneficiaries to assess their market readiness and direct them towards tailored support.
• 170 checklists from LIFE projects received so far enabling us to evaluate their needs and support their journey towards commercialization.
•  41 ad-hoc market support requests received so far with 30 closed, 4 ongoing, and 7 pending awaiting beneficiaries’ input or documents.
• 66 EU Innovation Radar questionnaires have been processed, helping projects gain visibility through the EU Innovation Radar among investors and stakeholders.

Tailored support to individual projects continues:

• The LIFE4ZOO project, which focuses on natural water recycling in zoos using wetlands and biofilters to cut water use, energy, emissions, and support biodiversity, has received business planning templates and has been connected with urban innovation platforms to refine its market approach. Support focused on early-stage business development tools to enhance market readiness for circular water management in zoological settings. Templates and C2M guidelines were shared with beneficiaries for preparing the Business Model Canvas and Business Plan, alongside a preliminary benchmarking draft with tailored customer ranking criteria.  This will help the beneficiary by providing a clear, data-driven way to prioritize potential customers or partners based on relevance and strategic fit. In practice, it supports better decision-making, more efficient resource allocation, and targeted engagement - maximizing the impact and business development efforts.
• The LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE develops sustainable kitchen surfaces from recycled industrial waste. The team submitted an additional request for support and received tailored guidance to further develop its business plan and market analysis. Updated C2M commercialization tools were provided to the beneficiaries, including the Business Model Canvas template, Writing a Business Plan guidance, and the C2M Business Plan manual presentation. These resources can help structure the project’s business model, identify high-potential customer segments and build a compelling investment case. The provided support complements earlier advisory work on byproduct market platforms, benchmarking key players in the composite sector and showcasing successful case studies from Italian SMEs focused on sustainable manufacturing.
• For LIFE SF6-FREE GIS, which is developing a climate-friendly, SF6-free substation with digital tech to cut emissions in power transmission, the C2M team helped to strengthen its dissemination strategy and provided targeted advice on key outreach channels to effectively raise awareness of the F-gas regulation and the benefits of SF6-free technologies. SF6-free substations are environmentally friendly solutions for electrical power transmission and distribution, avoiding the use of harmful SF6 gas while ensuring safe and reliable operation. The C2M team recommended leveraging prominent EU networks and initiatives, including the EU City Facility, Covenant of Mayors, and NetZeroCitiesEU, all of which offer valuable matchmaking services, technical assistance, and enhanced visibility for sustainable projects. Additional suggestions included exploring platforms like URBACT to connect with municipal networks focused on decarbonization and innovation. These strategic efforts aim to position LIFE SF6-FREE GIS not only within the utility sector but also as a key player among European industries transitioning to a low-emission future.
• The LIFE FLOPRES project, developing an open-source flash flood prediction system, is now halfway through its duration. Monitoring is ongoing across Slovak river streams, with real-time programming and data integration actively progressing. C2M advisory discussions have focused on broadening stakeholder engagement. The next phase of support will aim to boost the project's visibility, strengthen collaborations with other LIFE initiatives and leverage data from European platforms to enhance impact and scalability. Additionally, the C2M team listed relevant initiatives and recommended taking advantage of specific key EU events and conferences aligned with FLOPRES’s target audience to support its solution’s visibility and broader dissemination. Some of these events include the European Urban Resilience Forum, the Forum of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the Annual Meeting of the European Meteorological Society. As for the shared initiatives and advisory services provided, the examples involved the advisory services from the European Investment Bank, the Western Balkans Enterprise Development & Innovation Facility, URBACT, Smart Cities Marketplace, Eurocities and EU City Facility.

Finally, the C2M team has ensured that the LIFE ECOFFEED project is featured as a success story through a news article, video, and a project fiche published on CINEA’s platforms and highlighted in our bulletin.