Funding spotlight: €213M Horizon Europe partnership call for bio-based innovation

Horizon Europe’s Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) has just opened its big call for proposals for the year, with €213 million to be distributed to innovation, research and support projects across 18 topics.

The calls, open from 24 April to 18 September, cover a range of innovations, such as turning vegetable oil into new products, using microalgae as feedstock and applying engineering biology to generate bio-based chemicals and materials.

It’s a chance for those working on bio-based innovations to get their ideas to the next level, edging towards demonstrator projects and closer to the market.

And it’s an important year in strategic terms for the €2 billion joint undertaking. “The ground we are setting now with this bulk of projects in two years, for which we are actually consuming the majority of our budget, is really to set the ground for having more concrete projects that deliver by the end of the initiative,” says Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, executive director of the CBE JU.

What is the CBE JU trying to achieve?

It’s one of Horizon Europe’s big partnerships with industry that aims to boost the competitiveness of European bio-based industries and make them greener.

This is the second iteration of the partnership, with more focus on circularity and sustainability. It builds on the successes of the Horizon 2020 version. Together, the two have funded over 160 projects.

“It was a pioneering initiative ten years ago. It was really something that was set to increase the investment from the private sector in this area and to see it grow,” says Giacomuzzi-Moore.

The partnership’s main goal is to get products on the market. That’s why it funds projects at different stages of maturity to move them all the way from the lab to scaled up products.

“In year one, we might have a research project. In year three we might have a demonstration project, and in year five we might have a flagship,” says Giacomuzzi-Moore.

To date, the partnership has funded 46 demonstration and 15 flagship projects, and there’s €165 million in the funding pot to get more off the ground.

“The idea is to help these companies in creating bio-based products, to establish the bio-based value chains, because it's really the whole value chain that is that is targeted by our programme,” says Giacomuzzi-Moore.

What’s the policy context?

The partnership is rooted in the EU’s bioeconomy strategy, which sets out five goals to support the development of an efficient, sustainable and resilient bioeconomy. But the industries that make up the partnership are subject to a variety of different regulations, including the EU Chemical Industry Transition Pathway, the Common Agricultural Policy and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

Of late, there’s a lot going on in this policy area. Last month, the EU adopted a biotechnology and biomanufacturing communication which the industry welcomed. It sets out work for the next European Commission that will be of benefit for industry across the piece, including tackling the regulatory burden for the companies and finding additional funding for research and innovation to complement the partnership.

There’s also a mention of an upcoming Biotech and Biomanufacturing Act in the communication, which would put in place legislation to tackle challenges faced by different industrial sectors.

The technologies underpinning bio-based industries are advancing quickly, and priorities are ever-shifting. It’s up to the partnership to decide how to balance policy, industrial and societal need in its strategy.

“The European industry is evolving, and we are kind of bridge between what's on the ground and the policymakers,” says Giacomuzzi-Moore. “There is an enormous amount of policy that touches the bioeconomy, and this is the beauty but also the challenge, because of course, we have to put all these things together.”

What’s the latest set of calls about?

This year, there is €213 million for research, innovation and support actions. Here’s the breakdown of the calls.

Three calls, worth €20 million each, are dedicated to projects covering three topics:

• Converting vegetable oil to valuable products at scale;
• Developing bio-based chemicals based on non-fossil material;
• Producing sustainable natural fibres.

There is another €105 million for smaller demonstrators across seven calls to scale up solutions for:

• Bio-based materials and products for biodegradable in-soil applications;
• Microalgae as feedstock;
• Commercially produced solvents that are safe and sustainable;
• Circular, safe and sustainable bio-based construction and building materials;
• Selective and sustainable co-production of lignin-derived aromatics; 
• Innovative bio-based adhesives and binders; 
• Innovative conversion of biogenic gaseous carbon into bio-based chemicals, ingredients and materials.

Another €38 million will go to projects on five topics:

• Recycling of polluted and contaminated wood from industrial and post-consumer waste streams;
• Biotech routes to obtain bio-based chemicals and materials replacing animal-derived ones;
• Sustainable, bio-based alternatives for crop protection;
• Safe and sustainable by design bio-based coating materials for applications under demanding and extreme conditions;
• Innovative bio-based food and feed ingredients.

The remaining €10 million is for coordination and support actions to:

• Help the partnership increase participation from Widening countries in central and eastern Europe, which tend to participate in fewer EU research projects;
• New forms of cooperation in agriculture and the forestry sector;
• Supporting the CBE JU deployment group on primary producers.

Who can get funding?

Research organisations, small and big companies all come together in these projects. The technology readiness levels for projects stretch from five to eight, looking towards nine, which means there’s funding for products and processes at different stages of development.

Typically, research organisations and universities make up over 30% of participants, while SMEs represent almost 40%. Large companies also have a big stake in the programme. Smaller numbers of consumer and agricultural associations have also been involved.

The track record

The partnership’s first Horizon Europe call was in 2022. It had a total budget of €120 million and funded 21 projects.

This is against 125 proposals requesting €600 million that the call received. Almost one in six proposals got funded, a 17% success rate.

French, Spanish and Italian beneficiaries dominated. Spain, was awarded €36 million, with 67 participating organisations. France had 24 participants with almost €17 million. Italy had 30 with almost €9 million.

Central and eastern European organisations struggled to get in on the action. The partnership is actively working to remedy the balance through the current call for a dedicated support action as well as various events it holds in target countries, among other measures.

The projects involved a total of 251 organisations. The biggest winners were Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre with six projects, and Spain’s Tecnalia research and innovation centre with four.

Advice?

Giacomuzzi-Moore says those interested should take advantage of the partnership’s information days and be part of the discussion.

The information day for this particular call has now passed, but there are plenty of regional ones in May that you can find here. These are an opportunity to meet potential partners. Participation is open both online and in person.

This year, there were twice as many matchmaking meetings during the information day as last year, showing increasing interest in the calls and finding the right partners.

Giacomuzzi-Moore says the important thing is to be part of the discussion because the partnership is not just about money but a support mechanism for bio-based industries, where priorities shift quickly. Organisations involved with the partnership get to help set these priorities.

“A lot of participation is not just putting forward a proposal but being part of the discussion,” he says. “Don't be shy to bring new ideas, because actually this thing is evolving very quickly”.

The call texts for next year will be published in December. The partnership’s scientific committee is already discussing what will be on the menu and distilling a wish-list into a call for proposals.

Useful links:

• The call
• Info day recording
• CBE JU work programme 2024
• EU bioeconomy strategy
• Info day list