Category: Regional potential, bioeconomy strategies and action plans

ReTREEaSURE project

ReTREEaSURE project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 31/08/2030

RECOVERY OF TREE RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE USE IN RENEWABLE CHEMISTRY

Forests cover nearly 40% of the EU’s land and generate around 80.7 million tonnes of forestry residues each year, yet only 3% of these resources are currently utilised. ReTREEaSURE aims to unlock the value of underutilised forestry residues by developing a sustainable framework that combines ecological assessment, mobile collection and pre-processing systems, and machine learning-based decision support tools.

The project will establish sustainable residue removal thresholds, optimise local logistics, and guide biomass valorisation and reforestation strategies. Through innovative biorefinery processes, forestry residues will be converted into a range of high-value bio-based products, including PHB/PHBV biopolymers, bio leather, bio pigments, bioactive compounds, lignin-based chemicals and epoxy, biodegradable packaging, cloth hangers, and substrates for mushroom cultivation.

ReTREEaSURE will also develop and validate five business models with industry partners and engage stakeholders through regional hubs and multi-actor collaboration activities. By integrating ecological, technological, and market-driven solutions, the project supports sustainable forest management, climate resilience, and the transition towards a circular bioeconomy in Europe.

Contacts:

Thamilinian Muruganandam: dissemination@holoss.com

website: https://retreeasure-project.eu/

FOODWISE project

FOODWISE project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 31/05/2029

Empowering Equitable and Emotionally Intelligent Transitions to Circular Food Systems

FOODWISE accelerates the transition to circular food systems by bridging the gap between environmental awareness and actual consumption behaviour. The project brings together 13 partners from 6 European countries, combining behavioural science, social innovation, business transformation, policy and digital tools. FOODWISE maps consumption patterns and circularity gaps across Europe, develops practical toolkits for retailers and SMEs, and pilots new models for citizen engagement and policy alignment. Key outputs include the Consumption Pattern Atlas, Circular Retail Playbook, SME Circularity Toolkit, Citizen Engagement Toolkit and a Circularity Impact Dashboard, together with policy recommendations and governance blueprints for public authorities. The project contributes to reduced food waste and increased circular consumption, supporting the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the European Green Deal.

Contacts:

Inês Campos (The Equator Company): ines.campos@equatorcompany.com
Erica Locatelli (ICLEI): erica.locatelli@iclei.org

website: https://befoodwise.eu

BIOLEAD project

BIOLEAD project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 31/05/2029

Leading Europe’s Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Strategy: Roadmap to Improve Europe’s Bio-based Competitiveness

BIOLEAD brings together European leaders in biotechnology and biomanufacturing to co-create an action-oriented roadmap with clear, evidence-based recommendations to speed up the adoption of bio-based solutions and strengthen Europe’s bio-based competitiveness, supporting the shift towards a climate-neutral bioeconomy.
The project takes a holistic, systemic approach across the whole value chain, from feedstocks to consumers, and highlights the societal and environmental contribution of biotechnology and biomanufacturing alongside market opportunities. It follows a three-step, impact-oriented methodology: building the evidence base (including mapping of the EU and global landscape through a ‘Biobarometer’), co-creating with stakeholders and through foresight exercises, and delivering and implementing the roadmap. BIOLEAD feeds into a shared EU Vision and Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) in support of the EU Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative.

Contact:

Diana Garcia-Bernet, INRAE (Project Coordinator): diana.garcia-bernet@inrae.fr

website: https://biolead.eu/

PACE project

PACE project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 30/04/2030

Potato Juice to Fatty Acids for New Bio-Based Value-Chains in Europe

Circular bioeconomy is crucial for achieving Europe’s competitive economy and climate targets, but it still faces technical and logistical barriers, and does not use waste resources to their full potential. The modernisation and integration of biorefineries, particularly through the use of local waste and sidestreams, offers sustainable solutions to boost domestic production, diversify the offer of bio-based products, and reduce environmental impact.
PACE will demonstrate a first-of-its-kind full-scale biorefinery by retrofitting part of Avebe’s existing facility and realising a plant based on ChainCraft’s proprietary technology for conversion of organic residues to biobased chemicals. This plant will use advanced fermentation and microbial chain elongation to convert potato juice into valuable bio-based medium-chain fatty acids (MFCAs), supporting zero-waste operations and new circular value chains in the chemical industry.
The project will provide sustainable, bio-based alternatives to conventional MCFAs, which are often derived from crude oil or unsustainable palm oil. By involving a range of stakeholders through a collaborative approach, it will boost demand and acceptance of bio-based MCFAs, transforming the market.

Contact:

Konstantina Koutrouveli: info@pace-project.eu

website: https://pace-project.eu/

BIOSPARK project

BIOSPARK project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 31/03/2029

Skills Promotion and Awareness for Regenerative Knowledge

The bioeconomy is a key driver of sustainable growth in Europe. Despite progress in technological development, education and training in the sector are not keeping up with the industry needs. New skills and a mindset shift across the stakeholder community are required. There is also a need to actively implement the lessons learned, apply policy and educational recommendations, and prepare for future advancements in bioeconomy systems.

BIOSPARK will address these challenges by developing and validating demand-driven curricula for the education, training, and reskilling of students and professionals. A network of bio-based educational centres across the 27 EU member states will support mutual learning and knowledge exchange. The project will dedicate strong effort to involving the so-called widening countries, less R&I advanced EU member states, associated countries and outermost regions.

It will also strengthen the European bioeconomy by fostering strong collaborations between universities, research and technology organisations, and industry.

Contact:

Merve Atasoy: merve.atasoy@uef.fi

website: https://biosparkproject.eu/

FLEXIZYME project

FLEXIZYME project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 31/05/2028

Construction of a FLEXIble and adaptable enZYMatic biotechnological platform for sustainablE industrial production of bio-based fatty amines from side stream materials

FLEXIZYME project aims to develop a sustainable, scalable biotechnological platform to produce fatty amines from renewable biorefinery side streams. Through the integration of enzyme engineering, biocatalysis, and AI tools, the project will contribute to replacing traditional fossil-based production methods with sustainable and resource-efficient alternatives.

Contact:

Annabel Serpico, PhD: annabel.serpico@itene.com

website: https://www.flexizyme.eu/

 FoodCoP project

 FoodCoP project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
Project concluded

Fuelling Startup Villages with Circular Bioeconomy Strategies

FoodCoP is an innovative venture to enhance interregional collaboration among Startup Villages, aligning stakeholder interests to catalyse sustainable growth through circular bioeconomy principles. It builds a collaborative framework, fosters food system transformation, and strengthens knowledge exchange among rural innovators across three Startup Village territories.

Contact:

Rita Barros: info@foodcop.eu

website: https://foodcop.eu; https://www.platform-foodcop.eu/

ENABLS project

ENABLS project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/12/2026

ENABLS – education and Nature-Based Solutions: enable Society to bend the curve for biodiversity

ENABLS will set the basis of networking and collaboration to promote, embed and unfold Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) concepts and approaches within universities and vocational school, the professional sphere and society at large through transdisciplinary dialogue. ENABLS envisions the creation of 7 Living Labs (DE, NL, FI, AT, LT, EL, CZ), incorporating all ‘voices’ and leaving no one behind. The goal is to enable society to bend the curve for biodiversity in higher education and Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET). The ultimate objective is for ENABLS to contribute more

Contact:

Ann-Catrin Fender: anncatrin.fender@uni-hohenheim.de

website: https://enabls.eu

BIN2BEAN project

BIN2BEAN project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/11/2026

Boosting the market deployment of safe, effective and sustainable innovations for soil improvement from bio-waste, towards regenerative soil systems

BIN2BEAN aims to support EU cities in their transition towards healthy soils and soil regenerative systems, by optimising bio-waste recycling into soil improvers through innovative and economically viable value chains. Specifically, the project supports 3 Living Labs – Egaleo, Amsterdam and Hamburg – through the implementation of a multi-actor and participative approach to implement the following activities:

  • Map local contexts, in terms of state-of-progress, existing initiatives, needs, material and monetary flows.
  • Design a tailored evaluation framework to demonstrate the safety, environmental and socio-economic performance of bio-waste collection systems and soil improvers.
  • Develop a scoring system, fed by data from the evaluation framework, to help cities select the most effective and market-ready solutions adapted to their context.
  • Develop tailored and viable business and/or community models for the highest scored solutions, according to stakeholders’ willingness-to-adopt.
  • Draft local, national and EU policy roadmaps, including waste charging policies and citizen awareness campaigns.

Ultimately, the project will deliver a replication PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) toolbox enabling cities to create a continuous value-based improvement loop towards regenerative soil systems.

Contact:

Sara Daniotti, Consorzio Italbiotec: sara.daniotti@italbiotec.it

Marco Dreoni, ETA: marco.dreoni@etaflorence.it

website: https://www.bin2bean.eu/

BIOPYRANIA project

BIOPYRANIA project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/09/2028

BIOBASED MONOMERS FROM SECOND GENERATION BIOMASS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE POLYMERS, COPOLYMERS AND BLENDS

Advanced polymers play a vital role in strategic European industries, particularly electric mobility and green hydrogen. Yet most high-performance polyamides and polybenzimidazoles are still made from fossil-based raw materials through energy-intensive processes. This increases greenhouse gas emissions and leaves Europe heavily dependent on imported petrochemical feedstocks.
Bio-based alternatives already exist, but many still struggle to meet the requirements of demanding industrial markets. As a result, there is still a clear gap between the availability of renewable resources and the development of advanced materials that can compete with established fossil-based products.
BIOPYRANIA was created to address this gap: the project is developing new circular value chains for the production of high-performance aromatic polymers from European waste wood and forestry residues. These renewable resources will be converted into sustainable molecular building blocks and, ultimately, into advanced polymer materials designed to replace fossil-based alternatives. In doing so, BIOPYRANIA will help reduce dependence on petrochemical resources, make better use of European biomass and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in advanced materials.
The project focuses on two key markets: electric mobility and green hydrogen. For the automotive sector, BIOPYRANIA will develop lightweight, durable and recyclable bio-based polyamides for use in electric vehicle components. For hydrogen technologies, it will develop innovative materials for anion exchange membranes used in electrolysers and fuel cells. These materials will be designed to meet demanding requirements for mechanical strength, thermal and chemical stability, durability and processability.
Rather than treating recycling as an issue to be addressed at the end, BIOPYRANIA considers material design, production, use and end-of-life together from the outset. The aim is to avoid downcycling and make it possible to recover valuable materials from complex, high-performance polymer products.
Overall, the project aims to reduce the use of fossil feedstocks, cut waste generation and CO₂ emissions, and improve the circularity of advanced polymer materials. At the same time, it will support the development of stronger and more competitive European value chains in strategic industrial sectors.
BIOPYRANIA brings together 13 partners from academia, research organisations, SMEs and industry, covering the expertise needed to develop, scale up, validate and assess the proposed solutions.

Contact:

Katrien Bernaerts: katrien.bernaerts@maastrichtuniversity.nl

website: https://biopyraniaproject.eu/