Europe’s new platform to help unlock funding for a bio-based future

Berlaymont, European Commission’s Headquarter in Brussels

A new Bioeconomy Investment Group is being set up to help Europe’s sustainable industries secure the funding they need to grow. The group aims to reduce financial risks for investors, create clear funding standards, and bring together public and private money. Despite already supporting 17 million jobs and generating up to €2.7 trillion in economic value, many innovative bio-based projects struggle to secure financing at critical stages, such as moving from small-scale testing to full industrial production. This funding gap risks holding back Europe’s ability to turn scientific breakthroughs in biotechnology and sustainable materials into real-world industries.  

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An interview with Philippe Mengal, executive director of BIC. “The bioeconomy is not just about replacing fossil carbon. It is about redefining Europe’s place in the global economy.

“The real question is where Europe can lead. To answer that, we need a sharper understanding of end markets and stronger market-pull policies to drive uptake of bio-based products. Scaling innovation requires demand, and demand must be actively supported through policy. Ultimately, the bioeconomy is not just about replacing fossil carbon. It is about redefining Europe’s place in the global economy.” To say this – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Philippe Mengal, the new executive director of BIC (Biobased Industries Consortium).

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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Brussels will host the European High-Level Conference on Biosolutions on May 12

The new edition of the European High-Level Conference on Biosolutions will be held in Brussels on May 12. This will be an opportunity to explore how biosolutions can help future-proof Europe. “At a crucial point in time for Europe, biosolutions – the organizers state – are increasingly recognised as essential for building competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability across value chains. This annual high-level conference is your chance to learn about the latest innovations, policy initiatives, regulatory trends, and collaborative opportunities – helping to shape the direction of biosolutions in Europe.”

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Brazil has a new strategy to make biodiversity one of the country’s main economic assets for development by 2035

The Brazilian government last week presented a new strategy to make biodiversity one of the country’s main economic assets for development by 2035. This is according to Agència Brasil. The National Bioeconomy Development Plan (PNDBio) is expected to encompass everyone from extractive workers to industry. Among the goals are expanding payments for environmental services, incorporating new herbal medicines into Brazil’s national public health care network – the SUS – and granting new conservation units to promote ecotourism.

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Formula 1® joins the circular bioeconomy

Formula 1® joins the circular bioeconomy. Indeed it has become an affiliate member of the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), established by His Majesty King Charles III when he was The Prince of Wales. As a member of the CBA, Formula 1 will work together with industry experts and other CBA members to strengthen the integration of nature protection and restoration into its strategy and delivery. 

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Bioeconomy: European Council backs moving bio-based innovations from lab to production

European Parliament, Brussels

Last Tuesday, the European Council approved conclusions on the new EU’s bioeconomy strategy. The Council conclusions welcome the vision for a competitive and sustainable bioeconomy by 2040, promote the use of bio-based and circular solutions across all relevant sectors – as fossil-free alternatives – and support innovation and investments. 

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On March 24 the CBE JU Stakeholder Forum will take place in Brussels

Virginia Puzzolo, Head of Program at CBE JU at IFIB 2023 in Florence

On 24 March, the CBE JU Stakeholder Forum 2026 will take place in Brussels, bringing together Europe’s bio-based community for high-level discussions on how to move from innovation to real market impact. The second edition of the forum will focus on a key question: what still needs to happen for Europe’s bio-based innovations to become competitive, large-scale industrial solutions? The forum will bring together CEOs from leading European bio-based companies (among these Catia Bastioli CEO Novamoent, Niklas von Weymarn CEO Metsa Spring, Nicolas Sordet CEO Afyren), as well as key EU decision makers, to discuss what it takes to transform innovation into industrial reality.

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Commission launches call for interest in the European Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group

Berlaymont, European Commission’s Headquarter in Brussels

The European Commission launched a call for interest last Tuesday to participate in the European Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group, a new platform aimed at accelerating investment in the EU’s growing bioeconomy sector.  

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International Women’s day: our tribute to all women who are making the bioeconomy happen

Equal opportunity and equal treatment in the labour market are at the core of decent work. Unfortunately, women around the world still face additional hurdles to access employment, and once in employment, to access decision-making positions and jobs in certain sectors or of certain characteristics. This horizontal and vertical gender segregation of employment, combined with the unequal distribution of unpaid work (including household and childcare activities), results in differences in working conditions such as the gender pay gap and the over-representation of women in part-time jobs.

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BioINSouth Forum goes to Seville. On June 11-12 the second edition of the event focused on Mediterranean bioeconomy

Seville in Spain will host the second edition of the BioINSouth Forum. The Andalusian city will be the Mediterranean capital of bioeconomy from June 11 to June 12, thanks to the forum that will bring together leaders and experts from various sectors and disciplines from South Europe and beyond. They will discuss and outline the R&I priorities in bioeconomy, in conjunction with the particularities of the South European regions, asking for a new political EU Initiative: BioSouth. If there is a BioEast it’s also needed a BioSouth to enlarge and boost the European bioeconomy

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