€213 million Horizon Europe partnership call for bio-based innovation

Text Source: https://www.scotlandeuropa.com/alerts/989

More info source: https://sciencebusiness.net/news/funding-spotlight-eu213m-horizon-europe-partnership-call-bio-based-innovation

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

Running until 18 September 2024, the calls 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. This offers the opportunity for those working on bio-based innovations to take their ideas to the next level, edging towards demonstrator projects and closer to the market.

CBE JU is one of Horizon Europe’s key 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 this edition having more of a focus on circularity and sustainability. Combined with the first iteration, which was part of the Horizon 2020 programme, the two have funded over 160 projects.

The partnership’s main goal is to get products on the market. For this reason, it funds projects at different stages of maturity to move them from the lab, to scaled up products.

To date, the partnership has funded 46 demonstration, and 15 flagship projects. The €213 million is broken down across various calls, and this information can be accessed through the link below. Research organisations, small and big companies all collaborate on 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.

Topics include – extract from https://sciencebusiness.net/news/funding-spotlight-eu213m-horizon-europe-partnership-call-bio-based-innovation:

“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.”