Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU)

Overview

• Role: funding research and innovation projects that advance competitive, sustainable, and circular bio-based industries in Europe
• Executive Director: Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore
• Members or partners: EU (represented by the European Commission) and the Bio-based Industries Consortium
• Established in: 2021
• Number of staff: 29
• Location: Brussels (Belgium)
• Website: Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking

The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE Joint Undertaking) is a €2 billion public-private partnership between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC).

What it does

The main goals of CBE JU are to

• accelerate the innovation process, developing novel bio-based solutions
• accelerate market deployment of existing mature and novel bio-based solutions
• ensure a high level of environmental performance by bio-based industrial systems.

Concretely, the partnership is funding projects across Europe that aim to

• support research and innovation in sustainable bio-based solutions
• reduce the risks of investing in circular bio-based production plants
• address the technological, regulatory and market challenges facing the bioeconomy
• strengthen collaboration among all groups in the bioeconomy sector
• engage with more stakeholders along the value chains.

Discover the CBE JU-funded projects

Explore the achievements of these projects

Find out more about CBE JU funding opportunities

Who benefits?

Shifting away from non-renewable fossil raw materials and minerals is essential for the EU to strengthen its resource independence, support sustainable economic growth and reach its ambitious climate targets. CBE JU aims to do this through the deployment of highly innovative circular production processes based on renewable raw materials such as plants, and industrial organic waste from agricultural, marine and forestry production.

Strong, resource-efficient and competitive bio-based industries are important players in this respect. By producing renewable products and materials from waste and biomass in an innovative, sustainable and circular way, they can create jobs, offer alternative income sources to primary producers and boost local economies across Europe while contributing significantly to the climate neutrality.

The role of CBE JU is to bring together various groups from bio-based industries, ranging from farmers to scientists, to large industries, to solve the technological, regulatory and market challenges facing the sector. Its public-private funding scheme boosts innovation and market deployment and paves the way for future investment.