Investing for impact: building Europe’s bio-based future

From lab to market: real products, real impact 

With innovation at the core of BBI JU's success, science and industry have joined forces to drive Europe's green transition. Around 35% of beneficiaries were SMEs, underscoring their crucial role as the engine of the bio-based economy in Europe as well as the importance of the join undertaking mechanisms for derisking investments for this, vital but fragile, component of our bio-based industrial ecosystem. Together, they built 319 new cross-sector collaborations between companies and other actors that had no prior engagement before the projects, leading to 156 new bio-based value chains that connect industries and bring sustainable solutions to market.

From novel bio-based plastics to biopesticides and natural food ingredients, BBI JU projects are now delivering tangible impact: 

• BARBARA, which concluded in 2020, has demonstrated that waste from agri-food chains can be transformed into high-performance materials in industrial manufacturing by effectively converting food industry residues into innovative biopolymers and functional additives for 3D printing in the automotive, furniture, and packaging sectors.
• WASTE2FUNC, on the other hand, is not only giving new life to discarded fruits, vegetables, and food industry by-products, but also taking these transformed resources all the way to supermarket shelves. By converting food waste into ingredients for bio-based soaps, detergents and bioplastics, the project ensures that innovative products, such as multi-surface cleaners made from natural lemon and mint residues, are available to consumers.
• BIOVEXO is protecting one of southern Europe’s most iconic crops, the olive tree, from the devastating Xylella fastidiosa bacterium. The project is creating environmentally safe ways to protect olive groves, rural livelihoods, and Mediterranean cultural heritage by biopesticides derived from natural extracts and beneficial microbes.
• PLENITUDE is demonstrating how sustainable food-grade protein can be produced at scale using mycoprotein derived from biorefineries, with the potential to offset millions of tonnes of CO₂ annually and reduce water use compared to meat production. The project also highlights how SMEs, such as Life Cycle Engineering SPA and Mosa Meat, can collaborate across disciplines to foster innovation across diverse applications: 

Precious and fundamental collaboration has been developed with other Consortium Partners to assess the use of mycoprotein for food and non-food purposes.  

Sonia Pignatelli, Senior LCA Analyst at Life Cycle Engineering SPA

Mosa Meat's partnership in the PLENITUDE project has provided us with resources to delve into crucial aspects of our product's development that are now driving our R&D. By working alongside other innovators, PLENITUDE is enabling us to develop complex, multidisciplinary solutions for the future of our food systems. 

Francesco Zaccarian, Product Development Scientist at Mosa Meat 

These and many other projects have already delivered real products and impact, with 106 new bio-based products and 92 new processes reaching the market, alongside 149 patent applications and over 850 scientific publications, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and industrial application. 

Investing in a sustainable future for all 

The BBI JU-funded projects have decreased waste, opened up new business opportunities, and reduced Europe's dependency on fossil fuels by turning innovative research into solutions that are ready for the market. Europe has gradually transitioned from fossil fuel-based to bio-based production and consumption through the cooperation of public and private partners, proving that sustainability and competitiveness are not only compatible but also reinforce one another.

Building on this strong foundation, CBE JU carries forward the legacy of BBI JU by transforming the achievements of the past into the driving force of the future, scaling-up sustainable bio-based innovations, fostering industrial deployment, strengthening Europe’s bioeconomy, and ensuring that circularity, competitiveness and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.