CBE JU Networking Event
In-person
Disclaimer: This page was updated on 5 May 2026 to include a link to the amended CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2026.
The CBE JU Networking Event took place in Brussels as a full day of meetings to establish collaborations around the CBE JU 2026 call for project proposals. Applicants to the call wishing to meet face-to-face were able to take part in an interactive in-person event bringing together CBE JU staff, representatives from the European Commission and the Bio-based Industries Consortium, as well as other funding programme experts. Participants had the opportunity to connect with fellow applicants, exchange ideas, discuss collaboration opportunities and take part in dedicated training sessions.
The event took place at Track Brussels, Brussels Nord, Rue du Progrès 76, 1030 Schaerbeek
Alongside the matchmaking activities, a series of parallel training sessions were organised to support different applicant profiles and help improve the quality and competitiveness of proposals submitted to the CBE JU 2026 call. Check the presentations from the training sessions in the agenda section below.
Agenda for the day:
08:00 - 09:00 - Registration, welcome coffee
09:00 - 17:00 - Networking sessions
- Training for widening participants: a targeted session for applicants from widening countries, aimed at increasing participation in the CBE JU programme
- 10: 00 – 10:10: Intro (Luisa Mascia, CBE JU (slides), and Anna Hapek-Sikora, WIDERA.Net (slides))
- 10:10 – 10:40: Training session: focus on IAs and Coordinators’ role (Oliver Zobell, CBE JU (slides))
- 10:40 – 10:50: Value of becoming a BIC member (Samuele Ambrosetti, BIC (slides))
- 10:50 – 11:10 Testimonials: Vasilis Stenos, SOLMEYEA (EL) (slides), Maria João Fernandes, NCP (PT) (slides), Robert Kocewicz, VestaEco Nonwovens (PL) (slides)
- 11:10 – 11:30 Q&A & conclusions
- Training for SMEs: practical advice on building strong business cases and bankable projects
- 11:30 – 11:40: Introduction on training objective (Virginia Puzzolo, CBE JU HoP)
- 11:40 – 12:00: CBE JU: requirements on business case and model (Monica Padella, CBE JU PO) (slides)
- 12:00 – 12:20: Testimonial from successful DEMO projects (Laura Monteiro, A4F Algae for future) (slides)
- 12:20 – 12:40: ECBF: requirements for being ‘venture capital ready’ (Michael Brandkamp, General Partner ECBF) (slides)
- 12:40 – 13:00: Q&A with participants
- 13:00 - 14:30 - Lunch
- Training on Flagship: guidance on preparing high-quality Flagship proposals
- 14:30 – 14:35 Welcome & objectives of the training, Virginia Puzzolo, CBE JU Head of programme
- 14:35 - 14:50 Introduction to CBE JU Flagships: main features, key aspects for proposal preparation & learnings from recurrent challenges, Pilar Llorente, CBE JU Programme Officer (slides)
- 14:50 – 15:30: Testimonials of flagship project coordinators:, recommendations for a successful flagship project proposal (Speakers: Ed de Jong (Avantium) (slides), José María Pinilla (Natac) (slides) and Craig Johnston (Enough) (slides))
- 15:30 – 15:50: BIC: most frequent challenges and risks during flagship implementation, Samuele Ambrosetti, (BIC) (slides)
- 15:50 – 16:00: Q&A
- 17:00 - End of the event
Travel grant
Participants from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain – Canary Islands, Tunisia and Türkiye could apply for a travel grant via the NCP_WIDERA.NET project, on the condition that they had a fully completed profile on the CBE JU networking platform and a list of scheduled meetings for the event day. Take a look at the project's website for more information.
See pictures from the event