CBE JU Stakeholder Forum 2026
400 participants from 40 countries gathered on 24 March 2026 in Brussels to advance the deployment of Europe’s bio-based innovations.
In-person
Watch the CBESF2026 opening video
Driving impact – bio-based innovation for a competitive, sustainable Europe
The second edition of the CBE JU Stakeholder Forum, held on 24 March 2026 at The Square in Brussels, brought together stakeholders from across the bio-based value chain to focus on one central question: how to move faster from innovation to industrial deployment.
Building on a decade of investment in research and innovation, discussions centred on scaling up bio-based solutions, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, and ensuring that innovation translates into tangible economic and environmental impact.
Key highlights
Around 400 participants from 40 countries, representing industry, primary producers, policymakers, researchers and investors, came together to exchange insights and build partnerships across the bioeconomy ecosystem.
Four high-level panel discussions addressed key bottlenecks to deployment:
Transition from research to demonstration
Scaling from pilot to industrial production
Access to finance and investment conditions
Regulatory frameworks and market development
More than 50 bio-based solutions developed by CBE JU-funded projects were showcased in the exhibition, highlighting concrete applications across sectors such as chemicals, construction, agriculture and textiles.
The programme combined policy perspectives with industrial experience, featuring contributions from European institutions, industry leaders and project representatives working on real deployment cases.
Key takeaways
- Regulation can enable market creation - well-designed, predictable regulatory frameworks can accelerate the uptake of bio-based solutions and create competitive advantages for European industry.
- Scaling up requires targeted financing - bridging the gap between demonstration and commercial deployment remains a critical challenge, requiring tailored financial instruments beyond early-stage funding.
- Industrial deployment must accelerate - Europe has a strong pipeline of mature technologies, but faster transition to large-scale production is essential to remain competitive globally.
- Collaboration across the value chain is essential - strong partnerships between industry, research, policymakers and regions are key to aligning innovation with market needs.
- Bio-based solutions support competitiveness and resilience - leveraging Europe’s biomass resources and industrial base can reduce fossil dependency while creating jobs and regional value.
Exhibition: from prototypes to market-ready solutions
The exhibition featured over 50 bio-based innovations developed by CBE JU-funded projects, offering participants a first-hand look at technologies advancing toward market uptake.
Highlighted solutions included:
- Bio-based polymers with improved recyclability
- Sustainable construction and packaging materials
- Bio-based agricultural inputs from residual biomass
- Next-generation textiles produced through low-impact processes
Project representatives presented concrete pathways from research to commercialisation, illustrating both technological progress and remaining challenges.
Conclusions & forward outlook
The 2026 Stakeholder Forum confirmed that Europe’s bio-based sector has the innovation capacity, industrial base and stakeholder commitment needed to scale up. The priority now is to accelerate deployment.
Key priorities identified:
- Faster industrial uptake of mature solutions
- Improved access to blended and private financing
- Stronger alignment between policy and industrial realities
- Continued cross-sector collaboration and knowledge exchange