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Stakeholders recognise Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU)’s added value, effective public-private delivery model and alignment with EU policy priorities, while calling for stronger links between innovation, investment and market uptake, according to a new, independent study carried out by Technopolis Group.
Commissioned by CBE JU, the study gathered views from across the CBE JU ecosystem, including project beneficiaries, industry representatives, CBE JU governance and advisory bodies, cluster organisations, policymakers and civil society actors. It explores the programme’s impact and role in Europe’s bio-based sector, including its contribution to industrial scale-up, market uptake and the wider development of the circular bioeconomy.
Evidence was collected through an online survey with nearly 70 respondents, close to 20 semi-structured interviews and an in-person focus-group style workshop with 15 participants.
A delivery model recognised by stakeholders
Stakeholders recognise the effectiveness of CBE JU’s public-private delivery model, which brings together EU policy objectives, industry commitment, scientific knowledge and stakeholder input.
CBE JU is seen as an attractive and relevant programme for Europe’s bio-based ecosystem. Stakeholders noted that CBE JU-funded projects strengthen networks across sectors, countries and disciplines, helping organisations collaborate around shared challenges and concrete innovation needs.
This is reflected in the survey results, where CBE JU’s contribution to increasing networking opportunities was rated 4.61 out of 5, while its contribution to strengthening collaboration with key actors in the EU bioeconomy landscape was rated 4.59 out of 5.
The study also points to CBE JU’s openness to stakeholders. Transparency and inclusiveness were rated 4.55 out of 5, with 98% of respondents offering a favourable assessment.
Impact beyond project results
The study highlights the CBE JU’s role in helping bio-based innovations move towards demonstration, industrial scale-up and ultimately market uptake.
Stakeholders recognise flagship and demonstration projects as particularly important instruments for reducing the risks linked to deploying innovative bio-based technologies at industrial scale. The study also found that CBE JU-funded projects have enabled organisations to carry out activities that would have been difficult to undertake independently, including testing, validating and demonstrating technologies in real operating conditions.
This impact extends beyond individual project results. Stakeholders highlighted that CBE JU helps connect organisations across value chains, supports access to new partners and reinforces cooperation between industry, research organisations, SMEs, primary producers and other actors active in the circular bioeconomy.
The survey records some of its strongest scores in this area. CBE JU’s overall impact was rated at 4.38 out of 5, with 93% of respondents offering a favourable assessment.
Aligned with EU policy priorities
The study confirms that CBE JU-funded projects are strongly aligned with EU policy priorities, including the circular bioeconomy, competitiveness, strategic autonomy, sustainable industrial transformation and the development of bio-based alternatives to fossil-based materials and products.
In the survey, 80% of respondents expressed a positive view of CBE JU’s alignment with key EU policy initiatives, including the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the Clean Industrial Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.
Stakeholders also see CBE JU as more than an implementation instrument. The study highlights that CBE JU contributes to shaping policy by generating evidence from funded projects, feeding practical insights back into policy discussions and showing how circular bio-based innovation can support concrete industrial outcomes and policy objectives.
A key instrument for future needs
The study also identifies areas where further action could strengthen the impact of CBE JU and the wider bio-based sector. In particular, looking ahead, stakeholders highlighted the need to further strengthen Europe’s innovation-to-investment pathway for the bio-based sector. Priorities include continued support for industrial deployment, stronger links with investors, improved access to pilot and demonstration infrastructure, better synergies with national and regional funding and stronger demand for bio-based products. It also highlighted the importance of further involving underrepresented actors, including primary producers, organisations from widening regions and the aquatic sector.
Commenting on these future needs, Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, Executive Director of CBE JU, said:
The study points to areas where Europe’s bio-based sector still needs stronger support, particularly around investment, industrial deployment, synergies and the inclusion of key actors across value chains. CBE JU is already addressing these priorities through initiatives such as the Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group, our Synergies Strategy and the Working Group on Primary Producers. These findings will help us further strengthen the programme’s contribution to moving circular bio-based innovation from promising results to deployment.
Overall, the study confirms that CBE JU is seen as a key instrument to scale up circular bio-based innovation in Europe.
The executive summary and full stakeholder study report are available below.