€200m BBI JU call to be launched at Brussels info day
Europe’s bio-based economy will receive a major boost with the announcement of a new call for proposals for the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) on Friday.
The 2015 call will be announced at an information and awareness event that gathers together programme managers and experts in Brussels. The €200m call follows the July 2014 launch of the BBI JU, a €3.7bn public private partnership aimed at supporting the development of Europe’s emerging bioeconomy.
The BBI JU’s interim executive director, Barend Verachtert, hailed the new call for proposals as a landmark for Europe as it moves steadily towards a fully sustainable bioeconomy, commenting that “it shows that we are on the way to building a strong bioeconomy in Europe.”
The call is aimed at attracting project proposals that can fill the technological gaps within specific value chains, or actions addressing the whole value chain from feedstock sourcing to the market applications. Demonstration actions should include building a demo-scale production facility in Europe, whilst flagship actions should support the first application in the market of a proven innovation that has not yet been deployed.
The new call comes just two weeks after G7 leaders meeting in Germany agreed to end all fossil fuel use by the end of the century. Verachtert believes that the new call reflects Europe’s clear commitment to develop cleaner ways to exploit its natural resources.
“The bio-based industrial sector will significantly reduce Europe’s dependency on fossil-based products, help the EU meet climate change targets, and lead to greener and more environmentally friendly growth,” he said.
Verachtert has drawn attention to the social and economic effects of the BBI JU proposals, in particular their focus on SMEs. He said: “These proposals can go a long way to help SMEs produce the innovative bio-based products needed to lift Europe’s sustainable economy. With the bioeconomy now at the heart of the EU’s investment agenda, the proposals underline a joint will to build new value chains between sectors like agro-food, chemicals and energy,”
More information on the BBI JU 2015 Info Day can be found here.
