NEWS
CBE JU funds 31 more projects
The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking ( CBE JU ), a € 2 billion partnership between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium ( BIC ) that funds projects advancing competitive circular bio-based industries in Europe , has signed 31 grant agreements with project teams it selected in its 2023 calls .
As a result , 396 beneficiaries from 34 countries will receive nearly € 215 million in funding to develop circular and sustainable biobased consumer products and industrial systems to replace fossil-based ones . These , CBE JU said , will support the objective of its strategic research and innovation agenda , “ with the ultimate goal of boosting the competitiveness and increasing the resilience of Europe ’ s biobased economy ”.
The projects are split into four types of ‘ actions ’, which encompass activities ranging from the establishment of production facilities to education , coordination and support systems . Four ‘ flagship innovation actions ’ will receive € 60.5 million to build first-of-their-kind industrial-scale facilities . They are
• Circle : € 17 million to boost biobased chemical production in Europe by using food waste streams . The team will upgrade an existing biogas plant to transform locally sourced food waste and other biological residues into chemicals like lactic acid for applications including cosmetics
• Terrific : € 16.8 million to help de-fossilise the packaging sector and make it circular with biobased materials for recyclable , compostable , high performance packaging . The project will build a biorefinery to produce biobased and biodegradable film laminated on pulp or paper , plus rigid and flexible thermoplastic biobased materials for packaging
• Woodcell : € 16.6 million develop viable biobased alternatives to fossil-based materials in the chemical and material industries . The project will turn hardwood residues into micro-scale microcrystalline cellulose for a wide range of applications
• Proteus : € 9.6 million to optimise its harvesting and extraction techniques for brown algae for uses including personal care In addition , 15 ‘ innovation actions ’ will receive over € 104 million to establish demonstration-scale production systems and business models . These include projects that will develop , among other things
• Low-cost , sustainably sourced biobased platform chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass for personal care and coatings
• Biobased composites for applications including water treatment
• 3-ethyl delta-valero lactone from hardwood sugars
• Biobased surfactants from wood and food processing waste Nine ‘ research and innovation actions ’ will receive more than € 45 million to develop new materials , products and ingredients from renewable and biological resources . These include a biotechnological platform for fatty amine production and growing industrial crops for the production of biobased products on degraded , contaminated and saline land .
Finally , three ‘ coordination and support actions , have been granted nearly € 5.5 million . This will be used for training , promoting circular biobased products in Southern Europe and creating a database of openaccess bioeconomy infrastructures across the continent .
With these , the CBE JU ’ s portfolio will reach 192 projects , with over € 1 billion total investments made and attracting more than three times the amount in private investments . A new € 213 million call is now open for project proposals across 18 topics . The deadline is 18 September .
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