Ronja Holopainen, a young student from Finland who won the 2019 EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) prize in bioeconomy, was presenting her research project to key CBE JU partners this week.
Demand for biomass is only expected to grow in the coming years, be it for biomaterials or bioenergy, while there is only so much biomass that can be produced sustainably, says John Bell, who points to a looming 'availability gap'.
The CBE JU Programme Office has received 125 project proposals by the 22 September deadline for the 2022 call. Applicants have requested over €600 million in CBE JU funding, against the indicative call budget of €120 million.
CBE JU Governing Board has appointed Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore as the joint undertaking’s Executive Director ad interim. Today Nicoló is taking up his new responsibilities from Philippe Mengal who left CBE JU on 31 August. Under Nicoló’s leadership the CBE JU team will continue delivering on its mission by concluding the first call for project proposals and addressing the priorities of the partnership’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.
The EUCYS 2021 bioeconomy winners visit Brussels with CBE JU to meet representatives of the European institutions and projects funded by the partnership.
The European Commission published yesterday new rules to reduce the use of chemical pesticides and a legally binding nature restoration law with the aim of restoring damaged ecosystems and bringing back nature across Europe. Since 2014, CBE JU has been supporting projects working on bio-based solutions for sustainable farming that contribute to the goals of these legislative documents.
The CBE JU founding partners, the European Commission and BIC, have set out the partnership’s priorities in the CBE JU Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for the 2022-2030 period. Delivery of innovative bio-based solutions will be the key priority of the partnership, along with a strong focus on the EU’s environmental goals and support to local economies. CBE JU will implement the SRIA via its annual work programmes.
The European Commission released the EU Bioeconomy Strategy progress report last week. The document recognises the central role of CBE JU and its predecessor, BBI JU, in deploying and strengthening the bio-based industries in Europe. The report qualifies the public-private partnerships as ‘the most ambitious research and innovation initiatives in the European bioeconomy.’ It also summarises the advancements in the European bioeconomy since 2018 and identifies the gaps for future action plans and initiatives.
