Copa-Cogeca welcomed today the start of a new joint European Undertaking on Bio-based Industries (BBI) designed to trigger investments and create a competitive market for bio-based products and materials sourced locally and “Made in Europe” and the launch of the first calls.
The EU Commission claimed that €3.7 billion will be injected into the European economy between 2014 and 2024 – €975 million from the European Commission and €2.7 billion from the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) – to develop an emerging bioeconomy sector. Through financing of research and innovation projects, the BBI will create new and novel partnerships across sectors, such as agriculture, agro-food, technology providers, forestry/pulp and paper, chemicals and energy.
The aim of the BBI is to use Europe’s untapped biomass and wastes as feedstock to make fossil-free and greener everyday products. At the heart of it are advanced biorefineries and innovative technologies that will convert renewable resources into sustainable bio-based chemicals, materials and fuels.
Organised in five value chains – that range from primary production to consumer markets – this JTI will help fill the innovation gap between technology development and commercialisation, sustainably realising the potential of bio-based industries in Europe.
Welcoming the move, Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said “ We are committed to supporting the promising development of the bioeconomy in the EU, which provides an excellent opportunity for green growth for European farmers, forest holders, fishermen and their cooperatives. The bioeconomy promotes growth and provides employment in rural areas. It also enables the production of bioenergy and bio-based materials that go hand in hand with the production of food. We believe that the three areas that this initiative is focused on: to foster a sustainable biomass supply, to optimise efficient processing via biorefineries and create new value chains and to develop new markets for bio-based products will contribute to an efficient use of resources and will create more synergies between the different actors in the value chains.’’
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