On Wednesday (9 July), the European Commission (EC) and industry leaders launched a new European Joint Undertaking on Bio-based Industries (BBI) to develop an emerging European bioeconomy sector.
The BBI is a €3.7 billion Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the EC and Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) and aims to create new partnerships across a variety of private sectors (including agriculture, agro-food, technology providers, forestry/pulp and paper, chemicals and energy) in the hopes of triggering investments and creating a competitive market for bio-based products.
‘Made in Europe’
Between 2014 and 2024, the BBI intends to inject €3.7 billion of funding (€2.7 billion from BIC and €975 million from the EC) into the European economy in order to shift it away from a fossil- and imports-based model and to encourage sustainable economic growth.