Waiting for Results: The Road to CBE JU Funding in 2025

December is that special time of the year when some of us are preparing for Christmas, Hanukkah or Chinese New Year – to name but a few – and when we all tend to reflect on past and future experiences. For those working in the bioeconomy, December (and the following month of January) will be a very special time for another reason, as this is the time when the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) will publish the first results on which consortium and which proposal will be the lucky ones to receive future funding.

Advancing the European Circular Bioeconomy by public funding

CBE JU is a €2 billion partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) that funds projects to promote competitive circular bio-based industries under Horizon Europe (HEU), the EU’s research and innovation programme. The idea is to advance the European circular bioeconomy by funding excellent projects. For this reason, the CBE JU launches annual calls for project proposals under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. The open innovation approach welcomes all actors – from farmers to research centres and universities, from small businesses to large industries – to develop a competitive bioeconomy in Europe.

© Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking CBE JU

CBE JU: Supporting Europe’s Bio-based Economy Since 2014

CBE JU was built on the success of its predecessor, the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU). The partnership between European Union and BIC has been supporting the European bio-based industries since 2014. According to CBE JU, 192 projects have been funded so far, with 1550 beneficiaries from 43 countries and 35 % of the beneficiaries are small companies. CBE JU also funds flagship biorefineries and demonstration plants to support the expansion of the European circular bio-based economy. As a result, there are many demonstration plants and biorefineries across Europe – with more to come. One of the latest milestones is the opening of the PEFerence biorefinery, the world’s first commercial FDCA flagship plant, in the Netherlands in October this year.

May the best win: Waiting to be announced as beneficiary

In 2024, CBE JU received almost 300 project proposals, which will be evaluated from October to November. The first results will be announced at the end of December 2024 until the end of January 2025. So, in principle, all consortia that have applied for CBE JU funding this year are facing a nerve-wracking time at the beginning of 2025. Will their proposal be considered for funding? Have they met all criteria? In addition to the challenge of putting together an international consortium of innovative researchers, there is another really important aspect of submitting a successful proposal: Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation (CDE) of key results are absolutely mandatory in HEU projects and play a significant role in the budget allocation.

The Role of Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation

And with good reason. CDE ensures the visibility and transparency of EU funding, while helping to raise public awareness of the importance of EU-funded research. While communication increases the reach of the project to relevant stakeholders, dissemination aims to inform relevant stakeholders about concrete project results and exploitation targets to ensure that the results are exploited in the best possible way. It is easy to forget: CDE activities are necessary throughout the complete duration of an EU-funded project and they are not only part of one specific work package within a consortium, but they are also mandatory for all partners in the project.

Innovation, Communication and Dissemination are key pillars of European Bioeconomy projects

Of course, without the right innovative idea or the best possible consortium, no proposal will make it through the CBE JU selection process. But it is the communication and dissemination activities, that run over the whole time of a project, that make all the activities and results of a brilliant research project public – ensuring that the use of EU funds is transparent and publicly documented, and that key results are exploited in the best possible way. The future of the European bioeconomy needs both, science-based innovation and the communication and dissemination of scientific excellence. That’s why no proposal will be approved by CBE JU without the right C&D strategy.