The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) has set its funding priorities for 2023 in its Annual Work Programme. With over EUR 215 million of budget, the calls of the Programme will support the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of the CBE JU in overcoming the main technological and innovation challenges in the circular bio-based economy.
CBE JU aims at strengthening the European bioeconomy primary sectors of the land and sea and its industries by combining the ‘public’ interests, pursued by the EC, and the ‘private’ interests of bio-based industries, such as: increasing the competitiveness of the EU economy, job creation, balanced regional development and economic cohesion, climate and environmental performance, creating better market conditions, removal of barriers, de-risking investment, increasing resource efficiency, improving circular technologies and operations while engaging all actors in the bio-based systems.
The calls deadlines, structure and criteria
All calls are single stage and will open on the 20th April 2023 and close on the 20th September 2023.
The calls are structured in three types of actions:
- Innovation actions (IAs), including flagship (FLAGs): IAs are expected to reach TRL 6-8 at the end of the project, with IAs reaching TRL 8. For these projects, the grant covers up to 60% of the eligible costs (except for non-profit, up to 100%).
- Research and innovation actions (RIAs): RIAs are expected to reach TRL 3-5 by the end of the project and the grant covers 100% of eligible costs independent on the type of applicant.
- Coordination and Support Actions (CSAa): These actions are independent from a TRL level as they support research activities and policies through other activities (e.g. networking, exchanges, etc.). For CSAs, 100% of the eligible costs can be covered by the grant.
Figure 1. CBE JU types of actions along the TRL scale.
Depending on the action, specific requirements of the CBE JU need to be addressed in different parts of the application (e.g. recommendations to stakeholders for IAs and FLAGs).
The calls’ scientific priorities are aligned with the CBE JU specific objectives and strategic priorities outlined in the Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda for 2030 of the CBE JU. These touch upon three main blocks (feedstock, processing and products) and include cross-cutting topics in communication, finance and environmental sustainability framework.
The proposals will be scored against the typical Horizon Europe criteria (excellence, impact and implementation) with specific thresholds. A particular focus is given on impact – in fact, the threshold is set to 4 out of 5 (instead of 3 for the other criteria) and IAs and FLAGs the score has a weight of 1.5.
Who is it for?
The calls are open for all applicants that are also eligible for Horizon Europe. These include organisations based in the EU Member States and in associated countries. From start-ups, SMEs, universities and research institutes to large enterprises and governments.
What can EGEN do for you
With the proficiency in Horizon Europe, EGEN can assist you in all the stages of your project.
During the application process, we can support you with project scoping, finding and linking up with the right partners and the subsidy application. After approval, our exploitation experts can help you with an economic analysis of your innovation. Our business modelling specialists can help you draw up a solid business case or business plan to give you more insight into how to make your business a success. And, as finding the right stakeholders in any given value chain is an on-going exercise, we can support you with the stakeholder and value chain analysis thanks to PNO’s proprietary tool, Wheesbee. We can also support your organisation with the necessary subsidy related administrative matters and the associated reports thanks to our compliance experts.
About the CBE JU
The CBE JU is a EUR 2 billion public-private partnership between the European Union, represented by the European Commission (EC), and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). It is established under Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme, for the period 2021-2031. The CBE JU is not a direct continuation of the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking, but rather a programme that builds on its achievements and aims at addressing its shortcomings.
