On July 9, the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) signed a cooperation agreement with four European networks representing the regional side of the bioeconomy. These are the European Forest Institute (EFI), the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN), the European Regions Network for Innovation in Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ERIAFF), and the Vanguard Initiative. The Memorandum of Understanding establishes a permanent consultation framework between the European research and innovation program and the regions where bio-based technology is ultimately intended to be implemented.
CBE JU, as a public-private partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium, funds research and innovation projects within Horizon Europe with a total value of two billion euros. The four signatory networks operate at a different level: they bring together regions and regional authorities with a focus on the circular bioeconomy. EFI does this through the EFI Bioregions initiative, aimed at forest-based value chains. ERRIN connects approximately 120 regional organizations via a separate bioeconomy working group. ERIAFF has 53 member regions and 39 observers from 21 countries, with bioeconomy as a recurring theme in the working groups. The Vanguard Initiative brings together some forty regional authorities around interregional cooperation and smart specialization, with its own Bioeconomy Pilot.
What the agreement specifically regulates
The parties intend to organize joint networking meetings and offer tailored information sessions to regional stakeholders. An important goal is to help startups and SMEs navigate the fragmented landscape of European, national, and regional funding more effectively. This also involves exploring pathways such as the European Commission's STEP seal, which can grant promising projects access to additional investments. A joint working group will oversee the implementation and draw up an action plan with concrete activities, roles, and a timeline.
At the signing, CBE JU Director Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore pointed out that European funding only truly has an impact when it aligns well with national and regional investments, enabling promising project results to make the leap to commercial scaling. ERRIN Director Pirita Lindholm called the agreement a way to bring regions closer to European partnerships, while ERIAFF Director Roberto Scalacci emphasized innovation in agriculture, food, and forestry as a building block for resilient regions. The agreement builds on the Synergies Strategy published by CBE JU in July 2025, based on the premise that the fragmentation of funding sources primarily hinders smaller businesses.
A Dutch perspective
For the Netherlands, the most concrete link runs through the Vanguard Initiative. Two Dutch regions are affiliated with it: the Southern Netherlands, including Campus Zeeland, Brainport Brabant, and the Brightlands Campuses in Limburg, and the Eastern Netherlands, formed by the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. Both regions already participate in interregional cooperation projects through Vanguard and, via the new Memorandum of Understanding, could gain easier access to European bioeconomy projects from CBE JU and to guidance on combining European and regional funding. Whether and how Dutch parties will actually utilize this has not yet been announced; CBE JU and the Vanguard Initiative have not announced any specific Dutch activities.
Source: CBE JU
Photo: Guillaume Périgois, Unsplash
