EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities – HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-10

Overview

The call finances a Coordination & Support Action (CSA) that maps, assesses and steers EU biotechnology and biomanufacturing towards an integrated, circular and climate-neutral bioeconomy. Acting EU-wide multiplies impact compared with isolated national efforts, unlocking the power of the single market, common regulation, top-tier research infrastructures and complementary EU funding streams.

1. Single Market Access (450 + million citizens)

- One EU labelling and product compliance pathway (e.g. sustainable-by-design, ESPR, REACH) lowers go-to-market costs and speeds up uptake of new bio-based products.

- Public procurement leverage: EU Green Public Procurement criteria and upcoming Net-Zero Industry Act open demand for circular bio-based solutions across 27 Member States at once.

- Consumers increasingly price-in sustainability; EU-wide trusted communication campaigns created by the CSA can grow demand simultaneously in multiple countries.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

- Horizon Europe rules require a minimum of three entities from three Member/Associated States, naturally forming a pan-EU brain trust of industrial, marine, environmental and agri-food biotechnology actors.

- Direct links to flagship EU infrastructures (EU-IBISBA, Pilots4U, Copilot) provide shared pilot plants and scale-up assets that few countries could finance alone.

- The CSA can act as an EU “clearing house” for lessons learned from 200 + finished bio-related projects, avoiding duplication and accelerating replication.

- Facilitates co-creation with social sciences & humanities (SSH) experts across cultural contexts, building consumer trust and social licence at EU scale.

3. Alignment with Core EU Strategies

- European Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, Bioeconomy Strategy, Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and Forest Strategy – the CSA’s outputs feed directly into their implementation roadmaps.

- STEP Regulation & EU Economic Security Agenda – biotech identified as a critical technology; mapping EU strengths mitigates dependencies on third countries.

- Supports upcoming EU Biotech Act and Sustainable Carbon Cycles package by delivering an evidence-based Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA).

4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Standard Setting

- Opportunity to draft EU-wide guidelines for safe and sustainable-by-design biotech processes (incl. CRISPR, synthetic biology) and facilitate acceptance of New Genomic Techniques.

- Early engagement with CEN/CENELEC and ISO via the CSA helps shape global standards around traceability, LCA, and social sustainability.

- Creates a single, transparent evidence base for risk-benefit assessment, easing entry for SMEs/start-ups in all Member States.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

- Integration with 3,500+ universities, RTOs and living labs funded under Horizon, EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing and Digital Europe Programme.

- Easy connection to EU clusters (Bioeconomy Cluster Initiative, Vanguard Initiative) and mobility schemes (MSCA, Erasmus+), enlarging the talent pool.

- Data interoperability with European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) ensures findability and re-use of results by researchers from Lisbon to Helsinki.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage

- CBE-JU, EIC Pathfinder/Transition, LIFE, ERDF/Interreg, CAP Innovation Partnership (EIP-Agri) and InvestEU can co-finance pilots, regional demonstrators and scale-up after the CSA ends.

- The lump-sum model simplifies combination with national/regional schemes such as Recovery & Resilience Plans and Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on biomanufacturing.

- Horizon CSA status allows budget for clustering events and knowledge hubs that maximise spill-over to other Horizon Clusters (4 – Digital & Industry, 5 – Climate, Energy & Mobility).

7. EU-Scale Deployment & Impact

- Mapping and aligning 27 national bioeconomy strategies creates a unified market narrative, reducing fragmentation and attracting private investors.

- Builds continental value chains (e.g. Nordic lignocellulosics processed in Central Europe, fermented in Southern Europe, sold EU-wide) optimising resource use and regional strengths.

- Contributes to EU climate targets via verifiable GHG reductions and carbon removal pathways validated across multiple biogeographical regions.

8. Strategic Recommendations to Maximise EU Value

- Establish an EU Biotech & Biomanufacturing Observatory hosted by the CSA to provide real-time policy intelligence and foresight.

- Launch an open EU Biomanufacturing Use-Case Atlas mapping >150 former/ongoing projects; include TRL, scale, socio-economic KPIs and consumer insights.

- Convene an annual EU Bio-Summit rotating between Member States to foster quadruple-helix networking and align regional Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3).

- Create a fast-track ‘SME Helpline’ for regulatory and IP guidance leveraging Enterprise Europe Network.

- Produce policy briefs tailored to national ministries to accelerate adoption or update of national bioeconomy roadmaps.

- Embed gender & inclusiveness KPIs (e.g., minority rural regions engaged, women-led start-ups supported) to strengthen the social dimension of the EU Green Deal.

9. Unique EU Selling Points vs. National-Only Initiatives

- Critical mass of public & private R&D (EUR €4 bn+ in current bio-based Horizon portfolio) dramatically lowers individual project risk.

- EU-level brand credibility enhances global trade negotiations and WTO compliance for bio-based goods.

- Ability to pilot harmonised digital product passports and carbon accounting methodologies across multiple Member States simultaneously.

10. Conclusion

Engaging in HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-10 positions consortia at the epicentre of EU policy, funding and market dynamics for next-generation biotechnology and biomanufacturing. The unique combination of the single market, coordinated regulation, shared infrastructures and multi-source funding provides unparalleled leverage to deliver systemic, EU-wide transformation towards a competitive, circular and climate-neutral bioeconomy.