EU-wide Advantages and Opportunities for Horizon-JU-CBE-2025-RIA-03: Alternative biomanufacturing routes for natural and synthetic rubber

1. Single Market Access

- Immediate entry into a tariff-free market of 450+ million consumers and 23 million SMEs.

- Uniform technical standards (EN, ISO, REACH) enable rapid commercialisation of bio-rubber products for automotive, construction and medical sectors across 27 Member States without country-by-country re-certification.

- Public procurement directives (≈14 % of EU GDP) offer early demand, e.g. green public procurement for sustainable tyres, medical gloves and infrastructure gaskets.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

- CBE JU rules require consortia from at least three different countries, encouraging pooling of Europe’s complementary assets (e.g. Belgian synthetic biology SMEs + Spanish natural-rubber agronomists + German tyre OEMs).

- Access to EU infrastructures: ESFRI plant-phenotyping platforms (EMPHASIS), industrial-biotech pilot lines (IBISBA, Bio Base Europe) and the European Biofoundries Alliance.

- Mobility tools (MSCA, Erasmus+, COST Actions) facilitate staff exchange, shortening time-to-market through shared learning.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

- Direct contribution to the European Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan and Fit-for-55 by replacing fossil-derived elastomers and reducing imported, deforestation-linked natural rubber.

- Supports the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, Industrial Strategy and the Regulation on Deforestation-free Products.

- Reinforces the Strategic Autonomy agenda and the Critical Raw Materials Act by diversifying rubber feedstocks made inside the Union.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

- One-stop compliance with REACH, CLP and the forthcoming microplastics restriction instead of 27 separate national regimes.

- EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities can label bio-rubber production as taxonomy-aligned, unlocking green finance across all Member States.

- Future-proofing through anticipated EU standards on Sustainable Carbon Cycles and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF).

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

- Integration with EIT Manufacturing, EIT RawMaterials and EIT Climate-KIC accelerators for piloting and market traction.

- Collaboration with flagship Horizon projects (MIDAS, NORDIC BIO-RUBBER, SUSFERT, BIO-ELECTRO) provides validated datasets, protocols and IP licensing opportunities.

- Clusters such as the Bio-Based Industries Consortium (BIC) and the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) offer dissemination channels to 4 000+ companies.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage

- Blending possibilities with:

• EIC Transition & Accelerator for scale-up capital.

• InvestEU Green Transition window for first-of-a-kind plants.

• ERDF & Just Transition Fund for regional biorefineries in coal-dependent regions (e.g. Silesia, Asturias).

• LIFE programme for demonstrators tackling microplastic release.

- Compatibility with the State-aid framework for Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on biomanufacturing could provide further CAPEX support.

7. Scale & Impact Potential

- Union-wide deployment could replace up to 25 % of imported natural rubber (≈250 kt yr⁻¹) by 2035, cutting ≈1.4 Mt CO₂-eq and 200 000 ha deforestation pressure.

- Creates resilient supply chains for strategic sectors (automotive tyres, medical devices) and about 30 000 skilled jobs in rural and industrial regions.

- Facilitates market uptake in 15+ application domains thanks to harmonised CE marking and EU Medical Device Regulation pathways.

8. Global Standard-Setting & Trade Advantages

- Projects can shape ISO/TC 45 and UNECE tyre regulations with EU sustainability criteria, exporting ‘green rubber’ standards globally.

- Strengthens EU trade negotiations (e.g. with ASEAN, Mercosur) by showcasing credible alternatives to deforestation-linked natural rubber.

9. Intellectual Property & Data Assets

- Benefit from the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court for lower IP costs across 17+ Member States.

- Use European data spaces (planned Bioeconomy Data Space) to share genomics and LCA datasets under common governance, ensuring GDPR compliance and FAIR principles.

10. Skills, Social & Regional Cohesion

- Connect to the Pact for Skills for the European bio-based sector and Blueprint curricula, ensuring workforce availability.

- Rural-development alignment with CAP Strategic Plans offers farmers alternative high-value crops (e.g. dandelion, guayule) with low indirect land-use change (ILUC).

- Supports Just Transition goals by re-purposing petrochemical assets into bio-rubber facilities.

11. Actionable Recommendations for Applicants

1. Build a geographically balanced consortium combining:

• Feedstock developers (CZ, RO, EL)

• Industrial biotech & biofoundries (BE, NL, FR)

• Rubber processors & OEMs (DE, IT, ES)

• LCA & social scientists (SE, AT)

2. Map complementarities with ongoing CBE JU projects and plan joint standardisation workshops under CEN.

3. Integrate a policy work package to feed evidence into the EU Critical Raw Materials Board and the microplastics REACH restriction.

4. Anticipate a blended-finance pathway: TRL 5-6 under this RIA → TRL 7-8 under a future CBE JU Innovation Action → commercial first-of-a-kind plant via Innovation Fund/InvestEU.