What Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking does

Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) is a €2 billion public-private partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) that funds projects advancing competitive circular bio-based industries under the Horizon Europe framework. Operating from Brussels, CBE JU was officially launched on 30 November 2021 as the legal and universal successor of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), which had been established in 2014. The partnership pools public and private capital to support first-of-their-kind biorefineries, demonstration plants, and bio-based innovation across 45 countries, with each euro of public funding mobilising €3.52 of private investment.

CBE JU deploys capital through annual competitive calls for proposals administered via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Recent calls include €120 million (2022, 21 projects), €215.5 million (2023, 18 topics), €172 million (2025, 24 projects signed), and €170.7 million (2026, 13 topics). Selected consortia receive grant agreements funded jointly by the European Commission and BIC private members. Rather than selling products or services, CBE JU operates a programmatic funding motion complemented by consortium-building infrastructure (a b2match networking platform), training (ECBF venture-capital readiness, NCP_WIDERA.NET pre-checks for widening countries), and convening events including annual Info Days (1,000+ participants from 48 countries) and Stakeholder Forums (400+ participants from 40 countries).

The partnership has supported 220 projects and 1,700 beneficiaries since 2014, with 39% of beneficiaries classified as SMEs and the remainder spanning large industries, research centres, universities, and primary producers across chemicals, construction, agriculture, food/feed, cosmetics, textiles, packaging, aquaculture, and water treatment sectors. Governance is exercised through a Governing Board chaired by John Bell (Director for Healthy Planet, European Commission DG RTD), while executive leadership is held by Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore (Executive Director ad interim since 1 September 2022, succeeding Philippe Mengal). In April 2026, CBE JU co-launched the Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group (BIDG) with the European Commission to address the financing gap that prevents European bio-based scale-ups from reaching commercial deployment.

Name

Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking

Legal name

Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking

Website

https://cbe.europa.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CBE JU is a €2 billion EU public-private partnership with the Bio-based Industries Consortium that funds circular bio-based industry projects under Horizon Europe, supporting 220 projects and 1,700 beneficiaries across 45 countries since 2014.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public R&D Funding Partnership

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Bio-based funding
• Circular bioeconomy
• Horizon Europe grants
• Public-private partnership
• Bio-based innovation

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. EU Public Funding: European Union contributes public funding through Horizon Europe programme. Each euro of public money generates €3.52 of private investment, demonstrating leverage of public funds.
2. Private Investment from BIC Members: Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) members contribute private investment matching public funding to support bio-based industry projects and value chain development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CBE JU is a €2 billion public-private partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium that funds projects advancing competitive circular bio-based industries under Horizon Europe. It awards grants through annual competitive calls for proposals, supports consortium formation via a networking platform, and runs educational and stakeholder engagement programs. The partnership has co-financed 220 projects, 19 flagship biorefineries, and 154 demonstration plants across 45 countries since 2014.

Product overview

CBE JU is a €2 billion partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) that funds projects advancing competitive circular bio-based industries under Horizon Europe. Rather than offering a traditional product portfolio, CBE JU provides funding programs through annual calls for proposals, networking platforms for consortium building, educational tools like the Go for Bio-based game, and organizes events such as the Stakeholder Forum. The organization supports first-of-their-kind biorefineries, demonstration plants, and innovative bio-based solutions across Europe through grant agreements with selected projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CBE JU Annual Calls for Project Proposals Annual competitive calls issued by CBE JU under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, offering co-financing to selected project proposals across topics such as biorefineries, bio-based chemicals, sustainable food and feed, and circular bioeconomy solutions. The 2026 call disburses €170.7 million across 13 topics; the 2025 call resulted in 24 new projects receiving €172 million in signed grant agreements.
• CBE JU Networking Platform (b2match) Online networking platform hosted on b2match.com where bio-based stakeholders identify project partners, pitch project ideas, search for collaborators, and schedule meetings around CBE JU call topics. Used for consortium formation prior to proposal submission.
• Go for Bio-based Game Interactive educational game that challenges users to guess the origin of bio-based products and demonstrates how biomass is transformed into final products, raising awareness about the circular bioeconomy.

Quantifiable outcome

• 220 highly innovative projects funded across 45 countries with €1.3 billion EU funding
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group (BIDG)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2026BIDG launched in Brussels to address financing gaps preventing Europe's bio-based industries from scaling up. Group brings together European banks, national promotional institutions, venture capital funds, and institutional investors to develop better financing instruments, build a bankable project pipeline, improve transparency, and connect bio-based scale-ups with capital providers. First plenary meeting scheduled for June 2026.
• NCP_WIDERA.NETcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026Provides proposal pre-check service for applicants from widening countries, offering expert feedback to improve proposal quality before submission. Supports increased participation from eligible countries including Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and others.
• European UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2021European Union is the founding public partner of the €2 billion CBE JU partnership. Contributes public funding through Horizon Europe programme. Governed through the Governing Board with representatives from EU member states and European Commission.
• Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2021BIC is the founding private partner representing bio-based industries in Europe. Contributes private investment matching EU public funding. BIC members include large industries, SMEs, and research organizations in the bio-based sector.
• RTDS Group (Coordinator)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRTDS Group serves as project coordinator for BIOVEXO project, managing consortium activities and project management for the €6.6 million biopesticide development initiative.
• Globachem NVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in BIOVEXO that developed Sankari, a V-biopesticide based on nonanoic acid demonstrating good efficacy in reducing spittlebug populations. Has secured regulatory approvals in some countries with further registrations expected.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking: Horizon Europe JU funding clinical research on infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Shares CBE JU's Joint Undertaking legal form, annual call structure, and EU-member-state matching model.
• SESAR Joint Undertaking: Long-running EU JU modernising air traffic management through co-funded research and demonstration projects. Predecessor in the JU family alongside BBI JU, with an identical institutional and funding model.
• Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (KDT JU): EU JU funding semiconductor and electronic components R&D via Horizon Europe. Operates the same co-programmed partnership model, Governing Board structure, and project-based grant disbursement as CBE JU.
• Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: EU Joint Undertaking pooling EU and industry funding to accelerate hydrogen technologies. Shares the same Horizon Europe JU governance template, annual call mechanism, and capital-leverage mandate as CBE JU, though focused on hydrogen rather than bioeconomy.
• European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU): EU JU pooling public and private investment to build supercomputing infrastructure and federated services. Same legal form, EU-private match model, and Horizon Europe governance as CBE JU.
• Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU): EU public-private partnership under Horizon Europe that co-funds cross-sector health research projects via annual calls. Closest institutional analogue to CBE JU, with the same Joint Undertaking legal form, public-private match-funding structure, and consortium-based proposal process.
• European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF): Pan-European VC fund dedicated to circular bioeconomy investments, already partnered with CBE JU on SME investment-readiness training. Targets the same bio-based SME cohort CBE JU funds through grants, addressing the same second-valley-of-death gap.

Broad incumbents

• European Innovation Council (EIC): EU-wide instrument awarding grants and equity to breakthrough and scale-up innovators, including bio-based companies. Overlaps with CBE JU as a Horizon Europe funding route for innovative SMEs but operates with a much broader sector mandate and direct equity capability.
• European Investment Bank (EIB): EU's long-term lending arm that finances bioeconomy, clean tech, and industrial scale-up projects. Overlaps with CBE JU on mobilising capital into European bio-based infrastructure but operates at materially larger scale and via debt rather than grants.

Others

• Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC): Private industry association representing CBE JU's founding private-sector partner. Not a competitor but a structural counterparty — BIC commits the private-side matching funds and shapes the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda that defines CBE JU's annual call topics.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCOXBuYHNZypE-pF9xZ_-9eQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cbe-ju
• Xx.com/CBE_JU

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments16 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking