The European Commission has opened a call for interest for organisations wanting to join a new European Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group focused on boosting investment in the EU bioeconomy sector.
The bioeconomy covers the production of food, materials and energy using renewable biological resources such as plants, animals and microorganisms, the Commission noted in a release on Tuesday.
The Commission said the new group follows its Strategic Framework for a Competitive and Sustainable EU Bioeconomy and comes after a European Investment Bank report identified financing gaps for bio-based projects, particularly demonstration and first-of-a-kind industrial facilities.
The Deployment Group will include the European Commission, the European Investment Bank Group, national promotional banks, private financial institutions and selected investors.
It will work on coordinated public and private investment to scale up bio-based industries, strengthen the pipeline of “bankable” projects — those considered ready for financing — and develop financing tools such as risk-sharing and blended finance.
Scoping meeting in Brussels
A scoping meeting for interested public and private stakeholders will take place in Brussels on 22 April, where the group’s objectives, scope and operating approach will be presented and discussed, the Commission said.
Organisations that want to engage with the group or attend the meeting have been asked to confirm their interest by 15 March by completing a Commission form and emailing it to ENV-BIOECONOMY-STRATEGY@ec.europa.eu, copying DEPLOYMENT.GROUP@cbe.europa.eu.
Participation in the scoping meeting will not automatically lead to membership of the Deployment Group, and formal invitations will be issued later.
