Selective, sustainable production routes towards bio-based alternatives to fossil-based chemical building blocks
TOPIC ID: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-IA-06
Type of action
HORIZON-JU-IA HORIZON JU Innovation Actions
Type of MGA
HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]
Deadline model
single-stage
Opening date
26 April 2023
Deadline date
20 September 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
ExpectedOutcome:
Successful projects will contribute to scaling up the sustainable production of bio-based chemicals with a large market potential and as alternatives for fossil-based platform chemicals, thus going beyond niche and specialty applications, while considering both technical and sustainability performance.
Projects are overall expected to address the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and its action plan, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (under the EU Zero pollution ambition), the EU Industrial strategy, the EU Biodiversity strategy 2030, as well as and the upcoming transition pathway for the energy-intensive industries ecosystem (’chemicals transition pathway’).
Project results should contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Reduced biomass feedstock imports dependency and land use impact with positive effects of the feedstock sustainability along the value chain;
- Improved circularity and resource efficiency via practical application of the circular (bio)economy concept, encompassing the resource- and energy-efficient, cascading use of sustainably sourced biomass;
- Significantly improved sustainability, strategic autonomy, resilience and competitiveness of the European chemical industry while reducing the fossil feedstock dependence in other downstream sectors;
- Significant improvement of environmental performance across the value chain against specified fossil and/or bio-based benchmarks;
- Reduction of direct and indirect emissions against available fossil-based and/or bio-based benchmarks of the chemical industry, with a clear technical pathway to carbon neutrality;
- Social acceptance of circular bio-based solutions and products;
- Availability of broader range of bio-based chemicals meeting market requirements & facilitation of market uptake of scalable bio-based solutions (therefore, improving on the present market penetration and impact of the bio-based chemicals).
Scope:
The production of a wider portfolio of bio-based platform chemicals is presently at low maturity, and CAPEX (and OPEX) investments are still needed to scale up production. The EU bio-based production share still amounts to 0.3 %[1]. The main current feedstock platforms deployed for bio-based chemicals are the sugar/starch, vegetable oils and glycerine platforms. Concerning the current land use impact of bio-based platform chemicals, an index of 0.5 ha/t of product has been reported, with a medium level imported feedstock dependency of 34%[1].
The bio-based platform chemicals portfolio remains relatively limited, with an approximate of 90% of the global bio-based production capacity accounted by a limited amount of platform chemicals[3]. Yet, the list of bio-based platform chemicals is growing and with a projected 10% CAGR[3].It is essential to progress further with the market penetration of bio-based chemicals, with a holistic consideration of sustainability across the value chain.
Proposals under this topic should:
- Demonstrate novel or improved production routes that are resource and energy efficient towards bio-based platform chemicals which have a large market potential. Such novel improved production routes can encompass different enabling technologies[5] [6].
- Address and assess feedstock sustainability and imports dependency to produce bio-based platform chemicals from EU-sourced feedstock[7], including the valorisation of circular biomass sources (e.g., agricultural and agro-industrial waste and residual streams, municipal waste, etc) [8].
- Propose and deduce reaction mechanisms and pathways to produce the studied bio-based platform chemicals; enabling reaction kinetics elucidation and mechanistic understanding. This should be provided also in the context of further advancing process scale-up;
- Include a task to integrate assessment based on the safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) framework, developed by the European Commission, for assessing the safety and sustainability of chemicals and materials[9]. Under this context, projects are expected to contribute with and develop recommendations that can advance further the application of the SSbD framework[10].
- Demonstrate the applicability and added-value of the bio-based chemical building blocks compared to the fossil-based ones, while considering the target end uses in bio-based products.
- Develop and propose a strategic roadmap for closing the competitiveness between well-established fossil-based routes and the proposed novel or improved bio-based routes.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach and demonstrate the involvement of all concerned key actors in the bio-based systems, such as feedstock suppliers, researchers and technology providers bio-based processing industries, end-users and consumers (in case of B2C[11] value chains).
Proposals should also describe their contribution to the specific CBE JU requirements, presented in section 2.2.3.1, and the cross-cutting elements, highlighted in section 2.2.3.2 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2023[12].
Proposals should consider synergies with past and ongoing projects[13].
[1]Spekreijse, J., Lammens, T., Parisi, C., Ronzon, T. and Vis, M., Insights into the European market for bio-based chemicals, EUR 29581 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-76-01500-0, doi:10.2760/739561, JRC112989
[2]Spekreijse, J., Lammens, T., Parisi, C., Ronzon, T. and Vis, M., Insights into the European market for bio-based chemicals, EUR 29581 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-76-01500-0, doi:10.2760/739561, JRC112989
[3]Extrapolation at EU level
[4]Extrapolation at EU level
[5]Enabling technologies include (without the list being exhaustive): catalysis, biocatalysis, metabolic engineering, systems biology, enabling digital technologies (e.g. for chemicals design, high-throughput testing, chemical process design, control and optimisation).
[6]Both C2-C4 small molecules and larger chain length platform chemicals are in scope, but not aromatics as BTX, phenols and others due to expected to receive R&I coverage in medium and long-term of the CBE JU programming.
[7]For feedstock origin, refer to section 2.2.3.2 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2023 (https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents).
[8]Feedstock chosen should ensure that there is no competition with food/feed, as well as adhere to environmental sustainability requirements (including biodiversity, etc.) – see also ‘specific requirements’ of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2023 (https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents).
[9]See documents defining the framework and criteria on: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/advanced-materials-and-chemicals_en.
[10]More specifically, provide thresholds that can support the criteria definition and improvements for the assessment SSbD methodologies, including any specificities related with bio-based surfactants. Recommendations should also include identification of data gaps, especially safety, environmental, but also socio-economic factors, as well as priorities for data collection.
[11]for a description of the term, see annex Glossary in the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2023 (https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents)
[12]CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2023 (https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents)
[13]Proposals should consider ongoing and past projects, especially under BBI JU/CBE JU as well as H2020 but also HEU (Clusters 4 and 6). E.g. topic HORIZON-JU-CBE-2022-IA-03 “Cost-effective production routes towards bio-based alternatives to fossil-based chemical building blocks”, projects URBIOFIN (IA-DEMO), PULP2VALUE (IA-DEMO), PERCAL (RIA), FRACTION (RIA), EMBRACED (IA-DEMO), CAPIFLA (RIA), BIOFOREVER (IA-DEMO), AFTERBIOCHEM (FLAGSHIP). See also HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-IA-03 “Improve fermentation processes (including downstream purification) to final bio-based products” and HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-IA-05 “Development of scalable safe bio-based surfactants, with an improved sustainability profile”
Topic Eligibility and Documents: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2023-2024/wp-13-general-annexes_horizon-2023-2024_en.pdf
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