Building European Resilience with bio-based Innovation

A conversation with Marco Rupp from BIC on how the bioeconomy is an opportunity for Europe to secure its strategic autonomy and achieve sustainability goals while doing so.

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Building European Resilience with Bio-Based Innovation: Why the Bioeconomy Is No Longer Optional

In a world reshaped by climate change, supply chain instability, and geopolitical tensions, Europe’s long-term competitiveness increasingly depends on something both ancient and cutting-edge: biomass.

This isn’t just about replacing fossil fuels. It’s about building strategic autonomy, creating resilient regional supply chains, and using bio-based innovation as a cornerstone of Europe’s economic future.

Welcome to the European bioeconomy: no longer a niche, but a strategic pillar.

From Niche to Norm: Europe’s Bioeconomy in Transition

As of 2025, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy celebrates 20 years. What started as a framework for niche research projects has evolved into a foundational industrial transition, with billions invested and regional ecosystems emerging across the continent.

The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) — the industry voice behind the movement — now counts over 350 members across sectors like packaging, construction, cosmetics, food ingredients, fertilizers, and chemicals. The majority are startups and SMEs, backed by research organizations, universities, and innovation-driven regions. BIC also has more than 300 Associate Members, made up of non-commercial entities such as universities, research institutes, consultants and other trade associations.

Their mission? Building the business case of tomorrow through cross-sector collaboration, funding, and policy advocacy.

Bioeconomy Hotspots: From Finland to France to Eastern Europe

While the bioeconomy is inherently local, built around regionally available feedstocks, some countries are pushing ahead faster than others. Finland has emerged as a long-time leader, while France, particularly its Grand Est region, is catching up with strong regional programs. Eastern Europe is also gaining traction, as bio-based innovation moves beyond Western Europe's borders.

BIC and its public–private partnership with the EU have co-invested €2 billion into more than 200 flagship projects, with an impressive 3.5x multiplier effect on private investment.

Beyond Decarbonization: Defossilization and Strategic Autonomy

One of the most misunderstood aspects of the bioeconomy is its role in materials, not just energy. You can’t decarbonize materials like you do energy: carbon is still essential. But you can defossilize. In fact, agricultural and woody biomass can sustainably provide enough biomass to meet at least 20% of the future carbon demand of the chemical and derived materials industries in 2050.

This is not just about sustainability. It’s about replacing imported fossil-based and critical raw materials (e.g. phosphate, battery components) with homegrown, circular, and bio-based alternatives. In short: the bioeconomy is Europe’s best shot at regaining industrial sovereignty in sectors like chemicals, agriculture, and strategic materials.

What’s Driving Innovation — and What’s Holding It Back?

Startups and SMEs are the beating heart of bio-based innovation in Europe. But they don’t scale alone. BIC acts as the glue between small innovators and large industrial players, ensuring new ideas can go from prototype to flagship biorefineries.

That said, the biggest roadblocks aren’t technology or talent, but:

• Biomass availability: scaling requires a stable, high-quality feedstock supply

• Market creation: companies need reliable demand for new bio-based products

• Funding gaps: especially for large-scale investments (€300–500M+)

Europe leads in pilot-scale innovation but lags in commercial deployment, especially when compared to the US. The gap is widest in high-volume, low-margin sectors like bulk chemicals, where price competition dominates and green premiums are limited.

Strategic Action: What Needs to Happen Now

Europe has tools in place — from the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking to the EU Startup Strategy and Capital Markets Union — but more must be done:

• Mobilize larger funding envelopes to support scale-up

• De-risk investment for early movers with strategic public–private models

• Incentivize bio-based procurement and green product markets

• Attract talent and simplify permitting to speed up deployment

Read more about this in BIC's Position Paper on the EU's upcoming Bioeconomy Strategy.

The Geopolitical Edge: Why This Is More Than Sustainability

This isn’t just about reducing emissions, it’s about industrial resilience in an unstable world.

From food security in India to critical materials in China and biotech acceleration in the US, major economies are doubling down on bio-based strategies. Europe can’t afford to fall behind.

The bioeconomy allows Europe to:

• Localize production

• Reduce fossil and raw material dependency

• Shorten supply chains

• Build new industrial ecosystems

In other words: it’s Europe’s playbook for sovereignty, competitiveness, and climate action all at once.

Conclusion: Bioeconomy as Europe’s Next Industrial Chapter

The future of European competitiveness will be written in biorefineries, not just boardrooms. With the right policies, partnerships, and funding strategies, bio-based innovation can be more than a sustainability story; it can become Europe’s economic advantage.

Main Takeaways:

• The Bioeconomy is no longer a niche field, but a strategic pillar for the competitiveness of our global economy.

• Bio-based innovation supports both sustainability goals and strategic autonomy.

• Europe must defossilize its materials sector and 20% of carbon demand could be met by biomass.

• Key gaps include biomass access, market creation, and large-scale funding.

• The bioeconomy is not optional, it’s Europe’s geopolitical and industrial resilience strategy.

Listen to the full interview with BIC's Deputy Executive Director Marco Rupp on the bioCircular Loop Podcast!