BioBoost – Catalysing Investment into Catalan Bioeconomy via One-Stop-Shop Accelerator
Updated on 27.11.2024
Catalonia offers significant potential to become a showcase for bioeconomy innovation and deployment in Europe. The region is a hub of high-tech manufacturing, research, and industry (vehicles, chemicals, health); it has extensive forests (>60% coverage), agricultural production, and fisheries, and is supported by strong institutional backing for the bioeconomy through the Catalan Bioeconomy Strategy, launched in September 2021. However, circular bioeconomy projects involve a wide range of stakeholders, complex business models, and require strong technical and legal expertise from developers, investors, regulators, and local planning authorities. For these reasons, many viable bioeconomy projects are overlooked and unable to secure sufficient investment.

More Information
BIOBOOST aims to accelerate the growth of the bioeconomy in Catalonia by providing project development assistance (PDA) services that address the specific and systemic barriers preventing bioeconomy projects from reaching the investment stage. PDA services will be delivered via a one-stop-shop office in Barcelona, the ‘Accelerator’. The needs of bioeconomy projects will be assessed, Project Development Plans created, and a package of PDA services offered. The office will also work closely with the investment community and public institutions to prepare these stakeholders for the investment and construction phases.
PDA services will be delivered by a strong consortium of sector specialists that bring together all the core components of successful project development:
- Facilitation and Coordination (Symbiosis);
- Technical Feasibility and Engineering (Aeris);
- Legal and Public Administration (Roca Junyent); and
- Business Development and Financing (Inveniam).
Leading organisation
Inveniam Group, Spain
Regions involved
Catalonia
Scope and objectives
The overall objective of the BIOBOOST project is to catalyse EUR 30 million of additional investment into small and medium-sized bioeconomy projects in the Catalonia region by the end of 2025, representing an 18-fold multiplier on EU investment.
To achieve this goal, the BIOBOOST project will establish and operate an Accelerator Office (hereafter referred to as ‘the Accelerator’) to provide PDA services to regional bioeconomy projects. A comprehensive range of tailored services will be offered to projects at different stages of development, covering (1) facilitation, (2) technical support, (3) legal and administrative assistance, and (4) business development. Service delivery through the Accelerator will lead to the production of investor-oriented business plans that minimise risk and streamline the investment process.
The ultimate goal is to create a Bioeconomy Accelerator Best Practices Model that can be replicated in other regions.
Key services provided by the project
Main objectives of the project related to Circular Economy: technical assistance, dissemination, studies, monitoring, etc.
The services will consist of:
- Facilitation services and circular economy systemic project support: industrial symbiosis, providing territorial entities with the tools and methodology to implement circular economy strategies and identify synergies among key stakeholders.
- Technical assistance: basic engineering design, lab testing.
- Legal and administrative support: permits, certifications.
- Business development: investor-oriented business plan, environmental impact assessment (LCA, ESG).
Key deliverables
- D1.2: Catalonia Bioeconomy Ecosystem Report (February 2023)
- D1.3 Legal and Regulatory Barrier to Bioeconomy in Catalonia Report (May 2023)
- D2.2: Accelerator Operational and Monitoring Plan Dossier (February 2023)
- D2.3: Catalonia Bioeconomy Potential Report (May 2023)
- D4.2/D4.4: Investor Database (November 2023, May 2026)
- D4.3: Innovative Financing Solutions Report (May 2025)
- D5.4: Launch Event (May 2023)
- D5.5: Accelerator Business Plan and Replication Strategy, linked to T5.3 (May 2026)
- D6.4: Final Data Management plan (May 2026)
Key messages for project promoters
BioBoost focuses on:
- Bioeconomy projects that transform renewable biological resources and produce materials, energy, products, or services in the bioeconomy sectors.
- Projects with a systemic impact.
- Projects that require collaboration between different stakeholders to succeed.
- Projects located in Catalonia.
- Projects promoting investments of more than EUR 1 million.
Description of future collaboration with CCRI-CSO
BioBoost strives to enhance the circular economy by establishing a collaborative environment where various stakeholders can work together to advance bioeconomy projects. Through knowledge sharing, BioBoost plans to disseminate its findings and experiences to help other regions implement similar initiatives. Ultimately, the project seeks to validate the effectiveness of the One-Stop-Shop Accelerator model and promote its adoption, thereby amplifying the impact of circular economic practices across Europe.
Overview of key services (available to Cities and Regions in the CCRI - Pilots and Fellows):
- Facilitation services and circular economy systemic project support: Industrial symbiosis, providing territorial entities with tools and methodologies to implement circular economy strategies and identify synergies among key stakeholders.
- Technical assistance: Basic engineering design, lab testing.
- Legal and administrative support: Permits, certifications.
- Business development: Investor-oriented business plans, environmental impact assessments (LCA, ESG).
Findings: regulatory bottlenecks
- Complex and overlapping regulations: Region-specific laws and regulations create barriers for the bioeconomy.
- Legal definition of waste: Greater legal clarity is needed regarding definitions. Further progress is required on the status of terms such as ‘by-product’, ‘end-of-waste’, and the concept of ‘reuse’ to align with the waste management hierarchy, which prioritises reuse over recycling.
- Insufficient recycling targets and vague legislative actions: Formulated collection and recycling targets are sometimes too low and lack specificity, with unclear incentives and implementation strategies. Legislation could place greater emphasis on waste prevention rather than focusing solely on recycling, as prevention is the highest priority in the waste hierarchy.
- Limitations arising from regulatory frameworks.
- Lack of aid and public incentives to support the implementation of bioeconomy initiatives.
- Administrative complexity in project implementation.
- Market access difficulties due to legal obstacles.
Findings: regulatory drivers
- Establish standards and guidelines to support bioeconomy practices.
- End-of-life regulations: Remove unnecessary regulatory obstacles to the use of ‘waste’.
- Ban toxic materials and adjust accounting systems to include externalities (e.g. landfill costs, energy consumption, and carbon emissions).
- Public procurement: Require public-sector agencies and government departments to purchase resource-efficient and cradle-to-cradle products.
- Policy support for innovation: Policy plays a crucial role in creating a framework that encourages private-sector investments in innovation, such as in new materials or supply-chain resource tracking.
Financial schemes
- Project financing in SPVs: Includes equity from project developers, infrastructure funds, industrial groups, and/or public bodies, with potential debt financing as well.
- Corporate financing (using corporate WACC).
- Corporate joint ventures or partnerships: For example, co-investment in drying equipment to prepare an industrial by-product for use as input in another industrial process.
- Output-based financing: For instance, the sale of future CO₂-capture credits generated by the produced biochar.
BIOBOOST will also create synergies and complementarities with other financial schemes for circular economy projects. Several initiatives are under development to facilitate greater private-sector investment by developing frameworks and standards for evaluating projects and measuring/accounting for externalities. Some of these initiatives include:
- The European Commission Technical Expert Group (TEG) on sustainable finance, which develops methodologies for EU climate benchmarking and provides guidance to improve corporate disclosure of climate-related information.
- The Equator Principles (EPs), a risk management framework adopted by financial institutions.
- The Private Finance for Energy Efficiency (PF4EE), an instrument developed through a joint agreement between the European Investment Bank and the European Commission.
- The Green Economy Financing Facilities (GEEF), which operates through a network of more than 140 local financial institutions across 26 countries, supported by over EUR 4 billion.
Environmental outcomes of circular economy solutions
The BIOBOOST environmental outcomes will be achieved by accelerating projects that contribute to:
- reducing reliance on resource extraction;
- creating healthier ecosystems;
- mitigating climate change and reducing pollution;
- decreasing harmful waste.
Social outcomes of circular economy solutions
The BIOBOOST social outcomes will be achieved by accelerating projects that contribute to:
- creating healthier ecosystems;
- mitigating and adapting to climate change, reducing waste disposal, and decreasing pollution;
- increasing job creation.
Economic outcomes of circular economy solutions
The key focus of the project is on accelerating investment in regional bioeconomy projects. Therefore, the economic impact of the project, measured in terms of investment made, is the primary metric used to assess project success (targeting EUR 30 million in signed projects by the end of the project).
With the development of the regional bioeconomy, new value chains will be created. These value chains will incorporate more local stakeholders who may not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in larger economic ventures. This will, in turn, drive and increase support for local economies and boost overall investment in the area.
Through the establishment of PDA facilities and the economic transition into the bioeconomy, including an increase in investments, there will also be a rise in available jobs. Roles in monitoring, distribution, storage, and other tasks in the sector will require staffing. This growth in job opportunities and workforce size will have a direct, positive impact on the local economy where the Accelerator operates.
Additional information
Main project stakeholders
Industry, public administration, financial institutions
Participants
- Símbiosy
- RocaJunyent
- Aeris Tecnologías Ambientales
