The call is relevant for cities and regions that are looking to develop a Circular Solution by retrofitting industrial plants towards higher-value bio-based products. The flagship call requires projects to contribute to the establishment of a brownfield biorefinery based on a retrofitted industrial plant towards biobased products with a higher value than the ones produced in the old configuration. As part of the Multi-Actor Approach, projects should consider the full value chain including biomass supply and logistics, with the appropriate involvement of biomass providers, fostering the creation or enhancement of a local/regional ecosystem centred around the biorefinery.

All stakeholders of the bio-based industries ecosystem including public authorities can apply for CBE JU funding. CBE JU calls for project proposals are open to any legal entity, be it private or public, for-profit or not-for-profit organisation, including:

• Large companies
• Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)
• Research and technology organisations (RTOs)
• Universities
• Associations

Proposals should retrofit an existing industrial facility with innovative and sustainable biomass conversion process(es) yielding more valuable product(s) than the one(s) produced with the old process(es). and demonstrate the production of bio-based chemicals and materials (reaching end TRL 8) and their further conversion into end products (end TRL 6 or higher) to be validated in market-relevant application(s). Moreover, proposals should also address cascading valorisation of residual streams across the value chain.

The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20 million. It is estimated that a contribution of EUR 20 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts

Cities and regions can apply for funding through the following steps. Cities and regions have to select the relevant call and draft a proposal with the required details. With the CBE JU networking platform, cities and regions can find partners to build a consortium. The proposal can be submitted using the Funding and tender opportunities portal using an EU login. All the members of the consortium must have a 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC) to apply for funding. Draft your project proposal in the submission service section of your topic page. This link becomes available when the call opens. Fill in all the required information and submit the proposal before the call deadline.

Call launch: 3 April 2025

Call deadline: 18 September 2025 17:00 CET