BioBoost – Catalysing Investment into Catalan Bioeconomy via One-Stop-Shop Accelerator
Updated on 26.02.2026
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
Ciites involved
Mostly, but not only: Barcelona, Lleida, Girona, Tarragona
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).
CCRI relevant material
BioBoost has produced and shared several outputs relevant to CCRI, including:
- Reports on bioeconomy potential, sectoral analysis and regulatory barriers;
- Methodological documents on project development and stakeholder engagement
- Case studies (“Bioboosters”) illustrating real bioeconomy projects and lessons learned (factsheet and video);
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.
- The criteria for being declared these projects as strategic project business should be made more flexible
- More regulatory sandboxes should be established.
- Establishing one-stop shops with cross-cutting expertise.
- Develop territorial urban planning criteria or guidelines that facilitate the implementation of bioeconomy projects.
Financial schemes
In Bioboost we use and recommend risk-sharing instruments, financial tools designed to lower private capital exposure and enhance the risk–return profile of bioeconomy projects. These instruments operate in several ways:
- Public guarantees (capped or uncapped) allow public institutions to cover part of potential losses, increasing investor confidence.
- Blended finance combines grants with private capital, absorbing first losses and making high-risk investments more attractive.
- Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are legal entities that isolate risk and enable co-investment in complex projects. Hence, funding is typically provided through equity from project developers, infrastructure funds, industrial groups, and/or public bodies, often supplemented with debt financing.
- Output-based financing links funding to environmental results, such as carbon credits, creating new revenue streams (e.g. the sale of future CO2-capture credits in the produced biochar)
- Co-investment platforms enable public and private actors to share capital, governance, and decision-making.
The Bioboost project has tested these financing instruments in one of our biobooster. In Alcarràs, a SPV was established to structure a biomass valorization project with clear governance, ensuring transparency and accountability. The project also explored output-based financing linked to carbon credits, allowing environmental impacts to be monetized and creating new revenue streams. Additionally, blended finance solutions were proposed for rural cooperatives that have high potential but limited capacity to absorb financial risk, helping to unlock investment in innovative local initiatives.
BIOBOOST will also create synergies and complementarities with other financial schemes for circular economy projects. Several initiatives are under development to facilitate greater investment from the private sector, based around 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 guidance to improve corporate disclosure of climate-related information, the Equator Principles (EPs) which is a risk management framework adopted by financial institutions, the Private Finance for Energy Efficiency (PF4EE) which is an instrument developed by a joint agreement between the European Investment Bank and the European Commission, and the Green Economy Financing Facilities (GEEF) which operates through a network of more than 140 local financial institutions across 26 countries supported by more than €4Bn
Environmental outcomes of circular economy solutions
Bioboost contributes to environmental outcomes by accelerating bioeconomy projects that promote more efficient and circular use of biological resources. Projects supported through the Accelerator are designed to reduce reliance on virgin resource extraction by valorising local biomass, organic residues and by-products within circular value chains.
By supporting projects that replace fossil-based or linear solutions, Bioboost contributes to climate change mitigation and pollution reduction, while encouraging practices that improve ecosystem health. In addition, the projects supported aim to reduce harmful waste generation through reuse, recovery and higher-value material and energy pathways. Together, these contributions support a more resilient and sustainable regional bioeconomy.
Social outcomes of circular economy solutions
Bioboost contributes to positive social outcomes by supporting bioeconomy projects that are embedded in their local territories and involve a wide range of stakeholders. Through the Accelerator, projects are designed and structured to create local value, strengthen regional supply chains and increase employment opportunities linked to bio-based activities.
The projects supported address environmental challenges such as pollution reduction and climate mitigation, while also generating social co-benefits, including improved environmental quality, increased awareness of circular bioeconomy solutions and stronger engagement of local actors. By supporting projects closer to implementation, BioBoost contributes to job creation across activities such as operations, logistics, maintenance and monitoring, particularly in rural and semi-industrial areas.
Economic outcomes of circular economy solutions
The key focus of the project is on accelerating investment in regional bioeconomy projects, therefore economic impacts of the project, measured in terms of investment made, is the key metric used to measure project success (30M€ in signed projects by the end of the project
With the creation of the regional bioeconomy, there will also be new value chains. These value chains will incorporate more stakeholders from the local areas who may not otherwise have an opportunity to participate in larger economic opportunities. This will then drive and provide an increased support for local economies and increase the overall investment in the area.
Through the opening of PDA facilities and an economic transition into the bioeconomy, including an increase in investments, there will also be an uptake in available jobs. Monitoring, distribution, storage, and other tasks in the sector will require jobs to be filled. This increase in available job placements and size of the workforce will have a direct and positive affect on the local economy where the Accelerator operates.
Additional information
Main project stakeholders
Industry, public administration, financial institutions
Participants
- Símbiosy
- RocaJunyent
- Aeris Tecnologías Ambientales
