The Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport has issued a public invitation for companies to express their interest in participating in an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the field of biotechnology (IPCEI Biotech) and to submit an initial project proposal.
The initiative aims to support the development of breakthrough biotechnological solutions while strengthening the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of European value chains.
IPCEI Biotech covers three areas:
- bio-based chemicals;
- bio-based materials;
- bio-based food and feed ingredients.
The three proposed IPCEIs in biotechnology are intended to support highly innovative projects that can contribute to establishing and developing competitive, sustainable and resilient biotechnology value chains in Europe.
Depending on the outcome of national selection procedures, participating Member States may decide to combine two or all three proposals into one or more IPCEIs in the field of biotechnology.
The common objective of the three proposals is to support projects covering research and first industrial deployment. The IPCEI proposals are aimed at highly innovative projects that seek to enable the wider application of innovative technologies and develop significantly improved processes or products that have not yet been deployed on an industrial scale but have the potential to become part of strategic European value chains.
Project requirements
Projects submitted under IPCEI Biotech should contribute to one or more of the following objectives:
- developing innovative biotechnological processes through to their first industrial application;
- developing production processes with a high level of research and innovation;
- creating or strengthening European value chains in bio-based chemicals, bio-based materials, or bio-based food and feed ingredients;
- reducing dependence on fossil fuels, imported raw materials and non-European supply chains;
- improving circularity through the use of biomass, side streams, waste streams, recycled raw materials, biogenic CO₂ and other renewable carbon sources;
- enabling cross-border cooperation with projects participating directly in the same IPCEI;
- generating and disseminating benefits and knowledge spillovers beyond the boundaries of individual companies, projects, Member States, markets or sectors.
The public call for expressions of interest and project proposals will remain open until the IPCEI Biotech integration process is completed. However, companies are encouraged to express their interest and submit their project proposals by 15 September 2026. This will allow their projects to be considered from the beginning of the IPCEI Biotech integration process.
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