48 companies team up with the European Commission to set up a public-private partnership and accelerate the deployment of biobased products in Europe.

The European Commission have proposed a €3.8 billion Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Biobased Industries. From 2014 to 2020, the European Commission will invest €1 billion and industry €2.8 billion to boost market uptake of new biobased products that are “made in Europe”.

48 European companies in the biotech, chemical, energy, agro-food and pulp and paper sectors take part of this project, among others Danish company Novozymes. “The Biobased Industries PPP is essential for Europe to remain competitive in the global race for the development of a biobased economy,” says Novozymes CEO Peder Holk Nielsen. “It is an opportunity for reindustrialization and for reversing the investment trend currently going to other regions of the world because of more attractive policy frameworks.”

The partnership will promote the use of various sources of sustainable biomass and waste to produce everyday products such as food, feed, chemicals and fuels. Accordingly, the use of local biomass and waste will generate growth and jobs in rural areas across European regions, while reducing the EU’s reliance on fossil fuels, thereby offering sustainable alternatives to oil-based products and enhancing energy and food security.