Circular Bioeconomy: strategic convergence between the circular economy and the bioeconomy
Fernando Gómez es Technical Manager – EU Projects en Euro-Funding desde 2020, con experiencia coordinando propuestas europeas de I+D+i. Especialista en financiación europea, ha actuado como Technical Manager en programas como Horizon Europe, MSCA, ERC, EIC, LIFE, CBE, Eurostars, Clean Hydrogen, CEF o Innovation Fund, entre otros, y ha coordinado proyectos como REALIZE y ATM-EXCITE. Con más de 17 años de experiencia, ha desempeñado funciones de R&D Project Manager en entidades de referencia como HM Hospitales, IMDEA y CIB-CSIC, además de contar con una sólida experiencia previa en bioenergía y energías renovables. Es evaluador experto para la Comisión Europea (H2020 y Horizon Europe) y para EUREKA, así como mentor certificado de startups por la Fundación Madri+d y asesor acreditado por ACCIÓ en los ámbitos de bioenergía y economía circular. Es licenciado en Biología Molecular y cuenta con másteres en Energías Renovables y Economía Circular, además de formación especializada en gestión de proyectos de I+D+i.
Over the past decade, attention to both the circular economy and the bioeconomy has increased significantly. So much so that, in recent years, a concept has emerged that combines the most important aspects of both realities: the circular economy. To better understand the links between the two, it is essential to understand the roots of the concepts from the perspective of European Union policies .
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Circular Economy
The EC unveiled its first circular economy action plan in 2015. This package included a series of amendments to existing legislation on waste treatment and recycling, and a communication entitled «Closing the Cycle – An EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy».. In this document, the circular economy was defined as an economy in which the value of products, materials and resources is retained for as long as possible and where waste generation is minimized. In the circular economy concept, the linear production model (take, make, use and dispose) is replaced by a circular model in which waste remains in the system cycle for as long as possible. The circular economy seeks to increase the proportion of renewable or recyclable resources and reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy while protecting the environment by minimizing emissions and secondary flows. In 2020, the EC adopted a new circular economy action plan as one of the main pillars of the European Green Pact. The new action plan takes into account the entire life cycle of products. The plan focuses on the sectors that use the most resources and where the potential for circularity is greatest: electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and buildings, food, water and nutrients.
Bioeconomy: innovation and natural resources
In February 2012, the European Commission (EC) launched a communication entitled «Innovating for sustainable growth: a bioeconomy for Europe«. This strategy provided a first framework to stimulate the development of knowledge, research and innovation in this field. The document defines the bioeconomy as the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, bioproducts and bioenergy. According to the updated Bioeconomy Strategy that was published in 2018, the bioeconomy covers all sectors and systems that rely on biological resources (animals, plants, microorganisms and derived biomass, including organic waste), their functions and principles.
The bioeconomy encompasses and links: terrestrial and marine ecosystems and the services they provide; all primary production sectors that use and produce biological resources (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture); and all economic and industrial sectors that use biological resources and processes to produce food, feed, bioproducts, energy and services (except biomedicine and health biotechnology).
A 2020 publication by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center that takes into account the premises of this updated strategy estimated that the size of the EU-28 bioeconomy in 2015 reached €1.46 trillion in value added, which is 11 % of GDP. This data can help us to grasp the importance that the sector already has and the road it still has to travel.
The birth of the circular bioeconomy
The circular bioeconomy occupies the intersection of two concepts that, as we have seen, have been worked on almost in parallel over the past decade. The two policy agendas have overlapping objectives and areas of intervention. It makes sense to create synergies to merge models and strategies, but it has to be done in a coherent and careful way to ensure that resources are used more productively and efficiently.
Paul Stegmann et al. (2020) have proposed the following definition based on elements highlighted in previous literature: the circular bioeconomy focuses on the sustainable and efficient valorization of biomass through integrated, multi-product production chains (e.g., biorefineries) while making use of waste and optimizing the value of biomass over time through cascades.
The use of biomass as a resource is the key intersection between the bioeconomy and the circular economy. Concerns about the disruption of food chains and other sustainability issues have led to a shift towards the use of biomass categorized as co-products, by-products and residues (e.g., forest thinning residues or the organic fraction of municipal solid waste). The use of waste biomass streams as feedstock for the generation of bioproducts can lead to a drastic reduction of waste on a global scale. And, it has clear overlaps with the circular economy modelThe aim is to: mitigate dependence on virgin materials, keep materials in the system longer, close loops and increase resource productivity. At the same time, the aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the use of renewable raw materials instead of fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil and gas). OECD, 2018). Another important aspect is that the circular economy tends to focus on urban and industrial processes, while the bioeconomy focuses on innovation based on biological resources in a predominantly rural context. The circular bioeconomy concept merges these two trends and links urban and rural communities ( Lauri Hetemäki et al., 2017.).
Funding programs for the circular bioeconomy in the EU
- «Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking«. CBE JU is the universal successor to the former «Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking» (BBI JU) and will put €2 billion at stake to deploy the potential of the circular bioeconomy in Europe over the coming years.
- «LIFE – Circular Economy and Quality of Life Subprogram«. This subprogram supports projects that provide innovative solutions for value-added materials, components or recycled products and value chains set out in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.
- «Horizon Europe – Cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment)». Cluster 6 funds projects that contribute to better management of natural resources through transformative changes in the economy and society in both urban and rural areas.
- PERTE Circular Economy. The future lines of aid associated with this PERTE, with a budget of 492 million €, aim to reduce the generation of waste, promote treatment plants for its recovery and reuse and digitize the entire waste management cycle. This line of aid contemplates two types of actions:
- On key sectors to improve global indicators: textiles, plastics and renewable energy capital goods.
- Transversal actions for the rest of the economic sectors.
- Aid for the implementation of waste regulations. Following the agreement of the Environment Sectorial Conference of April 2021, the Autonomous Communities are launching calls for aid in which actions for separate waste collection and construction of facilities for the treatment of bio-waste and preparation for reuse and recycling of other types of waste are contemplated.
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