On 10 December 2015, EOS attended the EIP Conference organised in Brussels and aiming at presenting the 2016 call for proposal under the European Research program HORIZON 2020.

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020).One of the section of HORIZON 2020 is so called “Societal Challenge: this will cover activities from research to market with a new focus on innovation-related activities, such as piloting, demonstration, test-beds, and support for public procurement and market uptake. It will include establishing links with the activities of the European Innovation Partnerships.

During the meeting four call for proposals of interest for the wood working industries were presented, specifically:

• BB-01-2016: Sustainability schemes for the bio-based economy;
• BB-02-2017: Towards a method for the collection of statistical data on bio-based industries and bio-based products;
• BB-03-2017: Adaptive tree breeding strategies and tools for forest production systems resilient to climate change and natural disturbances;
• BB-04-2016: Intelligent solutions and tools in forest production systems, fostering a sustainable supply of quality wood for the growing bioeconomy.

These call for proposals reflect the intention of the EU Commission of creating a “new industrialisation era based on the bio-based industries”.  According to the EU Commission bio-based products will provide new markets to biomass producers, strengthening also rural economies and generating high-skilled jobs.

Summary of the call for proposals:

Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016 – 2017 Societal Challenge 2. Chapter 9. Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy.

• Call – Bio-based innovation for sustainable goods and services – Supporting the development of a European Bioeconomy.
• Securing sustainable biomass supply for bio-based goods and services.

BB-01-2016: Sustainability schemes for the bio-based economy

Scope: The proposals will develop sustainability schemes for bio-based products building on (1) existing schemes for biomass and bioenergy, including biofuels, (2) the work of (CEN-TC411) on standards for ‘Bio-based Products – Sustainability Criteria’ and ‘Bio-based Products – Life Cycle Assessment' which should incorporate end of life, (3) previous work on bio-based products LCA methods for bio-based products. Aspects that could be considered include: building-in economic and social factors; thresholds for different sustainability criteria/indicators; certification schemes and use of standards; life cycle assessment of bio-based products; (eco)labelling; aspects of the circular economy, resource efficiency and the principle of cascade use considering existing criteria for bioenergy product sustainability; the development of ILUC factors for bio-based products taking into account existing approaches to ILUC for bioenergy. The applicability and efficiency of the proposed sustainability schemes and criteria/indicators in the current regulatory framework; the balance between costs and complexity of the sustainability assessment; and the market pull the specific proposed measures will represent, should be presented as credible cases in the proposal. In this context applicants may decide to focus making the case for specific segment/groups of bio-based products, which should be of course justified.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

BB-02-2017: Towards a method for the collection of statistical data on bio-based industries and bio-based products

Scope: Proposals shall develop and implement a method for the collection of data on bio-based products, taking into consideration the incorporation of the data in the European statistical infrastructure (Eurostat), building on and contributing to on-going activities on exemplary bio-based products (Bio-based Succinic Acid & 1,4-Butandiol, lubricants). The following aspects will represent the framework for developing the proposals: (1) links with current CEN standardisation work on bio-based products; (2) training support or technical inputs to official customs and competent laboratory staff in Member States and to relevant activities within the existing programmes such as Customs 2020 and European Union Customs Competency Framework (EU Customs CFW); (3) definition of the minimum bio-based carbon and/or bio-based content for some bio-based product groups (except bio-based lubricants); (4) data compatibility with European and international databases (e.g. FAOSTAT, PSD, etc.). Data generated should be fed into economic models, existing or newly developed, enabling the description of the development of the bioeconomy, its interaction with the rest of the economy, and its economic, environmental and social impact. Consortia s should include a balanced combination of expertise on bio-based products, statistical reporting from Member States and modelling. Proposals should build upon the existing work of completed and on-going projects, including the current activities of the Bioeconomy Observatory, RRM-Group as well as the Commission study on Biomass Supply and Demand.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 6 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

BB-03-2017: Adaptive tree breeding strategies and tools for forest production systems resilient to climate change and natural disturbances

Scope: Proposals should aim to develop novel tree breeding strategies and tools aimed at sustained yields (wood and non-wood products), while addressing resilience to climate change and natural disturbances (including pests and disease outbreaks), and considering biodiversity-related aspects. Proposals will aim to identify/develop genotypes with appropriate adaptation profiles for possible extension/change of tree species range, both vertically and horizontally, including those genotypes with potential for use on marginal land. Coniferous and broadleaved species that are of specific importance for forestry and ecosystem services EU-wide should be targeted. Compliance with biosafety and other relevant legislation (e.g. biodiversity and invasive alien species) should be taken into account. Complementarity with previous (FP7/LIFE) projects and COST actions should also be considered.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 6 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

BB-04-2016: Intelligent solutions and tools in forest production systems, fostering a sustainable supply of quality wood for the growing bioeconomy.

• Call for proposal on “Sustainable supply of quality wood for the growth of forestry enterprises in the bioeconomy and the creation of new jobs in SMEs.”

Scope: To add value to wood production and enable close-to-market outputs, proposals should aim to develop a series of cutting edge technologies in relation to forestry measures starting from seedling/replanting, through to harvesting. Activities should aim directly at producing plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. For this purpose they may include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication. SMEs active in the forest-based sector are specifically encouraged to participate in consortia.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 2 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.