The topic does not address bio-based chemicals that already have a large-scale, industrial production capacity in Europe.

Proposals under this topic should:

• Demonstrate novel or improved production routes for bio-based platform chemicals, within the scope of CBE and reaching the targeted TRL, encompassing different enabling technologies. Assess and prove technoeconomic feasibility for the proposed bio-based platform chemicals, in comparison to fossil-based and/or bio-based benchmarks, where these exist.
• Apply and/or adapt existing/mature or novel digital technologies, provided that they are instrumental to achieving the project’s outcomes and scope, especially to ensure high standards of resource efficiency and environmental protection. Applications of digital technologies that should be considered in the scope are among the following areas
• Demonstrate scalability of the process towards industrial production and market size/applications for the chemical building blocks (dedicated and/or drop-in chemical structures) produced, including identifying appropriate business models for their market uptake.
• Assess the environmental sustainability performance for the production (and along the full bio-based system) of the bio-based platform chemicals via Life Cycle Assessment or other appropriate methodologies (see more under Additional requirements).
• Provision for the project integrating ‘safe-and-sustainable-by-design’ generic criteria and framework considerations, in line with the EU Chemicals strategy for sustainability.
• Demonstrate the applicability and added-value of the bio-based chemical building blocks compared to the fossil-based ones, while considering the target end uses in bio-based products.
• Develop and propose a strategic roadmap for closing the competitiveness gap between well-established fossil-based routes and the proposed novel or improved bio-based routes.
• Propose recommendations on opportunities/challenges to be addressed to targeted stakeholders, including, where possible, national/regional stakeholders, investors and brand owners.
• Disseminate the outputs and learning outcomes from the project in order to increase the public awareness, and awareness of relevant industry actors, of potential benefits of bio-based solutions.