Bio-based products offer numerous benefits for the economy, society and the environment. They drive innovation to address some of the pressing challenges of our society – including climate mitigation and adaptation and transitioning to a more circular and resilient economy and green industry. Bio-based products enhance the EU’s open strategic autonomy and resilience by reducing dependency on fossil-based resources like crude oil, natural gas, and coal.
What are bio-based products?
Bio-based products are wholly or partly derived from materials of biological origin (such as plants, animals, enzymes, and microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and yeast). From products we use every day to cutting-edge innovations, bio-based products are revolutionising industries and paving the way for a more sustainable economy.
Examples
- chemicals: bio-based chemicals are used in various industries, such as cosmetics, paints, lubricants and adhesives. For example, they can be based on lignin (a type of natural polymer found in the cell of terrestrial plants, from 20% to 30% of a tree composition) and serve as phenolic resins for wood products, dispersant and surface-active agent for paints and coatings, or thermoplastic material for composites.
- enzymes: in industrial processes, enzymes are used to produce chemical building blocks, detergents, pulp and paper, textiles and other products. By using fermentation and bio-catalysis instead of traditional chemical synthesis, higher process efficiency can be obtained. This decreases energy and water consumption and reduces toxic waste. As they are derived from renewable raw materials such as plants, bio-based products can help reduce CO2 and offer other advantages such as lower toxicity or novel product characteristics (e.g. biodegradable plastic materials).
- construction or packaging materials: insulation material used in construction can be made from agricultural waste and fungi. Microbial cells and enzymes can be used to produce bio-based plastics (biodegradable or not) in packaging, agriculture, and other industries as well as recycle such bio-based polymers. The glamour of biology knows no limits: Eucalyptus cellulose can even be used to produce bio-based and biodegradable glitter.
- textiles: in recent years, new bio-based polymers produced from wood or algae, or fermented agricultural and food residues, have been used in new sustainable textile fibre production.
- batteries: some companies are developing batteries made from wood (refined lignin) with a scalable model for commercial production.
- biocontrol agents: alternative solutions to chemical pesticides in agriculture are provided by biocontrol agents based on fungi, which increase natural plant defences to protect crops.
- detergents: laundry detergents containing enzymes allow washing clothes at lower temperatures, therefore reducing energy consumption and costs for consumers.
- inks: inks based on plants, algae or vegetables, such as soy, rice, corn or linseeds can be non-toxic alternatives to fossil-based inks which are easier to recycle.
More information
- The EU Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative summarises the current challenges and barriers for biotechnology and biomanufacturing, and proposes actions to address them.
The EU Bioeconomy Strategy and Action Plan aims to develop and deploy sustainable and circular bio-based solutions, which are essential for modernising this industry and making it more competitive. This strategy includes key actions to strengthen and scale-up the bio-based sectors and unlock investments and markets. For example
- promoting the uptake of bio-based products
- facilitating the setting-up of new sustainable biorefineries
- analysing enablers and bottlenecks in deploying bio-based innovations
- The Net-Zero Industry Act aims to scale up the manufacturing of clean technologies in the EU, including biotech climate and energy solutions.