FAQs

The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) is a non-profit organisation originally set up in 2013 to represent the private sector in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the European Commission, focused on strengthening the bio-based industries sector in Europe. BIC’s Industry Members cover the whole value chain, from primary production to market. 

Members represent diverse sectors, such as agriculture and agri-food, aquaculture and marine, chemicals and materials (including bioplastics), forestry, pulp and paper and technology providers and waste management and treatment. BIC's Associate Members include research organisations, academia and trade associations. 

Read the history of our evolution

BIC’s diverse membership covers agriculture, food & feed, aquatic and marine, chemicals and materials, technology providers, forestry and pulp & paper, waste management, brand owners, consultancies and academia. If your company or organisation operates in any of these fields, find out more about the benefits of BIC membership.

BIC’s vision is to make Europe’s innovative, sustainable and competitive bio-based industry the leader of a circular bio society in Europe by 2050. Its mission is to grow Europe’s circular bioeconomy through investment, innovation and shared know-how across the value chain.

BIC is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, at 4th Floor, Square de Meeûs 38/40, 1000 Brussels. The Brussels location places BIC at the heart of EU policymaking, close to the European Commission and other key European institutions.

The bioeconomy is the part of the economy that uses renewable biological resources, from land and sea, to produce food, feed, bio-based products, energy and services. In Europe, it is a strategic pillar of climate, industrial and rural development policy, and a route to reduced dependence on fossil resources.

A bio-based product is wholly or partly derived from renewable biological materials such as plants, algae, wood, agricultural by-products, food waste or organic side-streams. Examples include bioplastics, bio-based chemicals, biofuels, bio-textiles and bio-based construction materials.

The circular bioeconomy combines biological resources with circular economy principles: keeping materials in use for as long as possible, designing out waste, regenerating natural systems and cascading the use of biomass through multiple value-added products before recovery or composting.

Bio-based industries help replace fossil-based materials and chemicals with renewable alternatives, reducing greenhouse gas emissions across multiple sectors. They also support carbon farming, rural value creation, and the transition to a climate-neutral economy aligned with the European Green Deal.

Biotechnology refers to the use of biological systems, organisms or derivatives to make products or processes, often at the molecular or cellular level. The bioeconomy is the broader economic system that uses renewable biological resources, of which biotechnology is one enabler. Many bio-based industries combine biotechnology, chemistry, agronomy and engineering.

Biomanufacturing uses living systems such as microorganisms, enzymes and cell cultures to produce goods at industrial scale, including chemicals, materials, food ingredients and pharmaceuticals. BIC has identified barriers to increased biomanufacturing in Europe and identified some possible solutions.

BIC has two main membership categories. Industry Members are for-profit companies active across the bio-based value chain, including SMEs in BIC member regional clusters. BIC Industry Members include businesses of all sizes ranging from large, multinational companies to SMEs and micro-enterprises. See BIC’s Industry Members. 

Associate Members are typically not-for-profit organisations such as research institutes, universities, trade associations, technology platforms, regional clusters and consultancies. See BIC’s Associate Members.

The main categories are: 

• Industry/Full Membership: for for-profit companies along the bio-based value chain 
• Industry/Project Membership: a temporary free status for companies joining a CBE JU project proposal 
• Associate Membership: for not-for-profit organisations, academia, research institutes and trade associations 
• Associate Member Category D: for consultants and consulting companies, treated as for-profit for IKOP purposes

BIC industry membership is open to industrial and commercial companies, or any other kind of legal entity representing industrial and commercial companies, which are active in the field of bio-based industries. You can also be a company that is active in Europe through either research, innovation or demonstration along the value chain and actively involved in building businesses and business cases to contribute to a more competitive, efficient and sustainable Europe. 

Apply for BIC membership.

BIC associate membership is open to legal entities that have an interest in BIC’s activities, but are not bio-based industries per se. Associate Member categories are: Individual research organisations: organisations such as RTOs and universities, who, as their predominant activity, provide research and development, technology and innovation services to enterprises, governments and other clients; national and regional clusters, and national or regional associations, representing research organisations; European Technology Platforms; European industry trade associations; NGOs; consultants and consultancies; and other organisations (e.g. financing institutes) which have been recognised by the BIC General Assembly as contributing to the objectives of BIC. 

Apply for BIC membership.

BIC project membership is a temporary free status for companies joining a consortium for a CBE JU project proposal. Companies that have joined a project consortium, and that are not already BIC members, but wish to contribute with “in-kind contribution” as per the CBE rules, can apply for BIC Project Membership. 

This temporary type of Project Membership only exists for Industry Members and Associate Members Category D (consultants and consulting companies), which are for-profit entities and have a 60% funding rate in CBE JU IA and IA-Flagship projects. 

Companies that became a Project Member before the closing date of the CBE JU call for proposals, and for whom the project proposal is successful (in case of a positive evaluation) must become a BIC Industry Member. 

In case of a negative evaluation of the project proposal (no grant received), Project Members can choose to become a BIC Full member anyway. If not, project membership is automatically terminated.

Annual BIC membership fees apply per calendar year and are automatically renewed. 

Large companies (known as Category 1) pay €30,000 per year. 

SMEs (known as Category 2) pay €5,000 per year. SMEs are enterprises that employ less than 250 persons and have either an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. 

Micro-enterprise (known as Category 3) pay €1,500 per year. Micro-enterprises are enterprises that employ fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2 million. 

SME clusters (known as Category 4) pay €5,000 per year. 

Apply for BIC membership.

Annual BIC membership fees apply per calendar year. 

Individual (non-for-profit) research organisations (known as Category A) pay €1,000 per year. 

Clusters or associations representing research organisations (known as Category B) pay €1,000 per year. 

European industry trade associations, NGOs, and other organisations (known as Category C) pay €1,000 per year. 

Consultants and consultancies (known as Category D) pay €5,000 per year. 

Apply for BIC membership.

BIC outlines ten core membership benefits, including:

• Access to finance via annual SME pitching and EU funding support
• Access to the BIC Members Area and regional funding platform
• A direct route to bringing innovation to market via input into CBE JU Annual Work Programmes
• A head start in winning CBE funding through early access to call information
• A voice in shaping EU policy on the bioeconomy
• Networking and matchmaking at members-only events and through the BIC online platform
• Improved access to wider European funding instruments
• Discounted entry to major bioeconomy events through BIC partnerships
• Information and education, including the BISC-E student innovation competition
• Promotion of members’ business through BIC communications and platforms

Once an applicant submits a complete application and a signed Commitment Form, membership is confirmed the same day. Apply for BIC membership. For CBE JU calls, applicants should plan to complete all steps, including issuing a BIC membership certificate, before the call closing date. Read more information on BIC membership relating to CBE JU calls.

The BIC Members Area is a private online platform connecting all BIC members. It hosts project and partnering information, internal communications, the regional funding platform, and access to BIC’s working groups. Membership fee invoices can be found on the BIC Members Area, and are accessible for the Primary and Secondary Invoicing contact.

BIC’s activities help members to access the funding and financing to scale up from lab to production (through public and private sources); go further with innovation (with networking, matchmaking and market intelligence); and achieving a favourable policy framework supporting the development of the bio-based industries (through policy engagement and advocacy work).

BISC-E is BIC’s pan-European student competition that challenges university teams to develop innovative bio-based product ideas. National rounds feed into a European final, giving students exposure to industry experts, BIC members and the European bio-based ecosystem. Learn more about the BISC-E competition.

The Regional Funding Platform is an exclusive members-only database of regional, national and European funding opportunities available to bio-based companies, complementing EU-level instruments and CBE JU calls.

BIC hosts a members-only in-person annual matchmaking event, an in-person event exclusively for BIC Industry Members, periodic networking sessions, two SME pitching events per year, members-only webinars on a variety of relevant topics, and joint events with CBE JU and partner organisations. Details of public-facing events are on the Events page.

Yes. BIC produces publications on policy, market intelligence and the bio-based industries. You can find our publications and Annual Report in the Knowledge Hub of the BIC website.

Yes. BIC reports and publications are publicly available on the Knowledge Hub and may be cited following normal academic referencing standards. For specific permissions, such as redistribution or translation, contact BIC directly.

Yes. BIC submits responses to relevant EU public consultations, impact assessments and calls for evidence on behalf of its members, ensuring that the bio-based industry perspective informs decisions on industrial, environmental, climate, agricultural and research policy.

As a founding member, BIC works through EUBA to mainstream the bioeconomy across EU policy. EUBA brings together cross-sector industry voices to advocate for a coherent EU framework on innovation, sustainability, finance and competitiveness in the bioeconomy.

BIC’s EU Transparency Register number is 904473529568-43. This registration formalises BIC’s engagement with EU institutions in line with EU transparency rules.