For whom?
Producers of biomass and bio-based products
The B2BE facilitator is there for innovative entrepreneurs, both producers and industry.
Producers of biomass who are looking for sales channels outside the classic agri-food chain. Think of entrepreneurs in agriculture, horticulture, fishery, aquaculture, food, beverages, etc. who want to do 'something' with innovative crops or who are looking for a high-quality outlet for by-products and residual flows.
SMEs and entrepreneurs from industry who want to make their products or processes more sustainable by replacing fossil raw materials with raw materials from local biomass.
What is bioeconomy?
The process whereby biological residual flows and by-products or biomass are (re)used as alternatives to fossil raw materials in green industry.
Think of pharmaceuticals, additives, plant protection products, soil improvers and growing substrates, cosmetics, paints, plastics, rubber and other technical materials, feeds, etc. that are based on components from harvest residues of vegetables, hail-damaged apples, shrimp peels, cutting residues from the French fry factory, stems of cut flowers, press cake from the juice industry, etc.
So the applications in the bioeconomy are broad and sometimes overlap with other economies, such as the circular economy. Yet it is not the same. In the bioeconomy, one does start from a sustainability idea, but the chain is not by definition circular.
What is NOT bioeconomy?
Applications in food and energy production are NOT included in the definition of bioeconomy within the framework of the Flemish Policy Plan on Bioeconomy.