It’s been talked about for the last fifteen years or so, but what exactly do we mean by ‘bioeconomy’? What are the main drivers and new perspectives?
The bioeconomy refers to the production and transformation of biomass, i.e. organic resources, for the agri-food and chemical industries (bio-based compounds and products as an alternative to petrochemical products), and in energy production (biogas and biofuels derived from by-products or waste). These bio-based resources (plant-based, animal-based, fungi, micro-organisms) can be collected or grown then transformed, or its components of interest extracted.
Europe on the other hand defines the bioeconomy as using renewable biological resources from land and sea to produce food, materials and energy.
Here we will be focusing on bio-based compounds and products, and biotechnologies, i.e. applications related to chemicals and materials.
A decade of breakthroughs
In 2013, the French General Commission for Sustainable Development (CGDD) identified the development of bio-based materials and green chemistry as two of the green economy’s 19 strategic sectors for growth and employment potential. France then adopted the Green Chemicals and Biofuels Roadmap (2014), one of the provisions of the 2015 TECV Act (the French “Law on Energy Transition for Green Growth”) also encouraging the use of bio-sourced materials in the construction or renovation of buildings.
In early 2017, the country went one step further by putting forward a Bioeconomy strategy, supported by a 2018-2020 action plan. It then adopted a “Bio-Based Products and Industrial Biotechnologies – Sustainable Fuels” acceleration strategy (December 2021) to “ensure their development, in order to contribute to the country’s sovereignty and achieve environmental objectives”. This strategy was accompanied by several calls for projects.
In early 2022, the IAR (Industries and Agro-Resources) competitiveness cluster became Bioeconomy for Change (B4C), which aims to catalyse bio-based innovation and industrialisation at regional level. Covering five specific areas (Bio-resources; Food & Feed; Bio-based Molecules and Related Processes; Bio-based Materials; Bioenergies), B4C aims to make France a leader in biomass utilisation.
Bio-based products and biotechnologies: two key elements of the bioeconomy
Bio-based products are non-food industrial products obtained from raw materials derived from biomass, thus also renewable(1). They are manufactured through established chemical processes or industrial biotechnologies (see below).
A 2016 report from the DGEC (Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat – the French Directorate General for Energy and Climate) identified 314 bio-based finished products in a wide range of sectors, including: construction materials; cleaning and sanitary products; vehicle parts and maintenance products; office supplies and printing equipment; green space maintenance; packaging/plastic bags and disposable cutlery; cosmetics and medical products. Major developments have since taken place, with ongoing R&D efforts producing ever more organically-derived compounds for increasingly wide-ranging applications, including intermediate products.
A European standard for bio-based products
A standard was established in October 2014 to define the vocabulary related to bio-based products*. This standard (NF EN 16575) defines a bio-based product as being “wholly or partly derived from biomass”. It does not, however, indicate a minimum content. In other words, a product can be defined as bio-based when as little as 1% of its materials are bio-sourced. For this reason, the “Produit biosourcé” (Bio-based Product) accreditation was launched in 2017 by French building industry co-operative KARIBATI to distinguish bio-based materials containing a significant proportion of biomass by certifying their bio-based content (through minimum integration thresholds for each product group: insulation, concrete, etc.). KARIBATI then introduced the “Produit Biosourcé +” (Bio-based Product +) accreditation in 2021, to certify products having bio-based content greater than 80%.
*NB: The standard does not apply to food products, whether for human or animal consumption, or energy applications.
Why bio-based doesn’t always mean sustainable
As alternatives to petroleum-based products, bio-based products are helping to decarbonise the economy and to limit, or even eliminate, the toxicity of some products. That said, a guidance piece on bio-based products published by the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) in February 2025 points out that “being bio-based does not necessarily confer added environmental value”. The Agency identified four main points of concern. The first focuses on supply, and advises maintaining a balance between biomass production and the maintenance of ecosystem services such as food, biodiversity, carbon capture, water purification, etc. Their second point concerns manufacturing and encourages the systematic optimisation of transformation processes (for example, resource cascading to make use of all co- and by-products), as well as the development of equipment able to adapt to different biomass qualities. The third point – aimed at usage – involves prioritising uses where a switch to bio-based products would be most beneficial, whilst also considering usage priorities – in particular by prioritising long-life products. Finally the fourth point, concerning communication, recommends providing concrete and verifiable information on the amount of bio-based content in a product.
In addition to this, the ADEME considers the use of biomass in a product as “potentially a means for reducing its impact, but such reductions must be objectively assessed through an environmental evaluation associated with an eco-design approach”. It also points out that the impact of a product’s end-of-life phase should not be overlooked. Recycling of a composite material containing a vegetable-based element can however be more complicated than for a single-material product. This means the product’s impact does not simply transfer at the end of its life. Ultimately, the ADEME maintains that the development of bio-based products must first be part of an effective approach to truly replacing fossil materials, without simply increasing their volume through new production, or generating rebound effects.
The Biotechnology boom
Biotechnologies refer to a group of technologies that use living organisms or their parts to create and improve products in various fields (pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, agricultural). They are for a large part based on fermentation (the modification of sugars using microbes, fungi or bacteria). Others use an enzyme catalysis, probiotics or amino acids.
In these different fields France is well placed in terms of research and innovation, with a number of players specialising in the transformation of biomass into high added value products. Among them are Afyren (fermentation technology based on a circular model for acid production for food, flavours and fragrances, materials, etc.), Carbiolice (enzymatic solutions to make 100% biodegradable and recyclable biosourced plastics (PLA), Fermentalg (active ingredients and solutions derived from micro-algae for nutrition, health and the environment), Metabolic Explorer (producing fermentation ingredients such as: amino acids for animal feed, other products for cosmetics or biopolymers), Ecoat (alkyd resin for paints) and soon to include Mycrophyt (ingredients derived from micro-algae), Futtero (wheat starch-based PLA) or Global Bioénergies (biosourced isobutane for cosmetics). Also worth mentioning are Eranova (resins and composites derived from beached green algae), who, like Afyren, have benefited from the France 2030 Première Usine scheme.
Bio-based chemicals, a sector working to defossilise chemistry
Playing a major role in bioeconomy, bio-based chemicals refers to the industrial activities involving producing and developing materials and products using plant-based raw materials as an alternative to, or alongside, fossil raw materials*. Nearly 70 industry players** are members of the Association Chimie du Végétal (ACDV), the French bio-based chemicals association, which was founded in 2007. They account for €10 billion a year of sales, and the sector is seeing annual growth of 5%.
* This is then different from green chemistry, a concept conceived in 1998 to make chemicals safer and more sustainable (for example, fewer hazardous substances used, fewer reagents used, fewer by-products or waste produced, introducing renewable raw materials, and, where possible, eliminating auxiliary products such as solvents).
**Formulators, chemists, industrial biotechnology companies, agri-businesses, competitiveness hubs, etc.
Fresh European backing for innovative biotech companies
In a nutshell, bioeconomy describes the creation of value from living natural resources. Beyond the traditional bioeconomy based on agriculture, fishing, aquaculture and forestry, and the bioeconomy for energy production (biofuels or biogas), the highly innovative biotechnology-based bioeconomy has a bright future ahead.
Recognising the rapid growth of biotechnology and its potential to revolutionise health, agriculture, human and animal nutrition and industry, the European Commission in late January launched a specific Biotech and Biomanufacturing hub(2) to help businesses, especially start-ups and SMEs, to market their innovative products in Europe and increase their competitiveness. The platform will also help companies to identify the support available to them (sources of funding, research infrastructures, etc.).
1) Some also include geosourced products, i.e. products derived from mineral resources such as stone or earth.
