Biotech Act II

What is Biotech Act II

Biotech Act II  has the objective to enhance the EU’s industrial competitiveness in the area of industrial biotechnology and biomanufacturing. It will aim to:

  • Create lead markets by introducing market-pull measures to create demand, such as setting mandatory minimum content requirements for carbon from bio-based feedstock (biomass, waste), captured emissions (CCU) and/or from biomanufacturing for end and/or intermediate products. The Impact Assessment will also explore a potential “Made in Europe” requirement. The priority lead market identified is chemicals, with additional sectors under consideration including plastics and polymers, fibres, fabrics and textiles, construction products, fertilisers and plant protection products. The way these measures would work in parallel with existing sectoral or product legislation is unclear, with the Commission expected to take this into account during the preparation of the Impact Assessment.
  • Increase predictability for investment by establishing a transparent timeline for market-pull measures, with the objective of strengthening investor confidence in long-term defossilisation projects.
  • Develop sustainability criteria for biomass used by industry.
  • Simplify procedures by addressing permitting and authorisation timelines, as well as other bottlenecks slowing market uptake.
  • Introduce non-legislative cross-cutting support measures, including actions aimed at strengthening networks and facilitating access to funding.

Why is it important?

The Biotech Act II is a significant step to accelerate the uptake of sustainable and bio-based solutions across EU industry. In setting bio based content targets, however, it is essential to account for the specific role that adhesives and sealants play in the EU industrial value chain, as intermediate products.

It is also important to stress that in order to enhance innovation, an enabling framework for all sustainable crops is necessary. Should market-driven measures on bio-based content be pursued, they should be grounded in flexibility and technological neutrality.

Commission is expected to integrate recommendations of the Critical Chemicals Alliance (CCA) into Biotech Act II.

What are we asking for?

FEICA welcomes the Commissions initiative on Biotech Act II to enhance EUs industrial competitiveness and unlock innovation.

We highlight that adhesives are primarily intermediate products, serving as functional components in the manufacturing of a wide range of downstream products.

We call for:

  • Clear and technology-neutral definitions across EU legislation that recognise all renewable carbon sources—recycled, biomass and CO₂ based—as eligible options to meet feedstock sustainability targets across relevant sustainability legislation.
  • Recognition of (bio)mass balance approaches within Biotech Act II, with definitions that cover both bio-based and bio-mass derived feedstocks.
  • A coherent EU legislative framework combining demand side instruments and financial measures that, on the one side, accelerate commercialization, foster innovation, and ensure competitiveness of European industries, and on the other side, support both CapEx and OpEx low-carbon and sustainable investments across value chains and compensate for the higher costs of early-stage technologies.
  • Ensuring consistency with existing legislation, including -indicatively- PPWR, ESPR, REACH, and CLP, to avoid layering additional or conflicting regulatory requirements.
  • Evidence-based integration of Critical Chemicals Alliance recommendations, ensuring full coherence with existing legislative frameworks and avoiding additional regulatory layering.

 

Related documents and information: