Scaling AI Safety for a Multi-Agent World

Diversification of nutritional food ingredient sources for increased EU resilience and strategic autonomy is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the implementation of the EU initiative on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing and the EU Life Sciences Strategy as well as the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the upcoming EU Biotechnology Act and EU Circular Economy Act. Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Full industrial scale biorefinery and related value chain(s) for the production of nutritional food ingredients. Resilience and strategic autonomy of EU food sectors via diversification of nutritional food ingredient sources. Increased environmental sustainability of food sectors (e.g. addressing issues like land use, water use, energy consumption, nitrogen cycle, other nutrients, etc.). Improved consumers awareness and acceptance of nutritional food ingredients from alternative sources, contributing to sustainable healthy diets. Scope: Human nutrition is a key area where the bio-based industries can play an important role in addressing the present societal and climate challenges. Considerable attention is given to the utilisation of alternative sources of proteins, fibres and oils/fats, due to the increasing world population and the pressure on finite natural resources. Many sources for food ingredients, alternative to agricultural crops, exist and have been successfully piloted across the EU. However, efforts are needed to scale up sustainable processes to achieve adequate or even improved nutritional properties, ensure safety and consumers/end users acceptance, while achieving cost competitiveness. Proposals under this topic should: Demonstrate (at TRL 8) the efficient production of nutritional ingredients for food applications. Proteins, lipids, specialty carbohydrates, and fibres are in scope. Target at least one of these as the main product driving the business case. Structural or functional ingredients such as colourants, preservatives, stabilisers, texturisers, enzymes are not in scope as the main product. Synergistic co-production of multiple and different food and feed ingredients and other bio-based products is also in scope following the cascading approach. All sources of bio-based feedstock [1] are in scope. Direct production of food from food crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture is not in scope. The use of industrial grade feedstock [2] from agricultural crops is in scope for conversion into food grade ingredients. Validate (at TRL 6 and above) the use of the obtained nutritional food ingredient(s) into the formulation of at least 1 food product proving quality, stability, nutritional and sensorial properties. Additional aspects related to prevention of intolerances/allergies, improved palatability and digestibility, health benefits, etc. are also in scope depending on the ingredient(s), formulation(s) and product(s) developed. Address resource efficiency and circularity aspects to increase economic and socio-environmental added value. When pursuing circular models, ensure that neither pathogens nor contaminants are injected back in the loop, to avoid negative toxicological effects. In addition to the specific requirements applicable for the type of action, as described in section 2.2.3.1 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2026 [3] , proposals under this topic should: Assess the safety of developed nutritional food ingredients, in line with EU regulatory requirements and EFSA guidance documents. Moreover, identify potential EU regulatory gaps and propose recommendations to relevant EU policymakers on how to better support food ingredient companies (including startups and scaleups) in addressing EFSA risk assessment. As part of the multi-actor approach (MAA), involve end-users (including consumers) and other relevant actors starting from the early stages to gather input, raise awareness and ultimately foster market acceptance of the targeted end-products and incorporate insights into product development. Ensure complementarities and avoid overlaps with Programme areas: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, Bio-based Innovation Systems in the EU Bioeconomy, Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Keywords: Agricultural biotechnology and food biotechnology, Agricultural engineering, food safety, Food biotechnology, alternative sources, carbohydrates, circular economy, fibres, food ingredients, food products, food safety, lipids, nutrition, proteins, STEP-Biotech

Boosting biorefinery competitiveness through biotech is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the implementation of the EU initiative on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing, the EU Life Sciences Strategy, the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the EU Biotechnology Act, the Clean Industrial Deal, the European Chemical Industry Action Plan and the upcoming EU Circular Economy Act. Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Full industrial scale biorefinery and related value chain(s) for the sustainable production of bio-based products using biotech as a key enabling technology. Availability of bio-based products meeting market and technical performance requirements as relevant for their respective application areas. Improvement of sustainability, circularity and resource efficiency compared to relevant benchmark(s). Contribution to increasing the EU’s strategic autonomy, resilience and competitiveness. Scope: Biorefineries integrating biotechnologies, underpinned by sustainably sourced bio-based feedstock, have a huge potential to transform the EU manufacturing landscape, spurring socio-economic growth, fostering job creation and contributing to defossilisation of the EU economy. Europe is strong in life sciences including industrial biotechnology. However, research results often struggle to be deployed to the market; in most cases, scale-up needs de-risking and requires overcoming challenges in large-scale process and reactor design, cell productivity, efficient use of feedstock, operative condition stability, reactor sterility and efficient integration of downstream operations among others. Proposals under this topic should: Demonstrate (at TRL 8) a sustainable and robust biomanufacturing route to obtain bio-based product(s). The proposal should focus on processes in which biotechnology is the key enabling technology; the integration of (upstream and/or downstream) supporting unit operations based on technologies other than biotechnology is in scope. Products in scope include chemicals, intermediates, polymers, ingredients and enzymes. Food and feed ingredients as main application are out of scope. Optimisation of selected cells, enzymes and/or microorganisms is also in scope provided that the starting TRL is at least 6. Demonstrate (at TRL 8) the further conversion or use of the obtained biorefinery product(s) into at least one end-product driving the business case; validate it (TRL 6 and above) in relevant market applications. Additional end-product(s) with high prospective market potential can be targeted, reaching at least TRL 6. In addition to the specific requirements applicable for the type of action, as described in section 2.2.3.1 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2026 [1] , proposals under this topic should: As part of the multi-actor approach (MAA), ensure adequate involvement of all key actors in the value chains relevant for this topic and across the sustainable circular bio-based system, including feedstock providers, policymakers and end users. Address compliance with EU regulatory frameworks as relevant for targeted products and applications, identify potential gaps and provide recommendations to overcome them. Perform a risk assessment on impacts, potentially deriving from the use of biotechnology, on human and ecosystem safety and identify adequate mitigation measures. Assess the adequacy of policy and regulatory means to manage these risks and provide recommendations to overcome potential identified bottlenecks. Include a task to apply the SSbD framework, developed by the European Commission, for the assessment of the production process of targeted biorefinery product(s) as well as the chosen derived end product(s). For more information on the SSbD framework and criteria, refer to Safe and sustainable by design . Seek complementarities and avoid overlaps with past and ongoing R&I projects addressing similar challenges, including those funded by BBI JU/CBE JU and under Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe (under Cl Programme areas: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, Bio-based Innovation Systems in the EU Bioeconomy, Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Keywords: Applied and industrial chemistry, Bioprocessing technologies (industrial processes relying on biological agents to drive the process) biocatalysis, fermentation, Industrial bioengineering, Industrial biotechnology, bio-based feedstock, bio-based products, bio-conversion, bioreactors, biorefineries, downstream technologies, safe and sustainable by design, STEP-Biotech

Addressing separation and purification challenges in biorefineries is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the Circular Economy Act, the Clean Industrial Deal, the European Chemical Industry Action Plan and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Enhancing competitiveness, efficiency, sustainability, circularity and safety of industrial biorefineries. Efficient, selective and scalable separation and purification technology platform(s) with high potential to be integrated within existing and/or new biorefineries. Purity and stability of targeted intermediates/product(s) compatible with further conversion requirements. Scope: While significant advancements have been made in recent years in the development of core biorefinery processes, challenges remain in separation and purification steps. Separation and purification, both upstream and downstream of biorefinery processes, play a key role in determining quality and purity of the intermediates and products. They usually account for a significant share of the whole process costs and are often a relevant bottleneck towards full-scale deployment and commercialisation of bio-based products (including intermediates, chemicals, ingredients, materials). It is therefore crucial to develop new technologies to improve separation and purification performances, while at the same time improving resource efficiency and reducing costs. Proposals under this topic should: Develop scalable separation and purification technologies and test the developed innovative solutions on at least 3 use cases from biorefinery processes at industrial or demo scale. Each technology should address at least two of the following: increase efficiency when using available green solvents (including water), or develop novel ones and in both cases minimise the use of harsh solvents; applying process intensification including through reduction of process steps; reducing thermal and/or electric energy and water consumption. Address compatibility of the innovative separation and purification solutions with existing upstream technologies or develop solutions that address simultaneously the upstream and downstream challenges. Test and validate the performance of targeted technologies and their effect on selected bio-based product(s). Both novel (not yet available on the market) and well-established bio-based products are in scope. In addition to the specific requirements applicable for the type of action, as described in section 2.2.3.1 of the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2026 [1] , proposals under this topic should: Include a task to apply the SSbD framework, developed by the European Commission for the assessment of targeted biorefinery products obtained using the developed separation and purification processes. For more information on the SSbD framework and criteria, refer to Safe and sustainable by design . Ensure complementarities with past and ongoing R&I projects addressing similar challenges, including projects funded under Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe (under Cluster 6 and other Clusters of Horizon Europe) and BBI JU/CBE JU projects. [1] https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents Programme areas: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, Bio-based Innovation Systems in the EU Bioeconomy, Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Keywords: Bioprocessing technologies (industrial processes relying on biological agents to drive the process) biocatalysis, fermentation, Industrial biotechnology, bio-based products, biorefineries, downstream, green solvents, purification technologies, resource efficiency, safe and sustainable by design, separation technologies