The S3 partnership announces an evolution of its identity with the renaming of Ingredients for a Circular Economy to Ingredients for the Bioeconomy – I4BE. This change reflects the increasing strategic relevance of the bioeconomy within the European Union, as well as the expanded scope and ambition of the partnership.
The bioeconomy is becoming a central pillar of Europe’s transition towards a sustainable, resilient and competitive economic model. Recent European policy and strategic frameworks highlight the importance of bio-based resources in addressing key challenges related to sustainability, industrial transformation, innovation and strategic autonomy. In this context, ingredients derived from biological resources play a fundamental role across multiple value chains.
The agri-food sector is a cornerstone of the European bioeconomy, providing approximately 70% of the raw materials used within bio-based value chains in the EU. It therefore represents a key lever for innovation, value creation and regional and interregional development, while supporting the transition towards more sustainable production and food systems.
Through this name change, the S3 partnership broadens its scope to address all critical dimensions related to ingredients for the bioeconomy, innovation, including research and development, industrial scale-up and deployment, sustainability and market uptake. The partnership’s objectives and activities are fully aligned with European Union policies and long-term strategies, ensuring coherence between regional smart specialisation priorities and EU-level ambitions.
This evolution is underpinned by a structured strategic process. The partnership has jointly developed a strategic implementation plan, which has now entered into force. This plan defines shared priorities and actions for the coming years and has provided the strategic foundation for the adoption of a name that more accurately reflects the partnership’s mission and scope.
The Ingredients for the Bioeconomy (I4BE) partnership brings together a broad consortium of regional innovation actors across Europe. The partnership is chaired by Flanders’ FOOD, representing the Flanders region in Belgium, with Clust-ER Agroalimentare from Emilia-Romagna, Italy, acting as Vice-Chair. The established office of partnership is ensured by Wagralim, based in Wallonia, Belgium.
Today, I4BE counts 15 partners, from which 11 regional clusters, 2 RTOs and 2 regional authorities in 15 regions, 8 countries and 26 NUTS 2 regions Theyall contribute to the development and strengthening of European bioeconomy value chains and represent more than 3000 direct SME members.
The partners of the I4BE metacluster originate from Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Poland, representing regions including Wallonia and Flanders in Belgium, Brittany and Pays de la Loire–Normandy in France, Galicia and Navarra in Spain, Emilia-Romagna in Italy, Central Macedonia in Greece, Gelderland in the Netherlands, Central Lithuania, and the Mazowieckie region in Poland.
With its renewed identity, Ingredients for the Bioeconomy reaffirms the S3 partnership’s commitment to fostering interregional cooperation, supporting innovation and contributing to the implementation of European bioeconomy objectives through concrete regional and industrial action.
