The Ecologic Institute-led SCALE-UP project played a central role in the European Rural Circular Bioeconomy Conference (EuRCBC), held on 13 and 14 May 2025, at Comet Louise in Brussels. As a member of the Rural Bioeconomy Alliance, SCALE-UP – together with five other EU-funded projects – brought together stakeholders from local communities, policymaking, industry, and rural regions to explore concrete pathways for accelerating Europe's rural bioeconomy. Representatives from Ecologic Institute – Holger Gerdes, Zoritza Kiresiewa and Gerardo Anzaldúa – delivered insightful presentations and contributed to dynamic panel discussions.

Shaping the Future of EU Bioeconomy Strategy 

The conference served as a crucial platform for high-level policy dialogue. Keynote speakers Michael Losch (DG Agriculture & Rural Development, European Commission) and Marco Rupp (Bio-based Industries Consortium) emphasized the vital role of region-anchored projects like SCALE-UP in informing the forthcoming update of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy. Tomasz Calikowski (DG Research & Innovation, European Commission) further detailed the "Pathway towards the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy," outlining expected priorities, closer integration with biotechnology, and the anticipated publication of the revised strategy by the end of 2025.

In this forward-looking context, the SCALE-UP team actively contributed to a joint policy brief on ‘Bridging Gaps and Addressing Challenges in the Rural Bioeconomy,’ translating project learnings into actionable policy recommendations.

SCALE-UP Highlights

The SCALE-UP team presented its key achievements and insights through various engaging formats:

• Project Perspective: Holger Gerdes, SCALE-UP Coordinator from Ecologic Institute, delivered a compelling "fire-pitch," outlining the project's mission to empower regional actors across its six diverse focal regions: Northern Sweden, Mazovia (Poland), the French Atlantic Arc, Upper Austria, Strumica (North Macedonia), and Andalusia (Spain). Zoritza Kiresiewa, also from Ecologic Institute, participated in a dynamic panel discussion, exploring how SCALE-UP and other projects employ complementary approaches to enhance the EU's bioeconomy.
• Inspiring Change through Success Stories: Gerardo Anzaldúa from Ecologic Institute shared insights from SCALE-UP’s work, highlighting real-world applications and policy needs identified through the project’s innovation support programme, which has engaged with innovators like Copano (straw-based insulation) and Bioliza (olive waste pyrolysis).
• Evidence-based Policy Recommendations: Holger Gerdes presented policy recommendations on the enhanced integration of primary producers and more effective biomass mobilisation in regional bio-based value chains, derived from lessons in SCALE-UP and its three 'sister projects': RuralBioUP, BioRural, and MainstreamBIO. Subsequently, he joined a panel discussion, moderated by Gerardo Anzaldúa from Ecologic Institute, on 'Bridging Gaps and Addressing Challenges in the Rural Bioeconomy'.

Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange at the Core

The spirit of collaboration and knowledge-exchange was palpable throughout the EuRCBC. Roundtables, interactive corridor conversations, and live tool demonstrations armed participants with critical data, new contacts, and actionable playbooks to implement Green Deal-compliant bio-based value chains in their respective regions.

A unique highlight was a live-scribe artist who captured the conference's intellectual flow in real time, creating a sweeping "river of ideas." This visual narrative artfully threaded together the six projects, the innovative training and information toolkits, and key takeaways from the diverse panel discussions, serving as a living agenda and a vibrant shared memory that continually sparked new dialogue among delegates.