The EicCircularBioplastics Portfolio currently has four active Working Groups. Each Working Group is centred on different areas and comprises representatives of the six participant projects of the Portfolio.
In order to build and generate new nature-inspired alternatives for food packaging and films for agriculture optimising resources and working collaboratively, the EicCircularBioplastics Portfolio has set up four Working Groups with strategic objectives that envision to channel challenges and solutions in a manner that all participant projects can benefit from each other and turn technical blockers into enablers together.
The established working groups are:
Working Group 1 – Technical synergies.
This Working Group coordinates cross-project collaboration to develop a new generation of nature-inspired materials and technologies that can replace fossil-based food packaging and agricultural films with locally sourced, fully biodegradable and sustainable alternatives. It brings together expertise in biotechnology, advanced biopolymer chemistry, AI-assisted polymer discovery, smart functionalities, waste-to-materials biorefineries, and circular design principles.
The main objectives of Working Group 1 are to map interdisciplinary technology collaborations across the portfolio, to identify synergies between complementary technological pathways, to explore innovation collaboratively and to generate a realistic strategic working plan based on promising technologies.
Working Group 2 – Regulation and Certification.
This Working Group will continuously assess the regulatory gaps for the research areas covered by the participant projects as well as possible barriers in the plastic supply chains. It will explore the common areas between the Food-contact Legislation and the Biocidal Products Regulation for the bio-based packaging innovations generated in the Portfolio.
The main objectives of Working Group 2 are to ensure alignment of scientific outputs and developments with policy needs, to foster interaction between researchers and decision-makers and to propose strategies for science-to-policy translations to overcome regulatory barriers
Working Group 3 – Business Model.
This Working Group aligns market understanding, exploitation strategies, and industrial engagement across the six participant projects. Operating at a strategic level, it will support the translation of research innovations into scalable, market-ready solutions by identifying shared value chains, addressing regulatory and scale-up challenges, and strengthening connections with industry and investors.
The main objectives of Working Group 3 are to strengthen market orientation and develop an evidence-based understanding of market needs, to map and connect key actors across the value chain, to enable coherent exploitation pathways via realistic market routes and to upgrade interactions among portfolio projects seeking higher impact actions that can accelerate industrial engagement
Working Group 4 – Communication and Dissemination.
This Working Group is responsible for the visibility of the Portfolio research, targeting to reach impact, disseminating Portfolio results, organising events and generating a visual identity for the Portfolio.
The main objectives of Working Group 4 are to develop and implement a joint communication and dissemination strategy involving all Portfolio participants, to generate a coherent and recognisable Portfolio identity and communication materials such as newsletters and brochures and to provide support to other working groups and partners to amplify their results across communication channels and social media.
Although they will work collaboratively within a common framework, each Working Group will establish their own dynamics, key activities and will target a specific audience.