EU Just Transition Fund Open Call (OPENING SOON):
Contact EMRA
Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly
3rd Floor North, Ballymun Civic Centre
Main Street, Ballymun
Dublin 9, D09 C8P5
Ireland
+353 (0) 1 8074482
Call will open soon!
Stay tuned for official call start and end dates and for final call specifications.
Visit the DAFM page for more details and Draft Call Specification Document
A second funding call for proposals will soon be opened to advance a competitive bioeconomy for a sustainable future in the EU Just Transition territory in Ireland.
Applicants are encouraged to prepare for this opportunity by identifying potential collaborative partners and refining proposal concepts that align with the call’s objectives and call topic areas.
About the call:
The EU Just Transition Fund Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative Call 2 will support the development of bioeconomy piloting and demonstration projects in the wider midlands area.
Proposals are being sought to support the bio-based sector to become climate neutral and sustainable with enhanced circularity, while remaining competitive on the global market.
This can be achieved by replacing non-renewable and fossil based raw materials and mineral resources with sustainably sourced biomass and biobased waste to produce biobased innovation and solutions for use as agricultural inputs, food ingredients, construction materials and biobased chemicals.
The projects will aim to develop the Just Transition Fund Territory in Ireland as an exemplar, in Irelands and Europe’s mission as set out in the EU Green Deal to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent, by increasing the sustainability and circularity of biobased production and consumption systems through the development, demonstration and deployment of biobased innovation and solutions.
Funding will support close collaboration between stakeholders along the entire bio-based value chain, including SMEs, research performing organisations, universities, local authorities, clusters, primary producers, bioprocessing industries, and consumer brands.
This call will have four topic areas:
- Developing biochar products to promote its use in agriculture and industry
- Innovative bio-based food and feed ingredients
- Biobased materials for the construction sector
- Bio-based value chains for valorisation of sustainable crops
Geographical area covered:
EU Just Transition Fund territory. This includes the entire counties of Laois, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath, and municipal districts of Ballinasloe (Co. Galway), Athy and Clane-Maynooth (Co. Kildare), and Carrick-on-Suir and Thurles (Co. Tipperary).
Policy objective:
This call falls under the EU JTF programme Priority 1: Generating Employment for former peat communities by investing in the diversification of the local economy.
The specific operation concerned is Action 1.3: Support research, development and innovation activities to contribute to the development of the green and circular economy.
Co-funded by the Government of Ireland and European Union, the EU Just Transition Fund has a single specific objective, which is to enable regions and people to address the social employment, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and a climate-neutral economy of the Union by 2050, based on the Paris Agreement.
Eligible applicants:
Stakeholders of the bio-based industries ecosystem are invited to apply for funding in a balanced and integrated consortium. This means that all partners must be integral to the project and make a real and substantive contribution to the outcome.
The ‘Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative Call 2’ will follow the format of the 2023 EU Just Transition Fund Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative.
Specific eligibility rules will be shared with the official call announcement (anticipated in late April to early May).
Call start and end dates:
This Call is scheduled to open in late April or early May 2025, with detailed information on call topic areas, eligibility criteria, application procedures, and evaluation criteria to be provided in the Call Specification and Guidelines for Applicants documents.
Information events for prospective applicants will be announced in due course to provide further insights and answer queries.
It is intended that there will be a 12-week application window.
It is envisaged that the awards will be announced in Q4 2025.
Application Process:
To apply, an application form must be completed online using DAFM’s Online Portal. More information will become available with the official call announcement.
Further information:
Applicants are encouraged to prepare for this opportunity by identifying potential collaborative partners and refining proposal concepts that align with the Call’s objectives and call topic areas.
The Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative is being administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and is one of the schemes supported by the EU Just Transition Fund. Co-funded by the Government of Ireland and European Union, the EU Just Transition Fund has a single specific objective, which is to enable regions and people to address the social employment, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and a climate-neutral economy of the Union by 2050, based on the Paris Agreement.
For updates and more information, please visit the DAFM research funding page at gov.ie – Bioeconomy Funding & Finance Options (www.gov.ie).
If you have any questions about the call, you can email: research@agriculture.gov.ie
Visit the DAFM page for more details and Draft Call Specification Document