Shared Island Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative announced for Ireland

In Ireland, the governments of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland announced the opening of a new funding initiative to support the development of the all-island bioeconomy. The ‘Shared Island Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative’ will pilot and demonstrate the bioeconomy in action across the island of Ireland, as a key objective of the Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025.

The bioeconomy encompasses sectors that conserve, use, process, distribute or consume biological resources from land and sea including agriculture, horticulture, forestry, food processing, construction, packaging, chemicals and organic waste sectors and land and marine ecosystems.

The Shared Island Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative will advance sustainable opportunities on an all-island basis from biomass produced from both land and marine areas through the development of innovative, higher added value biobased products and solutions, with clear climate and environmental benefits.

The new funding call is enabled by an allocation of €7 million from the Irish Government’s Shared Island Initiative, with co-funding of €1.5 million from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, and £0.5 million from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland. As cross border collaboration is a key requirement for applicants under this funding opportunity, InterTrade Ireland are supporting both Departments to aid applicants with their partner search through offering an online partnering platform and supporting the hosting of in-person networking events.