BiOrbic has launched a second industry collaboration call seeking to drive research and innovation in Ireland's bioeconomy.

Ireland’s National Bioeconomy Research Centre brings together expertise from 12 Irish universities and research organisations.

The centre aims to create a national platform for collaboration across the bioeconomy.

Research

BiOrbic is now inviting expressions of interest from researchers and businesses to co-develop innovative bioeconomy solutions across Ireland’s agri-food, forestry, marine and biotechnology sectors.

Building on the first call in August 2025, this round will seek to address key industry challenges by facilitating applied research partnerships between businesses and academic researchers.

BioOrbic said that eligible projects should align with Ireland's bioeconomy ambitions and the centre's research priorities, including:

Sustainable forestry and forest-based bioresources;
Sustainable crop production and resilient agricultural systems;
Bioenergy and renewable biological resources to support the transition to a low-carbon bioeconomy;
Creating sustainable chemicals, materials, and manufacturing processes using renewable biological feedstocks;
Strengthening awareness, knowledge exchange, and public participation to support the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy.
Applying methods such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and other systems-based approaches to evaluate the environmental, economic, and social impacts of bio-based innovations.

The new collaboration call will open on August 17 and close on September 30, 2026.

Seán Douglas, business development manager at BiOrbic, said: "The initial collaboration call attracted projects spanning wastewater treatment, biodiversity loss, agricultural emissions reduction, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to bioeconomy challenges.

"By bringing together industry expertise and academic excellence, BiOrbic is helping to facilitate practical, commercially relevant solutions that support Ireland's transition to a sustainable bioeconomy".