The Bioeconomy: the EU report and the prospects for a sector worth 2,700 billion euros

Italia also stands out in terms of innovation. It ranks third in terms of the number of patents held in sectors linked to the bioeconomy (280 in 2020), behind Germany (595) and France (372) but ahead of the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Spain.

The regional impact maps confirm the sector’s strategic role in the national economy. The indicator relating to the workforce employed in the bioeconomy’s manufacturing sector highlights the presence of large clusters with a very high impact in northern and central Italia, in line with similar concentrations in northern and eastern Germany and in France. As for the chemical sector – which experts consider to be the one with the highest value added per employee but also the most capital-intensive – Italia ranks among the countries with large clusters of regions with very high potential impact, alongside Spain and France.

Even when considering the composite indicator of regional innovation linked to the bioeconomy – which combines sectoral employment with the Regional Innovation Index – much of Italia, together with a cross-border corridor linking northern Italy to Slovenia, northern Croatia, eastern Austria and south-western Germany, is classified as having very high potential impact.

The report also cites an Italian industrial example of conversion: plants formerly dedicated to the processing of sugar beet, in Italia and Eastern Europe, have been transformed into biofuel production sites, demonstrating how existing industrial infrastructure can be reoriented towards new bio-based supply chains without losing jobs or accumulated skills. The conversion of disused or transitioning industrial sites could become one of the keys to accelerating the development of the bioeconomy, particularly in regions with a manufacturing tradition that are facing restructuring.

The report does not merely highlight the strengths. The decisive factor is not how much biomass a region possesses, but who controls the downstream stages of the supply chain. Regions that remain mere suppliers of raw materials risk capturing only a tiny fraction of the value generated, whilst the bulk of that value is concentrated where processing and marketing take place.

Hence the recommendation to focus on local supply chain platforms, regional biorefineries and reverse logistics mechanisms that enable added value to be retained before the biomass leaves its region of origin. Italia is characterised by significant regional differences; the European strategy can only become an opportunity for development in rural and inland areas if farmers, forestry businesses, cooperatives and other primary producers are involved in value creation and decision-making processes.

A second key issue concerns governance itself; administrative capacity and coordination between levels of government will determine which regions will actually benefit from the strategy. Eleven Member States already have a strategy dedicated to the bioeconomy, but the geography of governance reveals a still marked divide between Western and Northern Europe – where national strategies are more often well-established – and Eastern Europe, where several countries are still in the process of developing them. Italia already has a national strategy, alongside France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia and Latvia.

The challenge will also hinge on skills. There will be a need for technicians, researchers, bioprocess specialists, laboratory analysts, quality control experts and professionals capable of managing complex industrial systems. The report emphasises the importance of technical training, apprenticeships and on-the-job learning. For Italia, this means strengthening the links between universities, technical colleges (ITS), vocational training, businesses and local communities. The bioeconomy can create new jobs, but only if the education and training system is able to anticipate the skills required by industrial transformation.

The environmental aspect also requires attention. The bioeconomy can reduce dependence on fossil resources and strengthen the circular economy, but the benefits are not automatic. Growing demand for biomass may increase pressure on soil, water, forests and biodiversity. There is a clear need to apply sustainability criteria, monitor biomass flows and adhere to the principle of cascading use: resources should be allocated to uses capable of generating the greatest value and the best environmental outcome, ensuring that energy use does not conflict with food, materials and other industrial applications. For Italia, this issue is particularly sensitive. The diversity of ecosystems and the pressure on land and water resources call for rigorous planning. The growth of the bioeconomy must be accompanied by more robust monitoring systems, more accurate spatial data and greater integration between agricultural, industrial, energy, environmental and cohesion policies.