The Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA), translates industry’s Vision into a set of actions designed to deliver tangible and increasingly ambitious results first by 2020 and then by 2030.
The SIRA, sets out the main technological and innovation challenges to developing sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe. It reflects the industry’s Vision of a competitive, innovative and sustainable Europe leading the transition towards a circular bioeconomy which decouples economic growth from resource depletion and environmental impact.
Once agreed with the European Commission, the SIRA identifies research, demonstration and deployment activities to be carried out by the Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) on bio-based industries i.e. the Bio-based Industries Joint-Undertaking (BBI JU).
The first SIRA was adopted in 2013. It reflected the separate ambitions of BIC’s ‘founding fathers’ which were mainly driven by a ‘feedstock push’ at the time.
The update of the SIRA in 2017 removed these prescribed value chains and adopted a multi-value chain approach bringing in the market via a ‘demand pull’ perspective to align with the quality and availability of feedstock. This updated SIRA continues to serve as the basis for the BBI JU under Horizon 2020 with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for 2020 – 2024.
BIC members and associations that support the Vision “The circular bio-society in 2050” are currently in the process of updating the SIRA. The main changes will be the introduction of end markets (consumers, society at large) into the priorities, a better incorporation of primary sectors in the design of value chains, the increasing role and impact of digitalisation, and the circularity of bio-based value chains. The new SIRA, SIRA 2030, will be the roadmap of the Vision 2050, but with specific milestones and KPIs for 2030.
The SIRA 2030 will also reflect recent policy updates, including the updated Bioeconomy Strategy, the Single-use Plastics Directive, etc., and aims at contributing to key SDGs with a particular focus on tackling climate change and enhancing biodiversity.
The finalised version of the SIRA 2030 will be the basis for a new public-private partnership with the European Commission under Horizon Europe, the EU’s next framework programme for research and development.
