HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-CIRCBIO-09-Balancing food security, bioeconomy, climate and biodiversity objectives to unlock sustainable value chains

Our research group offers strong expertise in agricultural biomass production for bioenergy, with a focus on perennial energy crops (miscanthus, switchgrass, giant reed) and sorghum-based systems under Mediterranean and semi-arid conditions. We generate field-based evidence on biomass yields, residue streams and land-use efficiency, supporting sustainable value chains that complement food and feed production.

We can contribute to assessing the role of perennial and annual biomass crops in balancing food security, bioeconomy development, climate mitigation and biodiversity goals, particularly through the use of marginal, low-value or underutilised land and secondary biomass streams. Our work supports the identification of agricultural pathways that enable farmers to diversify income via bioenergy and bio-based value chains without compromising food supply.

We are interested in collaborating on:

• Farm-level and regional assessments of biomass supply potential and trade-offs

• Integration of bioenergy crops into diversified farming systems

• Evaluation of residues and by-products for circular bioeconomy value chains

• Evidence generation to support sustainable business models aligned with EU bioeconomy, climate and biodiversity objectives

We aim to support interdisciplinary consortia by providing agronomic data, sustainability indicators and practical farming-system insights relevant for policy, value-chain design and farmer decision-making.