Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Bart Walcarius, Head of Technology Integration at Biotalys, on what it really takes to scale protein-based crop protection 

Biotalys is developing biodegradable, protein-based biocontrols as an alternative to conventional chemical pesticides. The twist? Their technology is built on unique single-chain antibodies derived from camels and llamas, engineered into highly specific proteins that target crop pests and diseases with precision.

We talk about:

• Why cost of goods is everything in agriculture
• Competing with ultra-cheap chemical pesticides
• Building high-performing production strains via precision fermentation
• Scaling from lab to pilot with Biobase Europe
• The importance of early manufacturing partnerships
• Why regulatory approval can make or break the timeline

A major milestone: the US EPA has issued a proposed registration decision to approve their first biofungicide, EVOCA, a huge step toward entering the US market, potentially by 2028.

But as Bart makes clear, scaling bio-based innovation in agriculture isn’t fast. It’s months and years of strain development, process optimization, regulatory work, and building trust with manufacturing partners.

The key lesson? Start partnerships early. Build the right multidisciplinary team. And be patient, because real scale takes time.

If you’re working at the intersection of biotech and agriculture, this will give you valuable insights on what it means to move from platform to product to field.

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy. 

Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Yvette Go, Investor at EIT Food, on what it really takes to finance and scale bio-based and food innovation in Europe.

EIT Food, an initiative backed by the European Commission, supports agrifood innovation across the entire journey, from idea (TRL 1) to seed funding and beyond. Yvette sits right at the investment stage, bridging the gap between accelerator tickets and Series A capital.

We dive into:

• What investors actually look for in bio-based startups
• Why market validation matters even at early stage
• The importance of supply chain positioning from day one
• Founder stamina and surrounding yourself with the right people
• What “scalability” really means (and what it doesn’t)

We also unpack the food tech funding rollercoaster:
After the 2021 peak, global food tech investment dropped by 70% (50% in Europe). The hype reset the market and pushed out generalists. What remains is a more specialized, hopefully wiser investor landscape.

From agritech timelines to lab-grown food regulation, this conversation tackles the big question: how do we feed 10 billion people with finite resources?

One thing is clear: this isn’t a short-term trend. It’s a long-term systems shift.

If you’re building in food, ag, or bio-based innovation, this episode gives you the investor’s lens on what survives the reset.

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy. 

Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Martin Tangney, Founder & President of Celtic Renewables, one of Europe’s most established bio-based scale-up stories.

Celtic Renewables takes biological residues from the Scottish whisky industry and turns them into high-value, low-carbon chemicals like acetone and butanol, the essential building blocks used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food production, and everyday products.

Less than 10% of what leaves a distillery becomes whisky. The rest? Untapped carbon.
Celtic’s mission is simple: defossilize the chemical industry by squeezing more value out of what already exists above ground.

In this episode, Martin shares:

• How a university research project became a commercial biorefinery
• Why the biggest leap in scaling is from lab to pilot
• The role of Biobase Europe in scaling 1,000x
• Why surrounding yourself with complementary skills is everything
• The hard truths about funding, risk, and “everyone wants to be first to be second”
• Why founders need resilience, but also balance

One of the strongest takeaways:
Don’t build a pier. Build a bridge. Get to the promised land, even if it’s not perfect.

This is a candid conversation about scaling industrial biotech, reframing “waste” as resource, and why change is the real driver of the bioeconomy.

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant. 

Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Kristof Verbeeck, Business Development at ArcelorMittal Belgium, on what it actually means for heavy industry to bet on bio-manufacturing.

ArcelorMittal Ghent is a 5-million-ton steel plant and the largest industrial CO₂ emitter in Belgium. Eight years ago, they decided to do something radical: build Europe’s first large-scale gas fermentation plant inside a steel mill, turning waste carbon monoxide and hydrogen into ethanol. Meet Steelanol. 

On paper, it made perfect sense:

• Higher-value product instead of flaring gases
• Avoided CO₂ emissions under the EU ETS system
• A potential cornerstone in the company’s decarbonization roadmap

In reality? Scaling first-of-a-kind industrial biotech inside heavy industry is complex, technically and politically.

We talk about:

• Why the EU ETS was central to the business case
• How changing regulation reshaped market access
• The challenge of certification under the Renewable Energy Directive
• What it takes to commission 550m³ fermenters at industrial scale
• Why innovation speed and regulatory speed are often misaligned

The plant is built. It runs. Ethanol has been produced. But technical scale-up and regulatory frameworks still need to align for the model to fully deliver.

Kristof shares candid insights into corporate risk-taking, regulatory uncertainty, and what startups should know before approaching heavy industry: validate your technology, understand corporate roadmaps, and don’t oversell.

This episode is a real-world look at what happens when decarbonization moves from strategy slides into steel and concrete.

This miniseries is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy. 

Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Line Kloster Pedersen, Founder & CEO of Visibuilt, and one of the boldest ideas we’ve seen on the bio-based stage this year. 

Visibuilt is developing the world’s first fungal binders for road construction, replacing fossil-based bitumen and highly polluting cement with mycelium, nature’s own underground binding network.

Yes, you read that right.
They’ve already built the world’s first mycelium bicycle parking lot in Denmark.

We talk about:

• Why asphalt and concrete are massive climate problems
• How mycelium can bind rocks at low temperatures
• Cutting fossil dependency and energy use in construction
• Using local agricultural and forestry side streams
• What it really takes to scale biotech into heavy industry

Line shares how a run around the lakes of Copenhagen sparked the idea — and how Visibuilt has since raised €4.7M, built a team of 18, and is now raising a €4.5M seed round to move from manual production to modular scale.

This is bioeconomy in action: science leaving the lab and entering infrastructure.

If more than 60% of the roads in 2050 haven’t been built yet, the question is simple:
Why should they be fossil-based?

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant. 

Recorded live at the Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy event in Brussels, this episode features Rob van der Meij, Partner at Capricorn Partners, on what it really takes to scale bio-based innovation.

The key message? Scaling bio is not like scaling software.

As an investor who has helped grow multiple tech-driven companies, Rob breaks down why process development is the most underestimated factor in bio-based scale-up. In digital, you can iterate fast. In bio-based manufacturing, scale-up is sequential, capital-intensive, and often more art than science.

We dive into:

• Why process data matters more than pitch decks
• Why rushing scale can destroy value
• Why MVP thinking doesn’t work in industrial biotech
• When equity, grants, debt, and government-backed loans make sense
• Why the right investor mix is critical in early phases

In bio-based industries, 90% of the cost is defined in the first 10% of a capital project. Speed matters, but pushing at the wrong moment can cost years.

For founders and investors navigating long R&D cycles, heavy CapEx, and patient capital, this is a grounded conversation about reality versus hype.

If you’re building in the bioeconomy, this episode is a must-listen.

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant. 

Recorded live at Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy in Brussels (24–25 November 2025), this episode features Agata Kotkowska from the European Commission on the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy and what it really means for scaling bio-based innovation in Europe. 

The message is clear: Europe has the science, the infrastructure, and the know-how. What’s missing? Speed.

With China, the US and India accelerating investments in bio-manufacturing, competitiveness is no longer abstract, it’s urgent. The new strategy focuses on:

• Scaling from lab to deployment
• Building real lead markets (construction, biochemicals, textiles, biorefineries)
• Ensuring sustainable biomass use
• Strengthening Europe’s global position

But this isn’t just about policy papers. It’s about simplifying regulation, aligning investors and innovators, and treating the bioeconomy as a serious growth engine, not a side topic.

If Europe wants to lead, business as usual won’t cut it.

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant. 

Recorded live at Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy in Brussels, this episode features Nicolo Giacomuzzi-Moore, Executive Director of CBE JU, on Europe’s competitiveness in scaling bio-based innovation from lab to market 

Ten years ago, the bioeconomy was niche. Today, it’s backed by EU strategies, public-private partnerships, and large-scale demonstration funding. Europe has successfully helped companies overcome the first valley of death, moving from research to first industrial plants.

But the real challenge remains: commercial scale.

We unpack how Europe compares to the US and China, why access to capital is the missing link, and how regulatory clarity, standards, public procurement, and the European Investment Bank could unlock the next phase of growth.

There’s no silver bullet.
The key is alignment, between policy, finance, and market demand.

If you’re building, investing, or shaping policy in the bio-based economy, this conversation is for you.

This episode is powered by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant. 

In this episode of the BioCircular Loop podcast, host Melina Gerdts discusses the advancements in the European circular bioeconomy, focusing on cellular agriculture and lab-grown leather. She interviews Michael Newton, CEO of Qorium, a Dutch startup pioneering lab-grown leather production. They explore the differences between European and American entrepreneurship ecosystems, the innovative processes behind lab-grown leather, and the sustainability and ethical implications of this technology. In this conversation, Michael Newton discusses the challenges and innovations within the leather industry, particularly focusing on sustainability and efficiency. He shares insights on scaling operations at Qorium, the cultural differences between the US and Europe in startup ecosystems, and offers advice for European founders. The discussion also highlights the significant environmental impact of Qorium's leather alternatives compared to traditional methods.

Useful links

• Qorium
• Dutch Startup Qorium Bags $25M to bring Lab-Grown Leather to Market
• Entrepreneurship ecosystem theory 
• Pitch Perfect Bioeconomy in Brussels

In this episode of the bioCircular Loop podcast, host Melina Gerdts recaps the 2025 edition of the International Forum for Industrial Biotechnology (IFIB) with Mario Bonacorso, the organizer and Director of the Italian SPRING cluster. They explore the topics discussed, highlighting the importance of circular bioeconomy in addressing global challenges such as climate change, waste management, and geopolitical dependence. The conversation emphasizes the need for collaboration, innovation, and effective communication to promote the bioeconomy as a viable solution for a sustainable future. This conversation delves into the pressing need for action in the bioeconomy sector, highlighting the importance of coherent regulatory frameworks, investment opportunities, and the role of clusters in fostering innovation. The speakers discuss the competitive landscape of Europe in the global bioeconomy, the challenges posed by overregulation, and the emerging trends that are shaping the future of sustainable practices across various industries. Personal insights into the evolution of the bioeconomy and the cultural shifts necessary for its growth are also shared.

Useful links

• IFIB 2026
• il bioeconomista - keep up to date with bioeconomy news
• SPRING - Italian cluster for circular bioeconomy
• European Biosolutions Coalition
• EU Bioeconomy Strategy 2025