The European Commission is preparing a new bioeconomy act to implement its bioeconomy strategy published last year. The aim is to bridge several delivery gaps, creating regulatory sandboxes, fast-track authorisations and market-pull measures to scale up biomanufacturing and secure sustainable biomass supply.

The strategy is meant to fit within wider goals for strategic autonomy, feedstock availability, and competitiveness by reducing Europe’s dependence on imports.

One company in the bioeconomy is Lenzing Group, which produces regenerated cellulose fibres for the textile and nonwoven industries. Euractiv asked the group’s CEO, Georg Kasperkovitz and its executive vice president for commercial nonwovens, Patricia A. Sargeant, how bio-based products can fit into the EU’s wider goals and what they hope to see from the new act.

EV: The bioeconomy has been a major focus in Brussels for some time, with extensive discussion on how to stimulate the market for bio-based products. Lenzing has an interesting story of how a change in UK policy stimulated the market for wet wipes produced from cellulosic fibres. What are the benefits of these, and how did the change in UK policy impact the market for such products?

Patricia A. Sargeant: The recent UK ban on plastic fibres in wet wipes demonstrates that environmental ambitions and circular economy goals can be achieved without disruption. By aligning a clear policy with pre-existing industrial solutions, the UK enabled a rapid and smooth transition to cellulosic alternatives.

Pure cellulosic fibres are commercially available, fully bio-based, biodegradable and produced at industrial scale without compromising performance, comfort or safety. The UK transition confirmed this in practice.

Manufacturers adapted quickly, supply chains remained stable, and consumers experienced no loss in quality.

Today, ahead of the mid-2027 implementation of a new UK law banning the sale of plastic-containing wet wipes, the market has already adapted, with nearly all wet wipes sold now being 100% cellulosic. This demonstrates that fast transitions are achievable without disruption when viable alternatives exist and policy direction is clear. The transition succeeded because the solution had already been proven.

Biodegradable cellulosic wipes match the performance of conventional products and break down under real-world conditions in soil, freshwater and marine environments, making them a credible response to microplastic pollution. As the last producer of cellulosic fibres at industrial scale in Europe, Lenzing supplied the bio-based alternatives that made this transition viable and stands ready to support the same outcome across the EU.

EV: Security and competitiveness are also a big focus in Brussels at the moment. How can the bioeconomy contribute to improving Europe’s situation for both?

Georg Kasperkovitz: The EU Bioeconomy Strategy provides a clear direction to reduce Europe’s fossil dependency. It aims to scale up circular, bio-based materials and strengthen the resilience of Europe’s bioeconomy. To date, much of the polyester used in conventional wipes is produced outside Europe, mainly in Asia.

Reducing reliance on imported, fossil-based synthetic inputs and transitioning to bio-based products is therefore as much an environmental issue as it is a question of Europe’s industrial resilience, economic security and strategic autonomy.

Today, bio-based products and new technologies are still more expensive than their fossil-based equivalents. As with any industrial transition, early technologies cost more, but with scale and learning, costs come down.

European bio-based materials are produced under high environmental and social standards but continue to compete with low-cost fossil-based non-EU imports produced under different standards.

This creates an uneven playing field and puts EU innovation at a disadvantage. EU policy must continue supporting Europe’s innovative economy by setting clear rules and market conditions that enable scale, investment certainty and fair competition. When all players compete under the same rules, competition drives performance.

EV: Last November, the European Commission published the EU Bioeconomy Strategy. Now they are preparing the Biotech Act 2.0 to implement that strategy’s goals through laws. What are you hoping to see from that proposal?

Patricia A. Sargeant: Lenzing welcomes the Commission’s intention to develop lead markets for industrial biotechnology, bio-manufacturing and bio-based materials through the Biotech Act 2.0. However, the central challenge is systemic.

Bio-manufacturing is an interconnected industrial system in which biomass supply, processing inputs, energy, downstream demand and end-of-life infrastructure must all function together. The Biotech Act 2.0 must therefore be designed not only as a technology initiative but as an industrial system-building instrument.

Voluntary demand signals will not be sufficient. Fossil-based materials remain cheaper because their full climate, pollution and end-of-life costs are not reflected in market prices. Binding measures are required, including minimum bio-based content requirements, green public procurement obligations and targeted restrictions on fossil-based materials where market-ready alternatives exist. Existing legislation, including ESPR, SUPD and PPWR, already provides the tools to create this demand and must be applied strategically and without delay.

EV: How can existing EU laws be better utilised to be aligned with the EU’s bioeconomy goals?

Patricia A. Sargeant: Policy coherence is essential. Harmonised definitions across laws are the foundation of strongly aligned policy. EU policymakers must establish clear, science-based definitions for biodegradability and material claims. This will avoid confusion, strengthen credibility and create clarity for B2B transactions and consumer purchasing decisions.

Combined with supportive measures such as incentives for sustainable materials, infrastructure investment and Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, these definitions will create a solid foundation for scaling solutions that benefit the market, the environment and society. Public procurement and coherent product rules are good examples of instruments that create visible demand, reduce investor uncertainty and send a clear market signal for the transition.

EV: Looking ahead, in five years, what will need to have happened, both in terms of legislative and market developments, to make the bioeconomy a success?

Georg Kasperkovitz: The EU is searching for European industrial champions capable of competing globally. Those champions already exist in the bioeconomy. Companies like Lenzing are a present reality and a strategic asset, reducing Europe’s dependency on imported fossil inputs, driving innovation and contributing directly to the EU’s climate objectives.

Yet the clock is ticking. These companies face immense pressure from unfair competition, legacy industry interests and a shifting geopolitical landscape. Major Asian economies are investing heavily in their own bioeconomy sectors while Europe hesitates.

It is difficult to understand why the proven model of substituting plastics with cellulosic fibres in wet wipes, already implemented in the UK, has not been swiftly adopted at EU level. Concrete measures are already within reach.

Existing provisions in the PPWR, ESPR and SUPD provide a ready-made legislative foundation that simply needs to be applied with ambition and urgency.

In five years, we hope to see more European circular economy champions like Lenzing, not fewer, competing confidently at the global scale. This requires a coherent legal framework addressing systemic barriers rather than creating additional burdens for the very producers Europe needs to thrive.

[BM]