European Projects
About the APROVALS Project
In September 2024, EuropaBio joined the European APROVALS - Accelerating PROteins innoVAtors beyond regulatory Sandboxes - Project, a 30-month project supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Program.
APROVALS aims to facilitate the deployment and integration of emerging technologies in the field of cellular agriculture, including cell cultivation and precision fermentation, by implementing a testing environment that supports innovators throughout the product development process.
To achieve this, APROVALS will develop 3 Hubs: A Virtual Sandbox that will serve as a digital platform to allow testing and exchanging of information on the new technologies, a Policy Hub that will enable engagement with policymakers to align regulations with innovation, and a Network or Expert Hub that will provide a collaborative space for stakeholders within the value-chains to share knowledge and resources.
APROVALS is a consortium led by eight partners from seven countries, and includes Genopole, Campania Bioscience, EuropaBio - The European Association for Bioindustries, Irish Bioeconomy Foundation, Planet B.io, Smile Incubator, Vitagora, VTT.
For all enquiries, please contact our Biomanufacturing Platform & EU Projects Coordinator, Francisco Castro Alves: f.alves@europabio.org
The project goals are:
- To provide a supportive environment for testing and refining new technologies while mitigating risks associated with innovation and market entry.
- To reduce time-to-market for innovative products and to increase the likelihood of commercial success for new technologies.
- To foster collaboration among innovators, experts, and regulators and ensure regulatory frameworks are adaptive and supportive of innovation.
- To get consumers engaged in dialogue about novel food products while building trust and familiarity with alternative protein sources.
APROVALS aims to advance the deployment of cellular agricultural products through design of a coherent and effective sandbox environment. In addition to the project partners, the project will involve 10 use-cases and 20 external experts to develop and tailor the sandbox process over 15 months. Furthermore, it will establish a network of 50 organisations and experts to be mobilised throughout the project, as it strongly relies on stakeholder engagement and exchange. Lastly, it is estimated to impact 80 innovative ecosystems and produce two toolbox reports to provide guidance to the sandbox process and its implementation.
EuropaBio has as main role in the project to start and coordinate the engagement with all relevant stakeholders within the Network / Expert and Policy Hubs. The promotion of a regular and effective flow of information is essential to ensure the advancement of sandbox process and the creation of results. EuropaBio is the leader of Work Package 8: Setting the Hubs - Policy and Expert Network.
