Sustainability plan for the SCALE-UP multi-actor platform in the French Atlantic Arc

The SCALE-UP project, launched in September 2022, will end on 31 August 2025. Its last platform meeting in France took place on 20 May 2025, gathering stakeholders from SCALE-UP and RuralBioUp projects. The event brought together some forty participants from businesses, research bodies, agriculture, associations and local authorities, who came from the four regions of the French Atlantic Arc (Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Brittany, New Aquitaine) to discover innovative projects and develop their networks (read the article to learn more).

All deliverables and resources from the project are made available, as well as the sustainability plan for its multi-actor platform to continue promoting the development of the bioeconomy and bio-based construction sectors. The future activities and cooperation resulting from the project will continue:

• At interregional level: the four regional chambers of agriculture of the SCALE-UP platform’s steering committee are members of the chambers of agriculture’s Bioeconomy Club. This club is an internal working group of the chambers of agriculture at national level, aiming to coordinate bioeconomy activities, collaborate with regional stakeholders in the bioeconomy value chains, set up interregional projects and seek funding.

• At regional level: SCALE-UP project has contributed to setting up cooperations among platform members, that will continue in each of the Atlantic Arc’s regions to further develop the bio-based building value chains:

  • In the Brittany region, the regional chamber of agriculture is working with local authorities and industrials to develop the hemp production. Together, they are conducting a feasibility study (building on WP2 biomass availability study and info pack) to set up a hemp processing unit on the territory. This investment will be essential to incite new farmers to produce hemp. Agricultural cooperative models (such as CUMAs) will be privileged to pool logistics (harvesting tools, storage, etc.).

  • Strong links have been forged between Brittany and Pays de la Loire regions thanks to the SCALE-UP platform activities, and stakeholders in Pays de la Loire are willing to develop hemp in Loire-Atlantique (the department bordering Brittany) to make use of the future hemp processing unit in Brittany and develop programmes like Terres de Sources with local authorities to plant hemp in water catchment areas to protect the resource.

  • In Normandy, the “Comité Filières” will replace the Novéatech committee (cluster of industrials working with biomass, created and animated by the Regional Chamber of agriculture of Normandy) and will carry out projects with the regional cluster for bio-based construction (ARPE). SCALE-UP has helped to strengthen partnerships with the regional wood and bio-based building clusters, and the regional chamber of agriculture is in the process of joining their sustainable building initiative (which aims to promote the construction and renovation of buildings to achieve high energy performance).

  • In New-Aquitaine, a farmers’ association dedicated to miscanthus has been set up to help structure the value chain.

• At European level: AC3A is member of the SCALE-UP Bioeconomy MetaCluster, and part of the thERBN project (Thematic European Bioeconomy Network). Participation in these initiatives will enable the sharing of knowledge and best practices among platform members to continue, as well as opportunities for partnership and funding at European level.

Access the resources

See the roadmap

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