Dutch life sciences investor Forbion has closed its Forbion BioEconomy Fund I at €200 million, reaching the fund’s hard cap and surpassing its initial target of €150 million. The new fund will focus on harnessing biotechnology and green chemistry to build scalable, commercially viable solutions for some of the world’s most pressing environmental and resource challenges. The fund marks a major step in Forbion’s expansion beyond its traditional healthcare focus, positioning biotechnology as a transformative force in sectors such as food, agriculture, materials, and environmental technology.
Building a New Industrial Paradigm Around Biology
Launched in 2024, the Forbion BioEconomy Fund I is structured to invest in early- and growth-stage companies mainly Series A and B rounds developing science-driven industrial solutions that can replace fossil-based or high-emission processes with low-impact, bio-based alternatives.
“For decades, biotechnology has been synonymous with medicine and healthcare,” said Alexander Hoffmann, General Partner at Forbion. “We’re now seeing biology break out of the lab and into industry tackling challenges like carbon-intensive materials, food waste, and agricultural pollution. The strong demand for this fund shows investors believe that science-led innovation can drive environmental and financial returns simultaneously.”
The fund will build a diversified portfolio of 12 to 14 companies across Europe and North America, targeting business-to-business solutions that can demonstrate commercial scalability and replace incumbent industrial products at price parity or better. Forbion’s approach reflects a growing belief that industrial biotechnology is reaching maturity, supported by advances in synthetic biology, bio-manufacturing, and enzyme engineering. As these technologies move from pilot to production scale, they promise to reshape supply chains, improve material efficiency, and drastically reduce emissions across multiple industries.
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Strong Institutional Backing and Market Confidence
The fund attracted commitments from a broad mix of institutional and strategic investors, including KfW Capital, Novo Holdings, Rentenbank, Aurae Impact, ABN AMRO Bank, and EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark). The oversubscription underscores strong investor confidence in the emerging bioeconomy sector, where climate, resource efficiency, and circularity converge. The €200 million close represents one of Europe’s largest dedicated biotechnology funds focused on industrial sustainability. According to Forbion, the surge in demand reflects how capital markets are realigning toward deep science investments capable of delivering measurable sustainability outcomes, rather than incremental software-based innovations.
Early Investments Define Strategic Direction
Forbion BioEconomy Fund I has already backed five pioneering companies across Europe that exemplify the power of biology and chemistry to tackle environmental problems at scale:
- eeden – A green chemistry innovator developing low-impact textile recycling methods that reclaim fibers and dyes without degrading material quality.
- Genomines – A biotech metals extraction company using engineered plants and microbes to recover valuable minerals from low-grade ores and mine tailings.
- SOLASTA Bio – A biological pest control platform creating naturally derived alternatives to synthetic pesticides, reducing chemical dependency in global agriculture.
- Novameat – A food technology pioneer producing plant-based protein products with realistic texture and nutritional balance, targeting mass-market adoption.
- PACT – A biomaterials platform developing renewable polymers and composites for sustainable packaging, construction, and consumer goods.
Together, these companies demonstrate Forbion’s thesis that biotechnology is the next great enabler of industrial transformation, capable of solving supply chain inefficiencies, improving resource circularity, and creating climate-positive impact.
From Software to Science: Investing in the Next Industrial Revolution
“Capital is shifting from software to science,” said Joy Faucher, General Partner at Forbion. “We’re witnessing a generational pivot where deep tech particularly biology and chemistry is at the core of building a sustainable economy. With strong backing from leading institutional investors, our fund aims to accelerate this shift by bridging innovation, scalability, and market adoption.”
Forbion’s new vehicle comes at a time when global industries are under mounting pressure to decarbonize, reduce waste, and ensure supply chain resilience. While climate tech and renewable energy dominate much of the public conversation, the bioeconomy spanning materials, agriculture, and waste conversion is rapidly emerging as the next frontier of climate innovation. The OECD estimates the global bioeconomy could exceed $4 trillion by 2030, as biotechnology begins to replace petroleum-based production systems with biological alternatives. Forbion’s strategy aims to capture this momentum by investing in startups capable of transforming industrial inputs, manufacturing methods, and consumer goods through biology-driven innovation.
The Road Ahead: Scaling Science for the Planet
Forbion’s BioEconomy Fund I builds on the firm’s two-decade track record in life sciences investing, combining its expertise in venture growth, regulatory navigation, and commercialization with a new sustainability lens. The fund’s focus aligns closely with EU industrial policy priorities, including the Green Deal Industrial Plan and Circular Economy Action Plan, which emphasize innovation in sustainable production and resource efficiency. By uniting financial capital with scientific depth, Forbion aims to turn the promise of industrial biotechnology into practical climate impact creating an ecosystem where sustainability is not just a moral imperative but a source of competitive advantage.
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“We believe that the next generation of industrial champions will be science companies, not software companies,” added Faucher. “Our mission is to identify, fund, and scale those that can make sustainability profitable and biology the backbone of the global economy.”
As global investors look for credible ways to combine returns with resilience, Forbion’s €200 million BioEconomy Fund represents a growing conviction that the path to net zero runs not only through renewable energy but through reengineering the very materials, processes, and systems that power modern industry.
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