Dear Communications team,

Thank you so much for your prompt reply and for your transparency. 

I’m currently writing an article on the relationship between Novamont / ENI  and the BBI JU / CBE JU and would like to use some of your answers in my article. I would appreciate this email being treated with confidentiality and not shared with Novamont.

Here are my questions:

• Can you explain what the role is of BBI JU / CBE JU’s in the attribution, coordination and spending of EU funding?

As a European partnership operating under the Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme, CBE JU organises annual open calls for project proposals to fund research and innovation actions in line with its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. The project proposals submitted to the CBE JU calls for proposals, as for its predecessor BBI JU, are evaluated by independent experts following the Horizon Europe rules for participation. 

• How many BBI JU / CBE JU projects has Novamont been involved in and where can the description of these projects be found? 

Novamont has been or is involved in 26 CBE and BBI JU co-funded projects as reported below. All BBI JU projects are concluded.

BBI JU	CBE JU
FIRST2RUN	CUBIC
FUNGUSCHAIN	BRILIAN
PULPACKTION	ELLIPSE
GRACE	ReBioCycle
EMBRACED	PROMOFER
BIOMOTIVE	IASIS
EFFECTIVE	TERRIFIC
B-FERST	MoeBIOS
LIFT	PROSPER
VEHICLE	INSOIL
DEEP PURPLE	RUNFASTER4EU
CIRCULAR BIOCARBON	BIO4COAT
	SOUL
	MULTIPLY
	BIO4COAT

Project descriptions can be found on the CBE JU website.

• How many funds (in €) has Novamont received from projects attributed, coordinated or supervised by BBI JU / CBE JU?

In these projects, Novamont has so far received in total €23.49 million in BBI JU/CBE JU co-funding. CBE JU beneficiaries receive funding as a partial reimbursement of eligible project costs.

• The Italian antitrust authorities concluded that Novamont was involved in abusive dominant and antitrust activities in Italy. Novamont was fined millions of euros in June 2025. (See link + image ). Will this impact CBE JU’s consideration towards Novamont? Will Novamont keep receiving EU funding and will they continue playing a dominant role within CBE JU? 

https://edicoladigitale.classeditori.it/class/pageflip/swipe/milanofinanza/20250628milanofinanza#/32

CBE JU operates under the Horizon Europe rules for participation, set out in Regulation (EU) No 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 as well as – by analogy – in the European Parliament and the Council Regulation 2024/2509 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union the Financial Regulation. Only eligible project consortia proposals which meet the conditions set out in the above-mentioned Regulations qualify for funding.

In accordance with this legal and financial framework, there is currently no particular measure impacting Novamont’s participation in CBE JU calls for project proposals.

• Novamont is owned 100 % by Italian oil company ENI. ENI made over €6.4 billion profit in 2024. Do you think it’s morally acceptable to give EU funding to a plastic company owned by a profit making fossil fuel company?

This matter falls outside the scope of CBE JU. We are therefore not in a position to comment.

• ENI is trying to sell all of its bio based activities (including Novamont). Does this have an impact on how CBE JU’s will consider Novamont?

This matter falls outside the scope of CBE JU. We are therefore not in a position to comment.

• Do you consider it morally acceptable to give or loan money to a plastic company owned by a fossil fuel company that has repeatedly SLAPPed journalists and NGOs? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/04/italian-oil-firm-eni-accused-of-trying-to-silence-green-activists

This matter falls outside the scope of CBE JU. We are therefore not in a position to comment.

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