The aim is to comprehensively explore the "untapped potential of biomass" - everything that the gradual exploitation of this indigenous natural and renewable resource allows us to do, but we have not yet used it. Entities connected in the research-development-production form of the circular economy will develop and optimize new, sustainable technologies and processes, with the help of which we will get hold of useful biomass components, which can be integrated in a number of production sectors ─ from the chemical, textile, paper, wood and automotive industries, construction, engineering and energy ─ as environmentally acceptable materials and products with a high degree of degradability and the possibility of reuse. In this way, we build new value chains, open the door to the market of green products with high added value, strengthen the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy, strengthen social ties and at the same time concretely reduce the burden on the environment. The strategic direction of the program "Exploiting the potential of biomass for the development of advanced materials and bio-based products" (NMP) is the advanced exploitation of biomass as a renewable raw material source, for the development of new materials and bio-based products. For these purposes, an integrated value chain for the cascade use of biomass has been established. It includes all focus areas: technologies for biomass processing and the development of new biological materials, technologies for the use of secondary raw materials and the reuse of waste and the generation of energy from them. The product directions follow the ambitious goals of the participating companies for the development of competitive products based on renewable sources, in accordance with the requirements for more efficient use of raw materials and reducing pressures on the environment. With synergies in cross-sectoral integration of companies that represent an integrated chain in the material and energy use of biomass, the program contributes to the long-term competitiveness of an important part of Slovenian industry: chemical, textile, paper, wood and automotive industries, construction, engineering and energy. The program brings together top research groups from the fields of materials, chemical engineering, manufacturing and process technologies, biotechnology and nanotechnology. Connecting in new value chains contributes to overcoming fragmentation and thus strengthening the capacity for international excellence in research and technological development.

The market is increasingly demanding green products. Competitiveness in the markets of existing and upcoming industries is conditioned, more than justifiably, by increasingly stringent requirements for environmental and health protection. These are reflected in the search for locally available and renewable materials, in the introduction of technologies for processing materials and industrial production of products that pose the least possible burden on the environment, and in the implementation of efficient processes for the reuse of discarded products. The European Union encourages ecological innovation, interdisciplinarity and cross-sectoral integration to increase the competitiveness of the economy, for green growth and green jobs. We want to secure our place in this market. Even if we try to simply replace existing products or their individual components of fossil origin with bio-based ones, the range of possible market-interesting solutions with high added value is wide. If we do the same within established production processes ─ with sustainable technologies and environmentally acceptable additives, the opportunities on the global market are even greater. But when we finally combine top knowledge and competences to create a complete novelty, we are limited only by our own imagination. The efficient use of primary and waste biomass is not only a beneficial economic decision, it is also an indispensable social decision that necessarily includes the wider social environment in its processes, and encourages the individual to begin to understand all of his social roles in the context of their interdependence. How? As informed consumers, we are obliged to demand quality products - long-lasting and degradable. As participants in the economy, we are obliged to find the best solutions in the use of production resources - locally available, multifunctional and renewable. And as people, we are obliged to coexist in a common living space, renew and preserve it with our actions. The program represents a unique example of implementing the principles of the circular economy.

The program, which received just under six million euros in the first call for proposals within the framework of the smart specialization strategy, represents, according to the ICP, a great opportunity for Slovenian industry "to be among the first to offer comprehensive solutions in the field of using biomass building blocks as market-promising products and their use in various end products."