Government funding signals: which bioeconomy alternatives governments actually fund

Idea: public research and innovation grants for a specific product or technology are one of the best leading indicators that it is real, needed and close to adoption. Governments fund what regulators want to replace and what industry is ready to take up. Every article in this vault now has a “Government funding signals” section. This page ranks all 90 alternatives of the first wave, plus the 8 second-wave articles at the end.

Method (2026-09-27): targeted searches per article in free official databases: EU CORDIS (all FP7, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects, 84,625 projects searched locally), US federal awards via USAspending (USDA NIFA/ARS/APHIS/Forest Service, EPA, DOE, NOAA, USAID…), US NSF, US NIH, UK UKRI Gateway to Research, and the Australian Research Council. Candidates were filtered automatically and then reviewed by hand; only grants about the specific technology were kept. Signal: Strong = at least 3 grants and at least about €3M, or at least 2 jurisdictions, or more than €10M; Moderate = at least 2 grants and at least €0.5M, or at least €2M; Weak = otherwise.

Note: some totals include broad programmes that cover the technology among others (e.g. BIOCOMES for all biocontrol, LIVESEED for organic seed, BIOFECTOR for bio-effectors in A01, A04 and A13). The per-article tables show each grant, so readers can judge.

China, Brazil, India: their funders have no open grant databases reachable from here, so for them the tables count papers since 2015 that acknowledge national government grants (NSFC, National Key R&D, CARS / CNPq, CAPES, FAPESP, Embrapa, FAPEMIG / DBT, DST, ICAR, SERB, CSIR, BIRAC), taken from Crossref funder metadata and counted only when the title contains the technology’s key terms (a conservative lower bound). This measures research-funding intensity, not budgets.

Limits: Russia (RSF, FASIE) is not covered, because Russian funder websites were not reachable from the research environment. Private and philanthropic funding (e.g. the Gates Foundation for Wolbachia) is not included. Amounts are converted roughly (USD×0.92, GBP×1.17, AUD×0.60) and are indicative only.

West signal	ID	Alternative	West grants	West ≈ €M	West jurisdictions	China papers	Brazil papers	India papers	Largest Western grant
Strong	FO01	Forest defoliator control (Siberian silk moth, spongy/gypsy moth, nun moth, pine	2	32.8	USA	45	0	0	Gypsy moth slow the spread trapping & treatment program (USA, 2015)
Strong	E01	Mosquito and blackfly control with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) and	3	24.5	EU	1	3	0	AVECNET: African Vector Control: New Tools (EU, 2011)
Strong	C01	Formaldehyde-free wood-based panels (plywood, particleboard, MDF) with bio-based	2	23.4	EU	98	5	1	VIOBOND – sustainable binder: Upscaling new lignin-phenol-formaldehyde
Strong	M02	Copper (and nickel/cobalt) recovery from low-grade and secondary sulfide ores by	5	22.7	Australia, EU, USA	159+	21	15	NEMO: Near-zero-waste recycling of low-grade sulphidic mining waste fo
Strong	A01	Pseudomonas chlororaphis MA342 bacterial seed dressing	3	19.5	EU	38	2	0	BIOCOMES: Biological control manufacturers in Europe develop novel bio
Strong	C02	Bio-based building insulation — wood-fibre boards, hemp and flax mats, cellulose	4	18.3	EU	0	0	0	Eco-innovative, Safe and Energy Efficient wall panels and materials fo
Strong	E03	Oil and petroleum-product pollution clean-up by bioremediation — nutrient biosti	3	17.3	EU	96	85	35	Integrated Biotechnological Solutions for Combating Marine Oil Spills
Strong	V01	Poultry gut health without antibiotic growth promoters and colistin — competitiv	5	15.2	EU, UK	14	7	2	ROADMAP: Rethinking Of Antimicrobial Decision-systems in the Managemen
Strong	F01	Fish vaccination (plus biosecurity and probiotics) instead of prophylactic/metap	4	14.9	EU, UK, USA	3	0	0	ParaFishControl: Advanced Tools and Research Strategies for Parasite C
Strong	I02	Industrial biocatalysis (enzymes and whole cells) — e.g. nitrile hydratase for a	3	14.1	EU, UK, USA	295+	21	73	ROBOX: Expanding the industrial use of Robust Oxidative Biocatalysts f
Strong	V05	Ruminant gastrointestinal nematode control without blanket macrocyclic lactone d	3	13.7	EU, UK	5	19	1	Paragone: PARAGONE: vaccines for animal parasites (EU, 2015)
Strong	A04	Bacillus + Trichoderma + Rhizobia biological seed and tuber treatment (legumes,	3	13.0	EU	2	2	4	EXCALIBUR: Exploiting the multifunctional potential of belowground bio
Strong	A13	Bacillus foliar biofungicides + plant resistance inducers (laminarin, COS-OGA) i	2	11.5	EU	236+	26	17	BIOCOMES: Biological control manufacturers in Europe develop novel bio
Strong	I01	Bio-based and safer solvents — Cyrene (dihydrolevoglucosenone from cellulose), 2	3	11.5	EU, UK	6	9	5	Innovative biotech routes for efficient bio-based solvent production p
Strong	F02	Salmon lice control with cleaner fish (lumpfish, wrasse), lice-barrier cage desi	4	10.3	EU, USA	2	3	0	ParaFishControl: Advanced Tools and Research Strategies for Parasite C
Strong	A28	Aphids, thrips, leafhoppers and cereal leaf beetle — conservation biocontrol (fl	3	10.2	EU, USA	4	9	0	EcoStack: Stacking of ecosystem services: mechanisms and interactions
Strong	M01	Refractory gold ore processing by bacterial biooxidation (BIOX® and similar tank	3	9.7	EU, USA	48	0	0	BioMOre: New Mining Concept for Extracting Metals from Deep Ore Deposi
Strong	T02	Textile wet processing with enzymes — bio-scouring (pectinase), enzymatic desizi	3	9.4	EU, UK	0	0	2	Transition towards environment-friendly consumer products by co-creati
Strong	V10	Honeybee Varroa control with organic acids (oxalic, formic, lactic), thymol, bro	4	8.1	Australia, EU, USA	23	7	0	SMARTBEES: Sustainable Management of Resilient Bee populations (EU, 20
Strong	E06	Lake and pond algal-bloom (cyanobacteria) control by nutrient reduction, biomani	3	8.0	EU, USA	43	3	0	FERRO: FOSTERING EUROPEAN LAKES RESTORATION BY NUTRIENT REMOVAL, RECOV
Strong	M03	Acid mine drainage and metal-rich mine water treatment with passive biological s	3	7.1	EU	17	3	1	SULTAN: European Training Network for the remediation and reprocessing
Strong	V04	Dairy mastitis prevention with selective dry-cow therapy, internal teat sealants	3	6.5	EU, USA	0	0	0	ROADMAP: Rethinking Of Antimicrobial Decision-systems in the Managemen
Strong	P03	Apple and pear storage without diphenylamine (DPA) and post-harvest fungicide dr	4	6.3	EU, USA	5	28	0	S and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current admin
Strong	PK03	Soil-biodegradable mulch films (certified to EN 17033: starch/PLA/PBAT/PHA blend	3	6.0	EU, USA	77	3	1	Pathways to phase-out contentious inputs from organic agriculture in E
Strong	E05	Constructed (treatment) wetlands for villages, farms, small towns and stormwater	4	4.7	EU, USA	349+	81	54	This award is to transform a 6.9-acre wastewater storage basin into a
Strong	C03	Self-healing bio-concrete and microbial repair mortars (bacteria producing limes	3	4.1	Australia, EU	66	1	1	HEALCON: Self-healing concrete to create durable and sustainable concr
Strong	F04	Shrimp farming with biofloc technology, Bacillus probiotics and specific-pathoge	3	3.6	EU, USA	54	142+	18	Boosting sustainability of European aquaculture through Biofloc Techno
Strong	P02	Potato sprout suppression in storage with spearmint oil (carvone), orange oil, e	4	3.4	UK, USA	2	1	0	S and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current admin
Strong	I03	Biodegradable, bio-based lubricants and hydraulic fluids (vegetable-oil and synt	3	3.3	UK, USA	7	24	5	Leap-hi: design, fabrication, and multiscale understanding of biolubri
Strong	E02	Dengue, Zika and chikungunya prevention with Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti (p	3	3.3	Australia, UK	22	19	0	Scaling Health Interventions for Effective Long-term Dengue control (S
Strong	T03	Lower-toxicity textile dyeing and dye-effluent treatment with biological methods	3	2.6	EU, UK	13	5	7	Efficient bio-production of next generation dyes for sustainable fashi
Strong	V12	Hatchery and livestock-house disinfection without formaldehyde — hydrogen peroxi	3	2.2	UK, USA	0	2	0	ENG-EPSRC EFRI ELiS: Developing probiotic interventions to reduce the
Strong	A35	Biological nitrogen fixation — Bradyrhizobium/Rhizobium inoculation, Azospirillu	3	2.0	UK, USA	4	84	18	Mechanisms linking bacterial chemotaxis signaling to nitrogen fixation
Strong	A23	Codling moth and leafroller control with Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) + p	3	2.0	EU, USA	19	1	1	Using mineral carriers for pheromones to apply the ecologically friend
Strong	V02	Piglet post-weaning diarrhoea without pharmacological zinc oxide and colistin —	4	1.9	Australia, UK, USA	13	0	0	S and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current admin
Strong	A05	Wireworm and soil-pest IPM — Metarhizium brunneum attract-and-kill + risk assess	4	0.6	UK, USA	0	0	0	Improving integrated pest management of wireworms in cereal crops (USA
Strong	T01	Leather processing with enzymatic unhairing/bating and vegetable or other chromi	3	0.5	EU, UK	36	2	3	Enzymatic upcycling of textile waste into biodegradable mycelium leath
Strong	A19	Apple scab control through leaf-litter sanitation, scab-resistant varieties, pot	3	0.1	EU, UK, USA	3	1	5	New york is ranked second forapple production in the united states, pr
Moderate	A14	Variety mixtures and crop genetic diversity against cereal rusts, Septoria, powd	2	10.0	EU	2	0	0	ReMIX: Redesigning European cropping systems based on species MIXtures
Moderate	V11	Mycotoxin detoxification in feed with specific enzymes and microbes — fumonisin	2	10.0	EU	8	1	0	MyToolBox: Safe Food and Feed through an Integrated ToolBox for Mycoto
Moderate	A02	Mustard flour seed treatment against common bunt	2	8.2	EU, USA	28	0	14	LIVESEED: Improve performance of organic agriculture by boosting organ
Moderate	A17	Grapevine and vegetable downy mildew — PIWI resistant grape varieties, elicitors	2	8.0	EU	6	4	0	Developing sustainable solutions for viticulture through multi-actor i
Moderate	P04	Biopreservation of raw and minimally processed food with bacteriophages, protect	2	7.2	EU	134+	67	8	FOODGUARD: Microbiome applications and technological hubs as solutions
Moderate	PK01	Grease- and water-resistant food packaging without PFAS — dense molded fibre, gl	1	5.0	EU	6	0	1	ZeroF: Development of verified safe and sustainable PFAS-free coatings
Moderate	PK02	Bio-based plasticizers — epoxidized soybean/linseed oil (ESBO), citrate esters (	2	4.9	EU, USA	5	2	0	REMADYL: Removal of Legacy Substances from polyvinylchloride (PVC) via
Moderate	P01	Post-harvest decay control of citrus, pome, stone and tropical fruit with antago	2	3.9	EU, USA	103+	13	2	AgroStore: Replacing chemical fungicides with innovative, cost-effecti
Moderate	V06	Cattle tick control with the Bm86 anti-tick vaccine, tick-resistant breeds, past	2	3.5	EU, USA	3	11	0	Anti-tick Vaccines to Prevent Tick-borne Diseases in Europe (EU, 2013)
Moderate	I05	Pulp bleaching with xylanase enzyme pre-bleaching and ECF/TCF processes (oxygen,	1	3.3	EU	2	1	6	WoodZymes: Extremozymes for wood based building blocks: From pulp mill
Moderate	A03	Thermal seed treatment (hot water / aerated steam)	2	3.2	EU, UK	0	0	0	TESTA: Seed health: development of seed treatment methods, evidence fo
Moderate	F03	Saprolegnia (water mould) and egg-fungus control without malachite green and for	2	3.0	EU, USA	8	4	7	Sustainable Approaches to Reduce Oomycete (Saprolegnia) Infections in
Moderate	E07	Invasive floating aquatic weed control (water hyacinth, salvinia, water lettuce,	2	2.9	USA	0	0	2	In recent years, aquatic invasive plant infestations (e.g., water hyac
Moderate	A16	Potato late blight and early blight control without mancozeb/chlorothalonil — re	4	2.9	UK	1	1	0	A pipeline of resistance genes to Phytophthora infestans from wild Sol
Moderate	A34	Bio-based adjuvants — methylated seed oils, sugar-based (alkyl polyglucoside) su	2	2.7	EU	66	22	22	New processes for the fermentative production of glycolipid biosurfact
Moderate	P05	Controlled fruit ripening with ethylene (including ethylene from bio-ethanol) in	2	2.5	EU	144+	4	2	Safer ACC: ACC – An efficient harmless Plant Growth Regulator for frui
Moderate	V09	Poultry coccidiosis control with live Eimeria vaccines (and phytogenic support)	3	2.3	UK	24	2	0	Anticoccidial vaccine development: the importance of genetic diversity
Moderate	E11	Durable wood without toxic preservatives — furfurylated wood (from agricultural	2	2.2	EU, USA	12	0	0	WINdow based on THERmally modified wood with high performance WAX coat
Moderate	E10	Household and institutional cleaning without triclosan, excess quaternary ammoni	2	2.0	UK, USA	8	1	3	ENG-EPSRC EFRI ELiS: Developing probiotic interventions to reduce the
Moderate	FO03	Spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) and pine beetle management by early sanitat	3	2.0	USA	29	2	2	Spruce bark beetle mitigation (USA, 2008)
Moderate	A20	Grey mold (Botrytis cinerea) control with Aureobasidium pullulans (Botector) and	2	1.5	UK, USA	60	20	1	S and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current admin
Moderate	V08	Poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) control with predatory mites (Androlaela	3	1.5	UK	33	5	0	In vitro, off-host, rearing of the poultry red mite to supply parasite
Moderate	A07	Canada thistle biocontrol with the systemic rust Puccinia punctiformis (+ integr	6	1.2	USA	0	0	0	Biological control of canada thistle using a rust fungus and releasing
Moderate	A25	Colorado potato beetle control with Bt var. tenebrionis, spinosad and Beauveria	2	1.0	USA	59	0	0	S and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current admin
Moderate	E04	Road and pavement de-icing with bio-based deicers (acetates from fermentation, a	2	1.0	EU, USA	4	0	0	Create biobased peptides and determine their mechanisms as ice recryst
Moderate	A11	Cereal-rye cover crop + roller-crimper (organic no-till) instead of glyphosate b	2	0.9	USA	0	0	0	Organic soybean production is a great opportunity for farmers because
Moderate	E08	Garden, allotment and lawn pest control with beneficial nematodes — Phasmarhabdi	3	0.9	USA	18	11	23	Optimizing phasmarhabditis nematodes for (USA, 2018)
Moderate	A18	Powdery mildew control with Ampelomyces quisqualis (AQ10), sulfur and potassium	2	0.8	EU	12	1	0	New biocontrol agents for powdery mildew on grapevine (EU, 2008)
Moderate	A06	Classical biological control of Russian knapweed (Rhaponticum/Acroptilon repens)	5	0.8	USA	0	0	0	This project focuses on the ecological interactions between two gall-f
Moderate	A26	Locust and grasshopper control with Metarhizium acridum (Green Muscle / Novacrid	2	0.7	Australia, UK	9	0	0	BioSpace: Using space-enabled remote sensing to deliver long term sust
Moderate	A31	Stored-grain protection without phosphine — hermetic storage, controlled atmosph	2	0.7	USA	3	3	1	Improve food security by promoting the adoption and scaling of hermeti
Weak	E09	Pesticide-free weed management in towns, parks, railways-adjacent areas and gard	1	1.6	EU	0	0	0	European Thematic Network for unlocking the full potential of Operatio
Weak	A22	Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) against cotton bollworm	1	0.7	UK	150+	15	3	Understanding the mechanisms of persistence and dispersal of an insect
Weak	A09	Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) biocontrol with the gall mite Aceria malhe	2	0.5	USA	4	0	0	Harnessing the voracity of the biocontrol tyta luctuosa to improve man
Weak	A32	Field vole and rodent control with barn owl nest boxes, raptor perches and habit	2	0.3	EU, USA	0	1	0	VOLES: Is rodenticide use disrupting the natural autoregulation of vol
Weak	A21	Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt kurstaki / aizawai) against caterpillars (Lepidoptera	2	0.3	Australia, EU	276+	63	26	Functional analysis of Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxins. Pore-for
Weak	A30	Spider mite control with predatory mites (Phytoseiulus, Neoseiulus/Amblyseius) a	3	0.3	USA	35	41	2	Investigation of the diversity of phytoseiid predatory mites in waterm
Weak	FO02	Conifer root and butt rot (Heterobasidion) prevention by stump treatment with th	2	0.1	USA	2	1	0	A fifra-exempt stump protectant to prevent heterobasidion root disease
Weak	I04	Oil-reservoir and pipeline souring (H2S) control by nitrate injection (biocompet	2	0.1	UK	4	1	2	Hydrocarbon Reservoir Souring Control (UK, 2015)
Weak	A10	Potato haulm killing and crop desiccation without diquat — mechanical topping +	1	0.1	EU	0	0	0	SteriWeed: The first bioherbicide blocking germination of herbicide-re
Weak	A36	Soil microbiome nutrient mobilization — arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), phos	3	0.1	EU	155+	20	11	Liquid biofertilizer formulated with plant growth promoting rhizobacte
Weak	A08	Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) biocontrol with leaf beetles Ophraella	0	0.0		43	0	0
Weak	A12	Coniothyrium minitans (Contans WG) — soil biocontrol of Sclerotinia white mold	0	0.0		16	8	1
Weak	A15	Fusarium head blight (ear fusarium) control through residue management, rotation	0	0.0		30	13	0
Weak	A24	Trichogramma egg parasitoids against European corn borer, cotton bollworm, cutwo	0	0.0		66	51	13
Weak	A27	Sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps) and grain bug control with Trissolcus egg par	0	0.0		0	3	1
Weak	A29	Pollen beetle and rapeseed pests — parasitoid conservation (Tersilochus, Phradis	0	0.0		3	0	0
Weak	A33	Biobed — on-farm microbial degradation of sprayer washings and pesticide spills	0	0.0		2	2	3
Weak	V03	Neonatal calf diarrhoea without prophylactic antibiotics — dam vaccination, colo	0	0.0		15	11	0
Weak	V07	Fly control in livestock barns with parasitoid wasps (Spalangia, Muscidifurax),	0	0.0		1	0	1
Weak	F05	Fish louse (Argulus) control in ponds and lakes with egg-laying substrate boards	0	0.0		0	0	7
Weak	F06	Natural antioxidants (mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, other plant polypheno	0	0.0		4	0	0

Totals: 38 strong · 31 moderate · 21 weak signals.

What the signals say#

Most heavily funded: vector control (AVECNET, INFRAVEC2, Wolbachia scale-up), invasive-pest programmes (the US gypsy moth Slow the Spread), biomining (BIOMOre, NEMO), fish health (ParaFishControl, TargetFish), oil-spill biotechnology (Kill Spill, GRACE), bio-based adhesives (VIOBOND, CBE JU), bio-based solvents and biocatalysis, and livestock AMR (HealthyLivestock, ROADMAP).
Clearly policy-driven: zinc-oxide phase-out in piglets (UK), alternatives to CIPC sprout suppressant (UK, US), PFAS-free food packaging (EU ZeroF), reducing reliance on ionophores (UK), and selective dry-cow therapy (US). These research lines follow the bans listed in the articles.
Funding gaps (weak signal): ragweed, sunn pest and pollen-beetle biocontrol, Trichogramma, Coniothyrium, biobeds, calf-diarrhoea prevention, fly biocontrol, Argulus, ethoxyquin replacement. These are proven in practice but get little dedicated public R&D money in the West. They may be opportunities for Russian programmes, especially sunn pest, Trichogramma and ragweed, which matter most in southern Russia.

China, Brazil, India: where their public money goes#

China — most-funded alternatives: E05 (349+); I02 (295+); A21 (276+); A13 (236+); M02 (159+); A36 (155+).
Brazil — most-funded alternatives: F04 (142+); E03 (85); A35 (84); E05 (81); P04 (67); A21 (63).
India — most-funded alternatives: I02 (73); E05 (54); E03 (35); A21 (26); E08 (23); A34 (22).

Weak in the West, funded in the Global South (possible partners for Russia):

A22 (Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) against cotton bol): weak in the West, but China 150, Brazil 15, India 3 funded papers.
A21 (Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt kurstaki / aizawai) against caterpillars (L): weak in the West, but China 276, Brazil 63, India 26 funded papers.
A30 (Spider mite control with predatory mites (Phytoseiulus, Neoseiulus/Amb): weak in the West, but China 35, Brazil 41, India 2 funded papers.
A36 (Soil microbiome nutrient mobilization — arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (): weak in the West, but China 155, Brazil 20, India 11 funded papers.
A08 (Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) biocontrol with leaf beetles ): weak in the West, but China 43, Brazil 0, India 0 funded papers.
A12 (Coniothyrium minitans (Contans WG) — soil biocontrol of Sclerotinia wh): weak in the West, but China 16, Brazil 8, India 1 funded papers.
A15 (Fusarium head blight (ear fusarium) control through residue management): weak in the West, but China 30, Brazil 13, India 0 funded papers.
A24 (Trichogramma egg parasitoids against European corn borer, cotton bollw): weak in the West, but China 66, Brazil 51, India 13 funded papers.
V03 (Neonatal calf diarrhoea without prophylactic antibiotics — dam vaccina): weak in the West, but China 15, Brazil 11, India 0 funded papers.

Second wave (2026-09-27): energy, water, food-ingredients, feed, cosmetics, bioplastics#

The 8 articles of the second-wave collections (see BIOECONOMY-TRENDS.md) were given the same funding-signals treatment in a lighter pass: the OpenAIRE project index (which covers EC programmes, UKRI and many national research councils) plus the US NSF awards API, hand-reviewed for relevance. USAspending/NIH/ARC portals and the China/Brazil/India publication-acknowledgement counts were not re-run for this batch, and the source set is narrower — so the counts and totals below are conservative lower bounds, not comparable 1:1 with the main ranking above. Per-article tables live in the articles.

Signal (lower bound)	ID	Alternative	Grants shown	Known ≈ amounts	Jurisdictions
Strong	EN02	Cellulosic/2G bioethanol (incl. demo plants)	4	≈ €5M	EU, UK, Sweden
Strong	FD01	Phytase + fermentation amino acids vs inorganic P	5	≈ £0.5M+	UK, Czechia, Germany
Strong	FD02	Insect meal / SCP vs fishmeal and soy	5	≈ £0.5M + €0.6M	UK, France, Portugal (+AT, LU)
Strong	CM01	Fermentation HA / squalane vs animal sourcing	3	≈ £0.5M + CHF 0.6M	UK, Switzerland, Portugal
Strong	PK04	Bio-based & biodegradable plastics (PHA etc.)	4	≈ A$1M	Australia, Denmark, Norway, USA
Moderate	EN01	Household/farm biogas vs firewood/LPG/diesel	4	≈ €0.23M	EU, Sweden, Czechia
Moderate	W01	Bio-coagulants / biological water treatment	2	≈ €0.3M	Sweden, Norway/South Africa
Moderate	FI01	Fermentation & algal food colours vs azo dyes	3	≈ $0.65M	UK, USA

Notes: household biogas is development technology — its main funders (development agencies, clean-cooking programmes) are not indexed by research-council databases, so EN01 understates real public support. FI01’s industrial switch is regulation/consumer-driven rather than grant-driven. CM01’s signal is notably fresh (three 2023–2025 grants aimed at the fermentation-production step).

Third batch (2026-09-28, same lighter method): EN03 (biodiesel/HVO/SAF) — none detected; mandate-driven (ReFuelEU). FI02 (natural sweeteners) — Moderate: two on-point NSF SBIRs (microbial sweetener biosynthesis 2012; yogurt-waste sweetener 2016, ≈$0.4M). CM02 (microbeads) — none; legislation-driven (EU 2023/2055, US 2015 Act). FD03 (feed hygiene) — none; mature mill technology, driver is formaldehyde occupational regulation. W02 (farm runoff) — not visible in NSF/OpenAIRE; funders are agricultural/catchment bodies (USDA-class) outside the scan. FI04 (vitamins), FI05 (chymosin) — none expected; both substitutions completed decades ago. EN04 (landfill gas) — none in research councils; carbon finance and mandates are the instrument.

Fourth batch (2026-09-28, closing the planned sets — 113 articles total): EN05 (residue pellets) — none; renewable-heat incentives, not grants. W03 (biofilm enzymes/phages) — Weak, consistent with its emerging rating; corporate water-treatment R&D dominates. W04 (produced water) — not visible; DOE/NETL-class funders outside the scan. FI03 (natural antioxidants) — none; clean-label market-driven. FD04 (mycotoxin enzymes) — not visible; USDA-class agricultural funding outside the scan. FD05 (yeast postbiotics) — none; industry-funded. CM03 (biosurfactants) — Moderate: NSF CAREER scalable biosurfactant synthesis ($500k, 2015) + biosurfactant–enzyme synergism ($300k, 2022).

Fifth batch (2026-09-28, paints-coatings/): PC01 (bio-based binders) — West none (VOC-Directive-driven), CNI: China Strong, 62 funded papers. PC02 (isothiazolinone reduction) — West none, CNI: China Moderate, 17 funded papers incl. directly on-point alternative-design work.

China, Brazil, India — grant-funded publications for the second-wave articles (2026-09-28, automated)#

Method: tools/cni_counts.py — Crossref works since 2015 acknowledging NSFC (CN) / CNPq+CAPES+FAPESP (BR) / DBT+DST+CSIR (IN), counted only when the title contains all key terms of the article (conservative lower bound, 100-row relevance window). Signal per country: Strong ≥50 · Moderate 10–49 · Weak 1–9.

ID (key terms)	CN papers	BR papers	IN papers	Strongest CNI signal	Example funded paper
FD02 (black soldier fly)	99	31	1	CN Strong	Using black soldier fly larval frass to restore soil health (doi)
PK04 (polyhydroxyalkanoate)	96	10	20	CN Strong	Engineering microorganisms for improving PHA biosynthesis (doi)
EN02 (cellulosic ethanol)	82	29	1	CN Strong	Engineering Zymomonas mobilis for robust cellulosic ethanol production (doi)
EN03 (biodiesel production)	100+	100+	96	CN/BR/IN Strong	Functional nanomaterials-catalyzed production of biodiesel (doi)
FI03 (natural antioxidant)	90	44	7	CN Strong	Natural antioxidant-based nanodrug… (title-window match)
FD01 (phytase)	39	54	11	BR Strong	Production of cleavage-resistant phytase transgenic pigs (doi)
W01 (bioflocculant)	59	4	5	CN Strong	Flocculation characterization of a bioflocculant from Bacillus licheniformis (doi)
W04 (produced water treatment)	59	22	1	CN Strong	Effective treatment of simulated ASP-flooding produced water (doi)
CM03 (sophorolipid)	37	7	7	CN Moderate	Biological tailoring of novel sophorolipid molecules (doi)
FI01 (betalain)	23	4	9	CN Moderate	Stress-specific adaptation of a non-betalain DODA homolog (doi)
EN04 (landfill gas)	60	12	1	CN Strong	Assessment of landfill odorous gas effect on surroundings (doi)
W03 (biofilm enzyme)	17	0	5	CN Moderate	Enzyme-powered micromotors for biofilm eradication (doi)
FD05 (mannan oligosaccharide)	19	4	1	CN Moderate	Mannan-oligosaccharide induces trained immunity in aquaculture (doi)
EN01 (household biogas)	13	0	0	CN Moderate	Alternative policies to subsidize rural household biogas digesters (doi)
CM01 (hyaluronic acid production)	8	6	2	Weak	Efficient HA production by Streptococcus zooepidemicus (doi)
FD04 (mycotoxin detoxification)	8	0	0	Weak	Detoxification of mycotoxin patulin by yeast (doi)
FI02 (steviol glycoside)	8	1	4	Weak	Total synthesis and structural revision of Rebaudioside S (doi)
W02 (denitrifying bioreactor)	10	1	0	CN Moderate	Nutrient removal in a rice-straw denitrifying bioreactor (doi)
FI05 (chymosin)	4	5	0	Weak	Generation and characterization of caprine chymosin in corn seed (doi)
EN05 (wood pellet)	2	1	0	Weak	Effect of fiber natures on solid-bridge formation in pellets (doi)
FD03 (organic acid feed)	2	0	0	Weak	Organic-acid-based feed attractant in juvenile fish (doi)
FI04 (riboflavin fermentation)	0	1	0	Weak	(mature field; keyword pair restrictive)
CM02 (microbeads cosmetic)	1	0	1	Weak	Cosmetic-derived microbead adsorption study (doi)

Reading: the CNI column flips the Western picture in two places worth noting — FD01 phytase (Weak-to-Moderate Western, BR Strong 54) and FD02 insects (Western Strong, CN Strong 99) — and confirms EN03 biodiesel as the only all-three-country Strong row of the second wave.