CBIO Collaborative Launches 2026 Innovation Design Challenge
Return to Earth: Reimagining Packaging for California’s Plastic Transition
BEAM Circular, in coordination with CBIO Collaborative, is pleased to announce the launch of our first topic-specific Design Challenge!
Background
The global plastic crisis is reaching a breaking point and California is taking action. With SB 54 in place, businesses across the state face a defining moment: navigate one of the most complex packaging transitions in modern history, or fall behind. Solutions built in California, the world's 4th largest economy, won't just help businesses in the state comply with new regulations. They'll be a model for reducing single-use plastics around the world.
CBIO Collaborative's inaugural Design Challenge calls on innovators to propose solutions designed to address industry needs and market realities, that accelerate California's transition away from single-use plastics. We're seeking approaches that leverage the diverse expertise available in the CBIO Collaborative ecosystem to develop robust proposals to meet this complex challenge. This is an opportunity to apply our Collaborative’s vision of advancing a circular, bio-based economy to the single-use plastics crisis that California is poised to tackle.
The transition to circular packaging and food ware systems requires coordinated innovation across materials, infrastructure, and economics. This challenge is designed to move beyond ideas, to solutions that can be implemented, tested, and scaled. CBIO Collaborative invites members to contribute to building what comes next.
Who Should Apply
The Challenge is designed in two tracks: A General Track open to CBIO Collaborative members (including but not limited to startups, companies, nonprofit organizations, schools, and researchers), and a Student Track open to undergraduate students at CBIO Collaborative member institutions.
Timeline
May 2026: Design Challenge theme announced at BioCatalyst.
June: Initial information events, including industry discovery webinars.
August 14, 2026: Design Challenge applications open.
September 4, 2026: Notice of Intent due for General Track Participants.
September - October 2026: Opportunities to find proposal collaborators through CBIO Collaborative member portal.
September 25, 2026: General Track proposals due.
October 11, 2026: Student Track video pitch submissions due.
October 2026: Finalists invited to pitch live at BioCirCA; feedback and coaching opportunities.
November 10, 2026: Live Pitch Competition at BioCirCA in Modesto, CA.
After November 2026: Opportunities for follow-on support for top projects.
Pitch Competition Prizes
General Track Pitch Competition Prizes:
$15,000 for first place
$7,500 for second place
$5,000 for third place
Student Tack Pitch Competition Prizes:
$2,500 1st
$1,500 2nd
$750 3rd
$250 People's Choice
Follow-on Support
On November 10, 2026, finalists from both tracks will pitch live at the BioCirCA Summit. But the pitch itself is just the door opening! General Track winners are eligible for follow-on funding through BEAM Circular, including Innovation Vouchers up to $100,000, pilot opportunities, and access to matching capital. And every team in the room, General or Student, walks away connected to the CBIO Collaborative network: the investors, industry experts, and partners who can help turn a strong idea into something real.
Build What Comes Next
The shift away from single-use plastics will require new systems that work across novel materials, updated supply and value chains, purpose-fit infrastructure, and innovative business and economic models. If you are building toward that future, we invite you to apply.
Learn more: https://www.beamcircular.org/2026-design-challenge.
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