Traineeship: Projects Directorate - Bio-economy Division

Job Description

Job ID: 110934
Entity: European Investment Bank
Deadline: Tuesday 18th November 2025

This position is based at our Luxembourg headquarters and requires regular office presence. The EIB offers you the opportunity to live and work in a truly international and multi-cultural environment.

The EIB, the European Union’s bank, is seeking to recruit for its Projects Directorate (PJ) 6 Innovation & Competitiveness Department (INCO) - Bio-economy Division (BIOEC) at its headquarters in Luxembourg: TRAINEE

Duration: 5 months (fixed start date: 1^st March/April 2026)

(With possible extension up to 6 months if required by University)

Please note that, as marked on our Webpage, only applications from nationals of the Member States of the European Union, as well as citizens from countries that have been officially granted candidate status to join the EU, can be considered (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine).

Candidates whose Erasmus+ programme overlaps with the duration of the traineeship will not be considered.

Please note that you are requested to limit your applications to a maximum of three traineeship publications. We will only consider and retain the first three applications submitted.

Objective of the traineeship

As part of the TechEU initiative and the European Commissions broader ambition to support viable industrial scale-up efforts in the EU, you will contribute to a strategic study focused on CAPEX-intensive cleantech companies and/or transformative internal projects led by large corporates within the bioeconomy sector. The study will place particular emphasis on biotech-based manufacturing processes and the emerging trend of feedstock substitution, where bio-based alternatives are increasingly proposed to replace fossil-based feedstocks.

The objective is to have actionable insights that can strengthen project appraisal and improve deal sourcing strategies, ultimately supporting the scale-up of sustainable technologies and unlocking investment opportunities across Europe.

Responsibilities

The final deliverable will be a report, that may also serve as your Masters thesis, addressing, among other, the following themes:

• Compile recommendations from existing studies on bioeconomy scale-up.
• Identify lessons learned from past innovation successes and failures, with a focus on barriers to scale-up and competitiveness 6 such as land use constraints, lack of regulatory fragmentation, high energy costs, demand uncertainty, and supply chain dependencies.
• Critically assess the substitution potential of bio-based feedstocks, particularly in comparison to low-cost fossil-based counterparts. This includes evaluating technical feasibility, market readiness, and the persistent challenge of price competitiveness, which remains a key barrier to broader adoption.
• Develop a financial performance benchmarking table summarizing historical returns and payback periods for CAPEX-heavy bioeconomy-related cleantech.

Academic qualifications and professional skills

• Final year of studies or Master in related field such as: Biology, Biochemistry, Agro-industry, Industrial or Agriculture Engineering or Economy, Sustainable Finance.
• Familiarity with cleantech, innovation and bio-based industrial processes.
• Strong analytical and research skills.
• Knowledge of EU climate and bioeconomy policies, relevant private markets and/or knowledge of venture financing instruments would be an advantage.
• Excellent knowledge of standard Microsoft Office tools.
• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English. Working level knowledge of French and/or any other EU language would be a distinct advantage.

Competencies

Find out more about EIB core competencies here.

By applying for this position, you acknowledge the importance of maintaining the security and integrity of the Information of the EIB Group. In case of selection for the position you agree to comply with all measures (policies, controls, document classification and management) implemented by the EIB Group to prevent unauthorized disclosure of any information or any damage to the EIB Group reputation.

We are an equal opportunities employer, who believes that diversity is good for our people and our business. We encourage all suitably qualified and eligible candidates to apply regardless of their gender identity/expression, age, racial, ethnic and cultural background, religion and beliefs, sexual orientation/identity, disability or neurodiversity.

Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact the EIB Traineeship Recruitment team hr_traineeship_recruitment@eib.org who will ensure that your request is handled.

Your application may be used for another campaign.

Please note that deadline for application is on the November 18^th, 2025.