Today, in Plovdiv, the European Commission and Bulgaria inaugurated the country’s first Centre for Scientific Excellence in the Field of Plant Biology and Biotechnology (CPSBB). The EU co-financed the development of the centre with EUR 13 million from the European Regional Development Fund and EUR 13 million from the Horizon 2020 programme.
- 13 October 2023
The research and education centre will use cutting edge genetics and genomics technologies to solve fundamental questions related to plant development, physiology, and adaptation to the environment. Furthermore, CPSBB performs applied research in vegetable breeding (new cultivars with resilience to abiotic stresses and enhanced nutritional values), new molecular technologies for plant protection, and identification and biotechnological production of plant metabolites with applications in medicine and pharmacy. The centre will educate PhD students in Biotechnology and will be a link between academia and industry in Bulgaria.
CPSBB won the 2022 Building of the Year award in the category “Social Infrastructure – Science, Culture and Education”, a competition under the patronage of the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. In the period 2014-2020 EU Cohesion Policy supported research & innovation in Bulgaria with EUR 291 million.