Shaping the Future of Europe’s Materials Research & Innovation through a Value Chain Approach

To celebrate the end of a very successful FP7 project, the MatVal team will present its final findings and recommendations at its closing conference on September 30, 2014 in Bologna, Italy. The event will take place during the LETS (Leading Enabling Technologies for Societal Challenges) 2014 Conference organized by the European Commission and the Italian Presidency of the European Union. 

The LETS 2014 conference addresses how Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) can address the Societal Challenges facing Europe and bring about a new European Renaissance. The conference will focus on the potential use of nanotechnologies, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, processing and biotechnology.

Closure and continuity
The Bologna MatVal workshop will be the public closure event of the MatVal project and a critical moment to discuss the achievements and the future actions Europe should take to ensure the continuity of the groundwork laid for the construction of a unified policy on Materials R&D. Specifically, Materials R&D as a real enabler of the European industrial renaissance through its promotion of jobs, growth and competitiveness. We believe this message is particularly relevant in the current transition from the old to new European legislature (EP and EU Commission). It is essential to ensure the continuity of dialogue between institutional representatives and the Materials community.

Gathering policymakers, R&D experts, material manufacturers and end users, the Bologna workshop will be an ideal place to hear about the key learnings from the MatVal project and an excellent forum to exchange and discuss ideas on how materials R&D in Europe can:

• shift from a heavy research focus to a more innovation focus, 
• be better clustered along the value chain, and  
• create strong partnerships in the overall European materials community.

There will also be an open floor interactive panel discussion, gathering experts from different industry sectors and leading materials experts, where participants can make suggestions on what needs to be done to shape a more successful path to innovating in the field of materials.

For a complete overview of the workshop, you can download the draft agenda here.

To register for the workshop or to get more information about this event, please email Jacques Komornicki, Cefic Innovation Manager.

What is MatVal?
MatVal (a value chain approach to materials research & innovation) is an EU-funded FP7 project which was started in 2012 by the Alliance for Materials (A4M). A4M connects the main European materials community organizations and is developing a common strategy to speed-up the implementation of innovation in materials. SusChem is a member of A4M.

We look forward to seeing you on 30 September in Bologna!