SusChem wishes you a successful 2019!

Dear colleagues and members of the SusChem community,

The past year showed us once again the enormous challenges and changes that our world and our industry have to cope with, whilst striving to achieve sustainable development. An extended summer across Europe reminded me and many of us that CO2 emissions are still on the rise; and the issue of plastics waste became more urgent on the political agenda.

Identifying solutions to global challenges like these is achieved via science and technology – and through collaboration. This is exactly the purpose of SusChem, and I think in 2018 we made further progress in sharing a ‘European voice’ on research and innovation priorities in Sustainable Chemistry and Industrial Biotech.

One highlight was our response to Horizon Europe, the ambitious research and innovation programme that the European Commission is forging to succeed Horizon 2020.  At our annual stakeholders event in June, the potential of the contribution of SusChem and Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) under Horizon Europe was highlighted. And we initiated our consultation to build a new SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA). I am sure the new SIRA will be a solid base for advising the European Commission on future technology priorities for Horizon Europe. Delivery of a final draft is planned in the course of 2019 – a major task for next year.

Looking back on 2018, I also well remember our brokerage event in October which was supported by keynote speakers from the Commission and also the disruptive innovation community. The event brought together some 200 European innovators to form strong consortia under open Horizon 2020 calls – a really impressive number! Also the number of national technology platforms (NTPs) rose in 2018 with the accession of Bulgaria, Finland and Sweden, so that our community now comprises 17 NTPs across Europe. 

2018 also saw SusChem making significant contributions to the innovation discussion in Europe. Our extended ‘Key Enabling Technologies in Horizon Europe’ paper was published in February, while two new white papers gave insight and recommendations on recycling of polymer composites and battery energy storage. And most recently, ‘SusChem Plastics Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda in a Circular Economy’ was published with contributions from across the full plastics value chain, as a contribution to the implementation of the EU Plastics strategy.

So 2018 was really impactful. Our key focus for 2019 will be to build on SusChem’s role as a multi-stakeholder advisory forum engaging with both academia and industry. Together we can provide a vision and direction on innovation and technology priorities in Sustainable Chemistry and industrial biotechnology to ensure the success of Horizon Europe. We therefore invite you to join us in formulating together the new SusChem SIRA!

On behalf of the SusChem Board and the SusChem secretariat, I would like to thank you all very much for your continuing commitment to our platform and activities. I wish you a relaxing Christmas break and a healthy, happy and “sustainable” New Year. We look forward to working with you on new SusChem inspired initiatives over the next 12 months!

Best wishes,




Dr Markus Steilemann
Chairman of the SusChem Board

REE4EU Pilot Plant success

The SusChem-supported Horizon 2020 project REE4EU has successfully demonstrated at a pilot scale a closed-loop permanent magnet recycling process for the first time in Europe. The REE4EU pilot has successfully treated several tons of in-process wastes and end-of-life magnetic products containing rare earth elements, resulting in the recovery of almost hundred kilos of rare earth alloys. The alloy will be reused in the manufacturing of permanent magnet products, thereby closing the materials loop!

The successful recycling of permanent magnet waste is a major result for the REE4EU SPIRE project whose full title is: Integrated High Temperature Electrolysis (HTE) and Ion Liquid Extraction (ILE) for a Strong and Independent European Rare Earth Elements Supply Chain.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are the seventeen chemical elements including the lanthanides, Scandium and Yttrium that are key-enablers of sustainable technologies. They are used in hybrid electric vehicles, wind turbines, and highly efficient electric motors. Currently European industries are highly reliant on imports of these valuable and rare materials. Recycling the elements from REE-containing waste streams could constitute an important secondary source of the materials for Europe.

A recent study estimated the global trade in REE-containing products in 2010 is around EUR 1.5 trillion, or 13% of global trade. However, only 1% of REE waste is being recovered as no adequate process is currently available. REE4EU’s success could open-up a brand-new route to recover process wastes from permanent magnet production.

Pilot demo

During the third year of this four-year project that started in October 2015, work has focused on constructing and running the REE4EU's pilot units: the high temperature electrolysis (HTE) and ionic liquid extraction (ILE) units. The technology has now been demonstrated at pre-industrial scale using permanent magnet wastes.

Enough waste material (in-process waste and end-of-life magnets) has been treated to obtain enough rare earth alloy (REA) to run a 600 kg batch of strip cast rare earth master alloy (REMA) and output material from the HTE pilot cell has been used to manufacture permanent magnets in a laboratory line.

The quality of both the REMA input and the permanent magnet output obtained in terms of magnetic properties and chemical composition show that the magnets prepared have the same properties as magnets from mass production using virgin materials. This validates the REE4EU technology to obtain REA for permanent magnet production using magnet waste materials.

The two-step process (ILE then HTE) has been optimised for direct REA production, suitable for REMA to be used in permanent magnet manufacturing. In this way, a complete closed-loop permanent magnet recycling has been demonstrated at a pre-industrial scale using less steps than conventional methods currently carried out in China.

The process and its advantages are explained in this REE4EU video.

Next steps

In the next few months, the REA obtained in the HTE unit will be used to manufacture REMA for permanent magnets in a real magnet production line and benchmarked against magnets produced using virgin materials.

Data collection and modelling activities on permanent magnet waste recycling routes have been carried out and these results will be used to eco-design the recycling chain and to compare it to the conventional supply route of REA currently used for permanent magnet production.

For more information on the REE4EU processes visit their website.

What is the value of Industrial Water?

At the end of November SusChem and the European Water Technology Platform (WssTP) joined forces to present ‘The Value of Industry Water’ at Dechema’s Industrial Water 2018 conference in Frankfurt. The conference was attended by around 150 participants, mostly from Europe but with international representations from China, India, South America and the US, all active and interested in Industry Water Innovation. The conference was supported by SusChem, WssTP and SPIRE.

Water is essential for life. As the world’s population grows and the effects of climate change become apparent the demand for water will increase. And too many people around the world still do not have access to clean water or adequate sanitation. The Industrial Water 2018 conference on 27-29 November sought to highlight today's challenges in industrial water management and discuss the new strategies, developments and technologies that can make industrial water use more efficient.

The Industrial Water conference and exhibition is a biennial platform that addresses all relevant topics along the industrial water value chains: from raw water to waste water treatment; from sensors to digitisation in industrial water management; from alternative water resources to zero liquid discharge and integrated management.

The contribution from SusChem and WssTP was presented by Henk Pool from Cefic during the Digitalisation in Industrial Water Management session of the conference on the morning of 28 November.

Multiple waters
The paper, jointly authored with Durk Krol and Andrea Rubini from WssTP, was entitled ‘The Value of Industry Water: Integrated multiple waters, Digitally Connected and Smartly Managed’ and focused on the new ‘Multiple Waters’ Governance model and how Digital Waters enable a totally different, bottom-up and multi-stakeholder approach.

The basis for the paper stems from joint workshops organised by SusChem and WssTP to identify critical innovations in the context of an Industry Water transition from Single Use to Integrated Management.

The concept of Multiple Waters entails the employment of different water sources and qualities (such as fresh ground and surface water, rainwater, brackish water, saline water, brines, grey water, black water, recycled water) for various purposes by multiple users. The Multiple Waters concept targets the right water for the right purpose to the right users in a synergetic combination of centralised and decentralised water treatment. Water use can then be optimised based on the circularity principle for water such as cascading, reuse or recycling, while enacting new economic mechanisms and models based on the true value of water.

Value drives innovation
Considering Industrial Water management and the true Value of Water leads to the identification of industry innovation needs, which are driven by four factors:

1. Sensor Networks: Sensor development provides a unique opportunity for enhancing the Value of Water. Advanced sensor development is required to ensure continuous understanding and control of water quality. Handling of dynamic water systems requires advanced sensors. Full implementation, reliable operation costs and maintenance are important considerations.

2. Big Data: Identifying the Value of Water system in terms of the data that it generates and creates is central to its economic value. The creation of a resilient basis for cyber security and privacy legislation is necessary, as no holistic overview currently exists in the sector. Links between data silos and pockets of data should be established and prioritised.

3. Modelling and Analysis: Many models for enhancing water management exist in academia or within other research organisations. However, these methodologies need to be brought into context before moving to the next (pilot) phase. It is necessary to identify models and tailor them to the requirements of users in order to develop more efficient water systems while observing the interactions and implications.

4. Smart Governance: Smart governance models vary from region to region. The selection process for an appropriate governance design requires extensive consideration. Education and communication are crucial for its successful understanding and implementation.

The presentation addressed the above factors in detail and built connections between them.

“A balanced combination of innovation across all the factors will enhance the true Value of Water and therefore drive the industry water transition from single use to integrated management,” Henk Pool concluded.

Water efficiency
On 30 November an additional workshop on increasing water and energy efficiency in process industry took place looking at relevant tools, technologies and concepts. The workshop was jointly organised by the EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects WaterWatt and INSPIREWATER – a SPIRE project. The workshop included a number of case studies from the steel and the chemical industry regarding water and energy efficiency measures. Participants were also introduced to the recently developed online tool for evaluating energy efficiency (E3 Platform) and got the opportunity to test the tool during the workshop.

New Plastics SIRA shows path to circularity

In response to the European Commission's recent Plastics Strategy, SusChem and its partners have issued a new report outlining a 'Plastics Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda in a Circular Economy'. This report identifies the challenges to plastics circularity and defines the types of solutions needed to address them. Future research is required in three main areas: Circularity by design, recycling and alternative feedstock.

Commenting on the release of the report, SusChem Chairman and Covestro CEO Dr. Markus Steilemann said:

“The Plastics industry is committed to increase the resource efficiency of its production processes and to face the challenge of closing the circularity loop. The new Research and Innovation Agenda gives fresh impetus on the strongest way to drive progress along plastics value chains by means of collaboration.”

Analysis

The analysis from this new report has helped to identify priorities, projects and the level of investment needed to achieve full circularity of plastics. SusChem and its partners – Cefic, PlasticsEurope, European Plastics Converters (EuPC) and the European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform (ECP4) – will use this report as their main input to EU innovation policy on the circularity of plastics.

It is hoped that this document will inspire an increase in the number of collaborative projects as well as increasing European and member states support for a full implementation of the solutions proposed.

The document was developed using input from experts involved in the plastics value chain; principally from SusChem, the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), the European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform (ECP4), the European Plastics Converters (EuPC), and PlasticsEurope.

You can download the full report here.

EU plastics sector

There are around 60 000 companies in the European plastic industry, most of them SMEs, employing over 1.5 million people and generating a turnover close to EUR 350 billion in 2016.

Thanks to their versatility and high resource efficiency, plastics have enabled innovation in many other sectors allowing the development of products and solutions in strategic areas (e.g., higher protection in packaging, insulation in building & construction, lightweight for transportation, societal wellbeing brought by renewable energy and medical devices) that could not exist today without these materials. A full plastics circularity has the potential to contribute to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, resource efficiency and job creation (European Circular Economy objectives).

Report partners

The European Chemical Industry Council - Cefic is a committed partner to EU policymakers, facilitating dialogue with industry and sharing broad-based expertise. Cefic represents large, medium and small chemical companies across Europe, which directly provide 1.2 million jobs and account for 14.7% of world chemical production. Based in Brussels since its founding in 1972, Cefic interacts on behalf of its members with international and EU institutions, non-governmental organisations, the international media, and other stakeholders.

PlasticsEurope is one of the leading European trade associations with centres in Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan and Paris. The association networks with European and national plastics associations and has more than 100 member companies that produce over 90% of all polymers across the EU28 member states plus Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. 

European Plastics Converters (EuPC) is the EU-level trade association, based in Brussels, representing more than 50 000 companies in Europe, which produce over 50 million tonnes of plastic products every year. Plastics converters (sometimes called "Processors") are the heart of the plastics industry. They manufacture plastics semi-finished and finished products for an extremely wide range of industrial and consumer markets - the automotive electrical and electronic, packaging, construction and healthcare industries, to name but a few. 

The European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform (ECP4) is an industry-driven collaboration that unites 25 members from 13 countries amongst the top-level European research institutions, regional plastic clusters, and EU-level industrial organisations of plastics and composites converters. ECP4 brings innovation partners together to identify opportunities for collaborative research.

BOOST INNOVATION - Establish the right framework for your industry

The 2019 HARMONI Summit is a multi-stakeholder-platform including relevant participants from regulation, standardisation and industry. On 16 and 17 January 2019 at the Assuralia Meeting Centre on Square de Meeûs in Brussels, the summit will deal with non-technological challenges in your innovation agenda such as regulation, standardisation and innovation transfer. Registration is open until 7 January 2019.

The summit will open from 14h00 on 16 January with an introduction to HARMONI and its mission to assess non-technical barriers to innovation, followed by a word from the European Commission. The new 2050 Vision recently launched by the SPIRE PPP will then be described by Daniel Gauthier, President of A.SPIRE and the role of standardisation in facilitating an innovation framework outlined by CEN-CENELEC.

After coffee, a session will focus on how to utilise the funding schemes under the forthcoming Horizon Europe programme including how to benefit from the new “Missions” concept, assessing the programme from a national perspective, and how it aligns with the EU’s Low Carbon Strategy. The last formal session on the first day is entitled ‘Enabling innovation during the fuzzy front end as well as beyond’ and will feature contributions from the European Investment Bank, BNP Paribas, and industry representatives.

The formal sessions will end by around 17h40 but an evening event kicks off at 19h00 with a buffet, drinks, discussion and speeches at The Office; Rue d'Arlon 80; 1040 Brussels.

Break-outs

The second day features a couple of break-out sessions. The morning session tackles the issue of ‘Overcoming innovation barriers’. Three parallel workshops will work on Learning from success - tools and standardisation to grow and transfer innovations, Non-technological issues regarding CO2 valorisation (Part 1), and innovation barriers to Circular Economy (the example of plastics). The later session will see discussion of SusChem’s soon-to-be-published Plastics Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA).

After lunch, a second break-out session will address themes under the general title ‘Enabling Circular Economy and industrial innovation’. Three parallel workshops will consider Standards and innovation transfer in the area of Circular Economy, Non-technological issues regarding CO2 valorisation (Part 2), and Waste management: Innovations in industrial symbiosis. The later session will include feedback from SPIRE projects working in this area.

A draft agenda can be downloaded here.

Registration for the event is open until 7 January 2019 via this registration page and participation is free of charge. Please feel free to forward details of this event to other interested parties and colleagues.

For more information on the event, please contact Christian Grunewald or Sönke Nissen.

SPIRE projects debate the utilisation of CO2 and CO on 12 November

As part of the EU’s Raw Materials Week, the SPIRE Horizon 2020 project Carbon4PUR is organising a stakeholder event to bring together SPIRE projects, industrial, political and NGO stakeholders working in the area of CO2 and CO utilisation. The goal is to create synergies between the projects, create a closer cooperation between the projects and stakeholders, and get a holistic view on the field of CO2 and CO as raw materials. The event takes place on 12 November at the European Commission’s Covent Garden building in Brussels. The meeting is free to participate, but prior compulsory registration must be made by 6 November in order to access the building.

The following SPIRE and EU funded projects will present their take on the subject and the advances they are making in the area:

• Carbon4PUR - Turning industrial waste gases into valuable polyurethanes - European research collaboration between the steel and chemical industries
• FReSMe & MefCO2 - Methanol production from flue and residual steel gases
• ICO2CHEM - From industrial CO2 streams to added value Fischer-Tropsch chemicals
• RECO2DE & ENGICOIN - Recycling CO2 in the cement industry for the production of added-value additives
• EPOS - Enhanced energy and resource Efficiency and Performance in process industry operations via onsite and cross-sectorial symbiosis
• Steelanol - Transforming carbon-rich industrial waste gases into advanced bio-ethanol

A panel discussion will allow for interaction between all projects and participating stakeholders.

Geographical questions

A special focus of the event will be on geographical aspects of CO2 and CO as chemical feedstocks. Answers will be sought for the following questions:

• Where do we have CO2 and CO sources, where renewable energy and chemical transformation facilities are available? 
• Do we need pipelines for the gases and is there space for the new utilisation plants? 

The event will also discuss value chains and potential cooperation between the different actors represented. 

All participating projects are looking for feedback from the various stakeholders about their projects, depending on the progress of the individual project including: 

• Did the project consider all important aspects?
• Do you have suggestions for the implementation?
• Do you see problems? 

Participating stakeholder will get a thorough understanding of the research going on in Europe to use carbon rich gases as resources. You can also make your voice heard and influence these projects with your feedback. Lastly, this is a great opportunity for networking and to get into contact with researchers and companies working in the field of CO2 and CO utilisation. 

Participation is free, but you need to register by November 6th to get access to the building. A preliminary agenda for the meeting can be accessed here and you can register via this link.

SusChem Brokerage 2018: Horizon 2020 update and Project Pitching

The SusChem Brokerage Event 2018 took place at the distinguished Hotel Le Plaza in Brussels on 23 October and was attended by some 180 participants. The audience was updated on Commission proposals for the 2019 and 2020 Horizon 2020 work programme and forthcoming calls in areas relevant to sustainable chemistry. In addition, a wide range of project ideas and consortia were presented in some 39 presentations across three project pitching sessions and inspiring talks on disruptive innovation were given. Information booths presenting the programmes of the SPIRE cPPP, the Biobased Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), and SusChem National Technology Platforms (NTPs) were open throughout the day and, of course, speed dating and informal networking was facilitated.

Delegates to #SusChemBrokerage2018 were welcomed by Vivi Filippousi, SusChem Secretary and Innovation Manager at Cefic, who introduced a video message Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro and Chair of the SusChem board Chairman (pictured below). He welcomed the wide range of SusChem stakeholders at the event and urged them to continue the collaborative style that SusChem has initiated and to be “curious, colourful and make the world a brighter place through sustainable chemistry.”

Commission programme
Overviews of the forthcoming Horizon 2020 work programme and 2019 and 2020 calls were presented by Commission officials, although it was stressed that the topics presented were currently tentative and official texts would be published later in the year.

Potential topics in the materials (NMBP) area were presented by Søren Bowadt, Deputy Head of Unit; Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at the Commission’s DG Research (pictured below). This was followed by Carmine Marzano, Programme officer for Advanced Manufacturing Systems and Biotechnologies who focused on process technologies – in particular the forthcoming SPIRE calls – and Panos Balabanis, Deputy Head of Unit for Eco-Innovation who concentrated on calls that offered direct support for the EU’s recent circular economy package and that connected economic and environmental gains.

In a second session call presentations from two further Commission speakers were presented. First, Arian Zwegers, Programme Officer for Technologies and Systems for Digitising Industry at DG-Connect described some of the calls in the digital with an emphasis on security, the concept of digital manufacturing platforms and big data applications.

Topics on Energy were described by Silvia Vivarelli, Senior Project Adviser on Horizon 2020 Energy Efficiency at the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) Goals in particular those putting energy efficiency first and providing the technical basis for the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package.  Reducing final energy intensity in industry was a key goal.

Power pitching, disruptive innovation
After the morning coffee break, seven of SusChem’s NTPS (Spain, Finland, Czech Republic, the UK, Belgium, Slovenia and Greece) were introduced by Anne Chloe Devic from Cefic and presented a range of project ideas on behalf of national stakeholders including SMEs, larger companies, RTOs and universities.

An intense second Project Pitching session after lunch saw 22 speakers from large and small companies, RTOs and universities presenting their project ideas. This was followed by two presentations on disruptive innovation in Europe.

Nicholas Zylberglajt, President and Co-Founder of the European Young Innovators Forum (EYIF) looked at trends and challenges in the European start-up ecosystem. To succeed start-ups needed access to talent and skills, funds and the ability to make effective and useful connections. He said that Europe had made huge progress over the last decade – the last five years especially – in terms of its start-up ecosystem with leading hubs in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Barcelona.

Eric Pol, Senior Advisor at venture capital organisation Ventures4Growth described the sort of initiatives that he looks to invest in: companies doing good, relevant, and credible science with high quality, close-knit teams who were able to react to crisis. Overall, he thought that Europe was doing very well thanks to EU programmes and the existence of the single market.

A final, third pitch session saw presentations on behalf of nine sustainable chemistry start-up companies.

The day was completed with a networking cocktails and throughout the day a dedicated meeting room allowed individuals to meet and exchange ideas, speed date and build consortia. Information booths representing SusChem NTPs and the two SusChem inspired Horizon 2020 programme initiatives – the SPIRE cPPP (above) and the BBI JU (below) – were also open providing information on their forthcoming work programmes.

All in all, #SusChemBrokerage2018 was a packed and exhausting day with, in total, more than 50 project concepts presented and numerous individual contacts facilitated. We look forward to these exchanges leading to the birth of many new and successful projects in the next few months!

VERAM delivers

The SusChem supported Horizon2020 project VERAM (Vision and Roadmap for European Raw Materials) brought together diverse stakeholders – including five European Technology Platforms (ETPs): Sustainable Mineral Resources, Forest, Construction, Sustainable Chemistry and Advanced Materials – to produce a medium-term (2030) Vision and a longer-term (2050) Strategic Research and Innovation Roadmap for raw materials. VERAM is now completed and its public project deliverables are available to download.

Demographic changes, such as population growth in developing countries and an ageing population in developed countries, coupled with increasing standards of living and urbanisation trends will foster a greater demand for products and applications linked to human well-being, health, hygiene and sustainability. As a consequence, the worldwide demand for raw materials is expected to increase while global resources and land become scarce. A shift towards a more resource-efficient, circular economy and sustainable development is essential. 

Europe is confronted with many challenges along the entire raw materials value chain. Yet, innovation in raw materials value chains remains untapped despite the sector’s great potential.  A more coordinated approach towards raw materials management will help reduce external supply dependency and lead to an efficient use of resources.

To achieve these goals, a long-term vision and roadmap to 2050 could help tap the full potential of raw materials supply and use in Europe and boost the innovation capacity of the sector, turning it into a strong, sustainable pillar of the EU economy and an attractive industry, whilst addressing societal and environmental challenges and increasing benefits for society. This is where VERAM came in.

Key to success

“The key to the success of VERAM was the strong partnership that was forged through the project, linking diverse ETPs, value chains, industry sectors and academia,” commented Patrick Wall, VERAM’s project coordinator from the European Technology Platform on Sustainable Mineral Resources (ETP SMR).

“To address the challenges in the raw materials supply chain, VERAM initiated communication and dialogue between the different raw materials sectors, stakeholders (including civil society organisations) and all parts of the value chain to pool experience and knowledge and build the VERAM Vision and Roadmap for Raw Materials,” Mr. Wall continued.

Henk Pool, Innovation Manager at CEFIC, a partner in the VERAM project consortium said: “Predicting the future is a significant challenge, especially in a world that is experiencing rapid change, including accelerators of change such as digitalisation, however we can be certain that there will still be a significant need for raw materials in 2050! And VERAM has helped us understand what will be required and the critical need for innovation to ensure this need can be met.”

Deliverables to download

A range of deliverables across the project’s five work packages are now publicly accessible. They include:

Work package 1: Management and coordination

• Results of the feasibility study to establish a R&I Raw Materials Stakeholder Portal

Work package 2: Dissemination and communication

• Project website design and initial promotion materials (logo, templates)
• Clustering with ongoing initiatives (EIT RM; clusters; EU projects on RM, …)
• Final Conference

Work package 3: Defining and exploring the playing field

• Report on the raw materials research and innovation network: the relevant players and their roles
• Report on the RM research & innovation funding and projects: relevant R & I topics in the EU and abroad, strengths and weaknesses of current EU and MS funding landscape
• Report on future societal challenges and the corresponding needs of global markets and EU industries
• Report on the challenge ahead: the gap between future EU industrial needs and current research and innovation funding
• Web based information handling portal

Work package 4: Creating a vision 2030 and 2050 for raw materials

• Report on economic outlook and raw material needs for 2050
• Report on Raw material research and innovation vision for 2050
• Report on innovation and capacity building needs across the EU economy till 2050

Work package 5: Creating the raw materials roadmap 2050

• RM Research Roadmap drafts
• RM Research Roadmap and recommendations

Want to boost innovation? Set the right framework for your industry

Are you facing non-technological challenges with your innovation agenda? Then the 2019 HARMONI Summit on regulation, standardisation and innovation transfer is for you! The summit will provide you with good ideas and solutions on how to address those challenges. The Summit takes place on 16 and 17 January 2019 at the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre; Rue de la Science 23; 1040 Brussels and registration has just opened. 

The HARMONI project is all about overcoming non-technological barriers to innovation as well as to innovation transfer: regulatory bottlenecks, standardisation needs and other related barriers.

The 2019 HARMONI Summit will involve two days packed with inspiring discussions, target-orientated solution development and cross-sectorial networking. It is your opportunity to get involved, discuss your ideas and generate solutions as well as to establish the right framework for your industry.

Key topics

The Summit will give you an insight into Harmoni’s key topics such as circular economy and waste as well as into the EU project world, innovation mission concepts and an exclusive first sight of the HARMONI project results.

The first day offers the opportunity to get in touch with interesting speakers and other industry representatives. It allows participants to engage with policy-makers and standardisation bodies during our evening event. A buffet and drinks are included to complement your stay. The second day is dedicated to discussions and solution generation.

A comprehensive programme for the Summit will be circulated by mid of November, including a detailed agenda, but registration is already open and will close on 7 January 2019. Participation is free of charge and you can register here.

If you have any questions about the event, or need more information, please contact Ann-Kathrin Blanke.

HARMONI will also be presenting on standardisation bottlenecks in the process industry at the Industrial Technologies 2018 (#IndTech2018) event from 29 to 31 October 2018 in Vienna.

More information on Harmoni

The SPIRE Horizon 2020 project HARMONI aims at bringing together all the relevant stakeholders in the process industry to jointly identify, analyse and propose solutions to the regulatory bottlenecks and standardisation needs that hamper their innovation processes and the market uptake of their results.

To do this, the project is developing and applying a methodology that ensures effective collaboration between the eight sectors involved in the SPIRE contractual Public Private Partnership to elaborate the solutions to the common challenges they face due to non-technological barriers including regulatory issues and lack of appropriate European Standards relevant to improving resource efficiency.

In addition, HARMONI is analysing, comparing and proposing recommendations to trigger the transferability of technical solutions among and beyond the SPIRE sectors.

The project activities should enable an optimised EU regulatory and standardisation framework that facilitates and supports innovation in the process industry; improved participation of the SPIRE community in EU regulatory and procedures; earlier and more active involvement of the SPIRE community in the EU standardisation process; and an overall better environment that maximises transferability rates for technologies across SPIRE sectors.

For more information, please take a look at the HARMONI website.

November European Innovation Summit celebrates 10 years

The 10th European Innovation Summit (#10EIS) organised by Knowledge4Innovation (K4I) is taking place from 26 – 29 November 2018 in and around the European Parliament in Brussels. The theme this year is ‘Europe – A Global Leader in Science, Technology and Innovation’ and the event programme will address hot topics currently on the policy agenda, developments in sectors crucial for Europe’s competitiveness as well as taking a deep dive into emerging technologies.

Plenary Sessions on Horizon Europe as well as future Cohesion Policy in support of innovation will provide input to the ongoing negotiations among the three European Institutions. A special session will be dedicated to the European elections and how MEPs can play the 'innovation card' during their campaign and help to create a true single market for innovation in the EU.

Hot topics

Horizontal topics to be addressed at #10EIS include Horizon Europe (the next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation), the EU-Cohesion programmes that support innovation policy implementation in all regions, and the forthcoming MFF, the Multiannual Financial Framework post 2020.

Emerging and Breakthrough Technology topics include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Blockchain, Quantum Technologies, Next Generation Computing, Internet of Things and 5G mobile, Synthetic Cells and Genome Editing, and Augmented or Virtual Reality.

Many topics will bridge across industries and sectors such as Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0, Climate Change, Clean Energy, Food for all, Healthcare for a better life, Materials and Chemicals for sustainability, Urban Mobility and Carbon free transport, Financial Technology and Financial services, Education: adapting curricula to reality, Smart Cities, Circular Economy, Security and Cyber security, Space technology and much more.

For more information on #10EIS visit the K4I website. Both Cefic and SPIRE are partners of  #10EIS and will be participating in the event.

EUTop50

In parallel with #10EIS the EUTop50 Founders and Tech Festival (#EUTOP50) will be staged on 26-27 November at the Palais des Academies and the European Parliament in Brussels. #EUTOP50 celebrates and supports young talent from all over Europe by bringing together the continent’s leading innovation actors, technology developers, incubators and accelerators, investors, corporate venture organisations, family offices and all those who contribute to the development of a globally competitive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Europe.

Learning from last year’s #EUTOP50 event, and to achieve maximum impact, the 2018 edition has invited not only start-ups and scale-ups but also R&D innovators from Horizon 2020 and national research programmes and university technology developers from across Europe as well Graduate Companies from Universities of Applied Science.

During the event 25 winners will be selected to give pitches during the #EUTOP50 event, participate in the Mentorship Programme of Europe`s Future Innovation Leaders, compete for awards from #EUTOP50 Partners, meet Corporates and Investors, network with future Business Partners and participate at the #10EIS Opening Ceremony and Networking Reception.

For more information on the #EUTOP50 event and competition visit their website. 

Join LRI to celebrate 20 Years advancing Chemical Risk Assessment

The 20th Annual Cefic-LRI (Long-Range Research Initiative) Programme workshop will take place on 14 and 15 November 2018, at Le Plaza Hotel, in Brussels. To mark the 20th anniversary of the LRI programme this milestone event will take the theme “20 Years of LRI Advancing Risk Assessment”.

For the past two decades, LRI has fostered innovative research to improve science-based decision-making, built inter-disciplinary and international scientific networks, and engaged with partners around the world to link research to chemical risk assessment practice and policy.

Since its creation in 1999, LRI has funded more than 200 projects to address public and stakeholder concerns about chemical risk both to human health and the environment. It has become a unique source of knowledge and tools, and has established itself as a leader in chemical safety assessment research.

Gala event

The 20th anniversary event commences on the evening of November 14 with an invited poster session and a networking cocktail, followed by a Red Carpet Gala Dinner for the 2018 LRI Innovative Science Award ceremony.

The award presentation session will be chaired by a former winner, Dr. Roger Godschalk from Maastricht University and will feature a presentation on the results of the 2017 award “DOREMI: DOse REsponse to MIxtures” by Dr Spyros Karakitsios (pictured above) of the Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, as well as the presentation of the 2018 LRI Innovative Science Award.

All day workshop

On Thursday, 15 November, the main workshop will feature presentations and posters on the most recent LRI research projects.

An initial plenary presentation will review LRI achievements over the past 20 years and look forward to future challenges with Dr Heli Hollnagel of Dow, Chair of the Cefic LRI Issue Team. This will be followed by two plenary sessions before and after lunch. 

The first session will cover LRI projects impact with a focus on environmental effects and fate, methodology and prediction, industrial exposure assessment, systemic repeated dose toxicity and developmental toxicity. The second session will feature projects working on exposure and

predictive toxicity.

A draft workshop programme is available here and you can register via this link. The Cefic-LRI workshop is a must-attend event for the scientific community and an excellent networking opportunity for policymakers.Registration to this event is free.

More information

For enquiries related to the workshop, please contact Dr. Bruno Hubesch, LRI Programme Consultant or Dr. Océane Albert, LRI Programme Manager.

SusChem: Mixing and Moving for Mobility!

European Mobility Week 2018 is focusing on 'multimodality' - the mixing of transport modes within the same journey or for different trips. This EU-wide week of events takes place from 16 to 22 September 2018 under the slogan ‘Mix and Move!’ and is encouraging  EU citizens to explore the many different options available for getting from A to B. Embracing the concept of multimodality means rethinking the way we move about our cities and being willing to try out new forms of more sustainable mobility.

Mobility is one of the major challenges facing our urban areas today. And it is an area where SusChem and sustainable chemistry is contributing significantly. SusChem’s 2015 Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda has a dedicated chapter on Smart, Green and Integrated Transport covering many innovations that are vital to achieving more sustainable mobility and has also focused on specific innovations in lightweight materials and advanced battery storage technologies.

Chemistry contributions

Electric mobility must play an important role in the future and chemistry already offers numerous products and solutions in this area. The battery is the key component in electric vehicles and chemistry can make this technology more affordable, powerful and secure with the aim of increasing the range of vehicles.

SusChem has recently published a White Paper on Battery Energy Storage addressing the current state of battery technologies in Europe, outlining the main challenges and suggesting future action options.

Smart mobility – sustainable solutions

Similarly, lightweight design of vehicles is important as lowering the weight of a vehicle enables increased range can increase and / lower energy use. The chemical industry offers tailor-made polymers for many different applications from vehicle bodies to the engine compartment. SusChem has published its ideas on how Polymer Composites can enable automotive sustainability and more recently a White Paper on the technology and non-technology requirements for ensuring such advanced materials  can be successfully integrated into the circular economy.

Future vehicles must be made using recyclable materials, such as bio- and smart-materials, that can ensure vehicles do not become waste at the end of their useful life. And new tyre concepts can reduce rolling resistance and extend range. SusChem has a significant focus on advanced material technologies that can enable breakthrough application development across a wide range of value chains.

Managing energy in vehicles is  also important for efficiency, especially for electric vehicles. In summer, air conditioning consumes additional energy, while in winter good insulation is important. In contrast to internal combustion engines the electric motor produces almost no ‘waste’ heat. Chemical products can help here: special pigments applied on the windows reduce the warming of the interior in the sun, while high-performance foams offer perfect insulation in the winter.

While the internal combustion engine remains a significant vehicle propulsion source, sustainable chemistry will help through new catalytic exhaust gas treatments to remove organic compounds and fine particles. And fossil fuels can be substituted by synthetic fuels made, for example, by the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) with solar energy or by fuels made from renewable (biomass) sources. Hydrogen produced efficiently from renewable sources is also a potential emission-free alternative to fossils fuels.

You can find out more about some of the solutions that sustainable chemistry can provide to meet the mobility challenge for Smart Cities and help stem urban air pollution on the dedicated Smart Cities pages of SusChem's Innovation for Growth website.

What is European Mobility Week?

EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK is an annual campaign on sustainable urban mobility supported by the European Commission’s directorates for Energy and Transport. The aim of the campaign is to encourage European local authorities to introduce and promote sustainable transport measures.

The week runs from 16 to 22 September every year and sees events taking place across Europe and globally. Since 2002 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK has sought to influence mobility and urban transport issues, as well as improve the health and quality of life of citizens. The campaign also gives citizens the chance to explore what the role of city streets really is, and to explore concrete solutions to tackle urban challenges, such as air pollution.

To discover more about how participating cities have used the campaign to enhance their sustainable transport policies, visit the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK website.

KETs Impact: National funding promotes Process Analytical Technologies

The recent SusChem White paper ‘Impact: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) in Horizon Europe’ included a number of success stories highlighting publicly funded innovation involving KETs and the SusChem News blog is featuring a selection of these fruitful 'SusChem inspired' initiatives.

KETs are technologies selected for their ability to address global challenges, support the development of new products, and stimulate economic growth.

Sustainable chemistry is essential to the technological advance of KETs including advanced materials, advanced manufacturing technologies, industrial biotechnology, micro and nanoelectronics, nanotechnology and photonics. SusChem's key enabling technologies provide the critical building blocks for the solutions needed to achieve a sustainable low carbon circular economy. You can find out more here.

Our final KETs success story focuses on the PAC (Process Analytical Chemistry) network, an Austrian industrial research initiative for process analysis that brings together industrial and academic research expertise and has been funded by a combination of national and regional sources.

"imPACts delivered”: the Austrian platform for Process Analytical Chemistry

imPACts creates IMPACT through unique partnership

Member State funding creates unique collaboration in a PAC platform of more than 20 partners

PAT – Process Analytical Technologies have an immense impact on the productivity, efficiency and safety of large volume chemical production. Investment in this expertise pays off in securing the position of the process industry. 

In Austria, already in 2010, the research platform PAC – Process Analytical Chemistry was founded, based on a national funded research project. 

The consortium placed a strong focus on further development of PAT in Spectroscopy and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based on inline Rheology, on Process-Modelling and Process-Understanding, together leading to a closed-loop and tight real-time Process Control and Optimisation.

New measurement technologies were invented, application demonstrators implemented and evaluated in industry, high ranking journal papers were published, and patents were filed.

How was the breakthrough innovation achieved? 

In the consortium more than 20 partners from industry and research institutions cooperate and perform application-oriented research as well as strategic research. 

Impact

• Technology: more than 10 technology demonstrators evaluated, six patents filed
• Economic & Environmental: all process optimisation targeting efficiency issues
• Social: 28 PhD, 34 Master, 28 Bachelor Theses; internal training scheme established
• Scientific: 75 journal publications, > 200 conference contributions, five conferences
• European Link: The PAC-network was sustainably established in SusChem-AT - the SusChem National Technology Platform (NTP) in Austria

More information

The projects received funding from the Austrian Ministries BMVIT and BMWFW, the Federal State of Upper Austria and the Federal State of Lower Austria.

imPACts: “Industrial Methods for Process Analytical Chemistry - From Measurement Technologies to Information Systems (imPACts)”

imPACts (contract # 843546) and PAC (contract # 825340) are Austrian COMET K-projects.

Read the SusChem White Paper ‘Impact: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) in Horizon Europe’

KETs Impact: SME instrument brings innovative food supplement to market

The recent SusChem White paper ‘Impact: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) in Horizon Europe’ included a number of success stories highlighting publicly funded innovation involving KETs and the SusChem News blog is featuring a selection of these fruitful 'SusChem inspired' initiatives.

KETs are technologies selected for their ability to address global challenges, support the development of new products, and stimulate economic growth.

Sustainable chemistry is essential to the technological advance of KETs including advanced materials, advanced manufacturing technologies, industrial biotechnology, micro and nanoelectronics, nanotechnology and photonics. SusChem's key enabling technologies provide the critical building blocks for the solutions needed to achieve a sustainable low carbon circular economy. You can find out more here.

Our penultimate KETs success story number focuses on a project, LIFEOMEGA, funded under the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument to develop an innovative food supplement consisting of a high concentrated emulsion of the Omega-3 fatty acid EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid). Omega-3 is utilised as a treatment in psoriasis, arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, chronic inflammatory, cancer, high blood Triglycerides (TGs), retinal diseases and cardiovascular failure.

LIFEOMEGA Project

Developing an innovative highly concentrated Omega 3 food supplement

EU SME Instrument supports breakthrough innovation project with market-creating potential

Solutex is an innovative SME continuously investing in research and innovation to offer high quality products for nutritional and pharmaceutical industries. Solutex is in the forefront of research in Omega-3 to improve the quality of life and nutrition of cancer patients. LIFEOMEGA-cancer, considered as one chemotherapy essential nutrient co-adjuvant, is one of the latest products. The scale up of technology to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 8, has been made possible with EU SME funding. 

How was the breakthrough innovation achieved?

For an SME, partnerships with both RTOs and large companies is key to long-term success. Solutex has a partnership for a commercial agreement with one the most important pharmaceutical groups in Spain. Collaboration with hospitals and clinics has been essential for the success of the project and to carry out the clinical trials needed. After the preliminary research, carried out with company’s own resources, Solutex successfully applied for a Phase-I SME Instrument, and for a Phase-II SME instrument. The funding received has been fundamental to develop the final product and the scale-up.

Impact

• The social impact for cancer patients’ treatments is very important. With the new product, the quality of life of cancer patients is improved. Chemotherapy effects become tolerable and hospitalisation time is reduced. 
• The new product is an essential nutrient adjuvant in chemotherapy. The medical benefits of the product are appreciated. Preliminary findings show that Omega-3 supplement increases chemotherapy effectiveness. 

With the funding received, the time to the market was reduced by about three years, a parameter of paramount importance for an SME. Additionally, it brings the opportunity to open to new markets and new partnerships in the pharma and nutraceutical sectors. 

More information

LIFEOMEGA: Innovative highly concentrated Omega-3 Food Supplement (Horizon 2020 / SME Instrument 1 GA number 683658)

LIFEOMEGA: Innovative highly concentrated Omega-3 Specialized Nutrition Product (Horizon 2020 / SME Instrument 2 GA number 755889)

Read the SusChem White Paper ‘Impact: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) in Horizon Europe’