BBI launches €200 million EU call for bioeconomy at Brussels Info Day

 Today (26 June) the second call for proposals for Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) were announced at their Info Day in Brussels and the results of the first call were confirmed with the signing of the first 10 grant agreements. 

Europe’s biobased economy received a major boost with the announcement of the new €200 million+ call for proposals on June 26 at the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) in Brussels. The latest call for proposals follows the July 2014 launch of the BBI JU, a €3.7 billion public-private partnership aimed at supporting the development of Europe’s emerging bioeconomy.

The 2015 call for proposals were formally announced at the Info Day - an information and awareness event gathering together research and innovation programme managers and experts from across Europe.

The 2015 call is aimed at attracting project proposals that can fill the technological gaps within specific value chains in the bioeconomy, or actions addressing the whole value chain from feedstock sourcing to the market applications. Demonstration actions should include building a demo-scale production facility in Europe, while flagship actions should support the first application in the market of a proven innovation that has not yet deployed. Details of the second call can be found here.

The packed Info Day meeting (above) at the European Commission’s Borschette Centre in Brussels was opened by BBI JU’s Interim Executive Director, Barend Verachtert. He hailed the new call for proposals as a landmark for Europe in its progress towards a fully sustainable bioeconomy. “Today is an important day for the BBI JU,” said Verachtert. “It shows that we are on the way to building a strong bioeconomy in Europe.”

Bioeconomy, circular economy
The new call comes just two weeks after G7 leaders meeting in Germany agreed to end all fossil fuel use by the end of the century and the day after a major conference meeting in Brussels highlighted the role of sustainable chemistry and biotechnology in achieving the aims of the circular economy.

Verachtert said that the new call reflects Europe’s clear commitment to develop cleaner ways to exploit its natural resources. “The bio-based industrial sector will significantly reduce Europe’s dependency on fossil-based products, help the European Union meet climate change targets, and lead to greener and more environmentally-friendly growth,” he said.

Moreover, Verachtert pointed out the social and economic effects of the BBI JU proposals, in particular their focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “These proposals can go a long way to help SMEs produce the innovative bio-based products needed to lift Europe’s sustainable economy,” he said. “With the bioeconomy now at the heart of the EU’s investment agenda, the proposals underline a joint will to build new value chains between sectors like agro-food, chemicals and energy,” he added.

Following presentations on the BBI and the European biobased industries and Horizon 2020 and a full briefing on all aspects of the 2nd call in the morning, the afternoon of the Info Day was devoted to networking and the initial steps towards consortium building and proposal preparation.

New BBI JU projects
The second round announcement comes days after the BBI JU signed its first 10 grant agreements. The BBI JU 2014 call for proposals included support for the development of biorefining technologies to sustainably transform renewable natural resources into biobased products, materials and fuels.
The call resulted in the submission of 38 proposals, of which 10 received grants. The total BBI JU contribution for these 10 projects is almost €50 million with an additional industry contribution of over € 70 million.

Seven of the projects are Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) aimed at replacing fossil-based materials with biobased materials. The seven projects are:

• US4GREENCHEM - the pre-treatment of lignocellulosic or plant dry matter feedstock
• PROVIDES - new sustainable pulping technologies
• SmartLi and Greenlight - fibres and polymers from lignin
• CARBOSURF - fermentation processes to produce biosurfactants and specialty carbohydrates
• PROMINENT - extracting protein products from plant residues
• NewFert - nutrient recovery from waste streams and residues

A further three grants are for demonstration and flagship projects aimed at testing technologies. The projects are:

• PULP2VALUE - (DEMO) a biorefinery system for sugar beet pulp and products for detergents, personal care, oil and gas, paints and composites
• ValChem -  (DEMO) techno-economic viability tests on the production of chemicals from wood
• FIRST2RUN - (FLAGSHIP) exploiting underutilised oil crops to extract vegetable oils

The links will take you to the project's CORDIS Horizon 2020 project webpage if it exists. A Commission background paper on the projects is available here.

About the BBI JU
The BBI JU is a public-private partnership (PPP), part of the EU’s plan to move its economy to a post-petroleum era. It is expected to help make the EU’s economy more resource-efficient and sustainable, while supporting growth and employment. €3.7 billion will fund the BBI JU between 2014 and 2024, with €975 million coming from the European Commission and €2.7 billion from its private partner, the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC).

The EU’s bioeconomy currently has an annual turnover of around €2 trillion and employs more than 22 million people.

Chemistry: Building Energy Efficiency into Smart Cities

SusChem's thinking on chemistry's contribution to energy efficiency in buildings and their contribution to Smart Cities initiatives is featured in the latest Nexus Blog: the American Chemical Society (ACS) blog on Green Chemistry. The article was written by SusChem coordinator Jacques Komornicki and is based on the SusChem report "Innovative chemistry for Energy Efficiency of buildings in Smart Cities". The ACS's Nexus Blog aims to connect and expand the global green chemistry and engineering community.

The Nexus blog article covers a range of key chemistry-enabled solutions for Smart Cities initiatives including:

• High Reflectance Indoor Coatings
• High Reflectance and Durable Outdoor Coatings
• High Performance Insulation Foams
• High Performance Vacuum Insulation Panels
• Phase Change Materials (PCM)

Today, almost 75% of European citizens live in cities and this trend will continue. To succeed in creating sustainable and healthy cities, the Covenant of Mayors was launched in 2008 and is working to to support Europe’s 20-20-20 objectives of 20% reduction in emissions, 20% renewable energies and 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020.

You can learn more about these Key Innovations for Smart Cities in the SusChem report: "Innovative chemistry for Energy efficiency of buildings in smart cities." For more information, please contact Jacques Kormornicki at Cefic directly. 

SusChem SIRA published: 2015 Stakeholder event registration opens soon

Today (16 March) the European Technology Platform (ETP) for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem) has published its Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) and confirmed the dates for the next SusChem Stakeholder event as 8 and 9 June 2015. The new SIRA sets out SusChem’s research and innovation priorities for the short and medium term and the next steps and implementation for this ambitious agenda will be a major theme of the stakeholder event in June.

The SIRA document highlights the role the chemical industry in boosting innovation in Europe and the potential for sustainable chemistry technologies to tackle societal challenges, as outlined in the European Commission’s Research Framework programme Horizon 2020.

The document introduces major changes from the past SusChem Strategic Research Agendas (SRA) by addressing new topics such as ICT and Manufacturing, the value chain impact, mobility and health. It also outlines the crucial links between SusChem's priorities and the Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) that Europe has been pushing forward.

Sustainable chemical value
Some 20% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the European Union (EU) is due to the direct and indirect contributions of the chemical industry to EU Gross Value Added (GVA). The industry works along nearly all value chains and across industrial sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals and crop protection to the automotive sector, defence, construction, textiles and consumer goods.

The European chemical industry plays a pivotal role in supporting Europe 2020: the EU’s growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. The SIRA explains the strategy and role of SusChem in this context. It highlights a portfolio of sustainable chemistry research and innovation actions that the platform believes can make a significant contribution to improving competitiveness and sustainability in the EU, address societal challenges and contribute to achieving jobs and inclusive growth.

“Everything we do should be focused on ultimately improving societal conditions, in particular, with respect to sustainability – working for ‘People, Planet and Profit’”, says Dr Klaus Sommer, Chairman of the SusChem board. “Our work will be fully justified if we can simultaneously create jobs, improve the environment and generate greater economic success and wellbeing.”

“In this spirit, the new SIRA is a great opportunity for SusChem and sustainable chemistry research and innovation across Europe,” continues Dr Sommer. “The SIRA will add value to the societal, scientific and industrial debate and help us to focus on the real challenges we face.”

Societal challenges
The SIRA is organised around five of the seven key societal challenges described in Horizon 2020 and highlights a portfolio of potential sustainable chemistry solutions. Each challenge is covered in a dedicated SIRA chapter:

• Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials 
• Food security, sustainable agriculture and the bioeconomy
• Secure, clean and efficient energy
• Health, demographic change and wellbeing
• Smart, green and integrated transport

Two further SIRA chapters cover Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Horizontal Issues. A SusChem press release on the SIRA launch can be accessed here giving more details on the document.

Stakeholder event 2015
Next steps and the implementation of the SIRA will be discussed at the SusChem Stakeholder event to be held in Brussels on 8 and 9 June 2015. The title of the event will be ‘Propelling Sustainable Chemistry to Exciting New Frontiers: Implementing the Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda’.

Registration for the 2015 Stakeholder event is scheduled to open on 24 March. Mark the dates in your agenda now!

The SIRA is the result of widespread consultation and input from SusChem's stakeholder community - not least discussions at SusChem's 10-year Stakeholder event in June 2014. SusChem now looks forward to working with its partners to implement these ideas over the next few years.

The SIRA has already been presented to European Commission officials and will form part of the input to future calls under Horizon 2020. You can download the full SIRA document here.

For more information on SusChem activities, the new SusChem SIRA and opportunities at the SusChem event contact Jacques Komornicki, SusChem Coordinator at Cefic.

Sixth European Innovation Summit: A Mandate for Innovation in Europe

The Sixth European Innovation Summit (6EIS), organised by Knowledge4innovation, will take place from 17 to 20 November 2014 at the European Parliament in Brussels and Cefic and SusChem will be there to show how sustainable chemistry can inspire and lead innovation for growth in Europe.

The programme features more than 25 conference sessions and discussions on important topics for innovation in Europe and presents more than 100 speakers from the European parliament, the European Commission, the educational and the private sectors. The motto of this year’s summit is ‘A Mandate for Innovation in Europe’: innovation should be a top strategic priority in the new institutional cycle of the European Union and the centerpiece of a revised Europe 2020 strategy.

Innovation to market
Cefic-SusChem is involved with a number of the events taking place at the 6EIS including a breakfast debate on 'Advanced Manufacturing for a new European Industrial Renaissance' on the morning of 18 November.

“Despite Europe’s strong performance in research, we still lack the ability to bring innovation swiftly and successfully to the market,” comments Gernot Klotz, Executive Director Research and Innovation at Cefic. “Therefore, we need a critical mass to push the market uptake of our innovations by working along the entire value chain. It is only by working together that we can reach the true potential of Europe’s innovation capacity. We shouldn’t design materials and cars, but rather materials for cars.”

Now, more than ever, Europeans need industry and industry needs Europe. To establish the roots of a viable economy for growth and jobs, industrial production is paramount to ensure the future of Europe and a high living standard for its citizens. However, under global competition, a new European Industrial Renaissance can only be achieved through a rejuvenated, and therefore sustainable, advanced manufacturing and processing sector.

Europe must integrate resource and energy efficiency along the full value chains where all input resources (including raw materials, renewable feedstocks, energy and water), all processes, output materials (including products, by-products and waste streams) and all recycle options can be  fully optimised.

“This means opening minds and our business models to new concepts and materials for sustainable and smart construction and urban mobility,” continues Gernot Klotz. “Where self-healing properties, printed electronics, 3D printing can really leap-frog Europe into the 21st century.”

Europe – industry and the public - needs to be enthused by breakthrough key enabling technologies that would make science fiction become reality: such as transforming CO2 into a renewable power engine both for industry and daily life.

“We need to give a chance to “good-old-manufacturing” to become the new, responsible “high-tech-made-in-Europe-driver” of endless possibilities,” concludes Gernot Klotz.

Speakers at the event will include Rudolf Strohmeier,  Deputy Director General, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission; Gernot Klotz, Executive Director Research and Innovation, CEFIC; and Henna Virkkunen, Member of the European Parliament.

Innovative programme
For a sixth consecutive year 6EIS brings together EU’s political, business, academic and scientific elite and provides a valuable opportunity for networking and sharing experience with other innovative organisations and high level EU policy makers. What is more, the summit is a unique chance to meet the newly elected MEPs and learn about their plans for the future of innovation in Europe.

Cefic –SusChem will actively participate in a number of events; in particular on 18 November when contributions will be made in two morning sessions (‘Framework conditions and obstacles to innovation in Europe’ and ‘Horizon 2020: First impressions and expressions’ – where new Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas will speak) and one of the afternoon sessions (‘The role of innovation for a secure and affordable energy in Europe’)

The 6EIS programme also features conference sessions on important "horizontal" aspects of innovation such as Framework conditions for innovation, TTIP, Horizon 2020, as well as parallel sessions for specific sectors for which innovation is the major resource to overcome the big challenges ahead: agriculture, energy, transport, health, climate, IT.

The detailed programme for the summit can be found here.

Exhibition space
During the four days of the event, delegates will also have the opportunity to visit the special EIS Exhibition Space where a number of organisations, including Cefic – SusChem, will present concrete case studies from their day-to-day experience and demonstrate their innovative and technological achievements and solutions.

Cefic – SusChem will be highlighting the role of sustainable chemistry in innovation for growth and including how developments in chemistry and materials are fuelling additive manufacturing and potentially revolutionising how we make ‘stuff’: minimising waste and energy use while maximising consumer choice.

K4I
Knowledge4Innovation is an open, independent, nonprofit platform with a wide variety of stakeholders including small and large companies, universities and research centers, regions and cities, trade organisations and think tanks. It is the leading Brussels based innovation platform operating within the environment of the EU Institutions. K4I includes members from the private, academic and public sectors and includes large networks such as EUREKA, COST, Cefic, ECPA and EFPIA as well as universities, regional development organisations, cities, think tanks and small enterprises.

For more information visit the K4I website or email the K4I secretariat.

Formulation: Recognising a Key Enabling Technology for SusChem

At the 10th Anniversary SusChem Stakeholder Meeting (#SusChem10), held last month (June 2014) in Brussels, participants contributed to the development of the SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA). The SIRA will form the basis of SusChem’s input to forthcoming calls for the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme and other European and national research and innovation programmes. The SIRA highlights the importance of sustainable chemistry and biotechnology in responding to the key Societal Challenges facing Europe and addressed by Horizon 2020 as part of the EU’s Europe 2020 growth strategy. 

In this special article SusChem board member Prof Rodney Townsend (above) outlines the opportunities for SusChem in the Health and Wellbeing area and how the stakeholder event highlighted a new area for potential SusChem research and innovation activities.

On 11 and 12 June at the Stakeholder Event breakout sessions were held to address each Societal Challenge (SC) addressed in the SIRA. Conference participants commented on and added to draft SIRA documents for each SC which had been prepared in advance of the meeting.

Although health and well-being topics were part of the initial discussions when SusChem was first established in 2004, to date SusChem has not considered in depth how innovative sustainable chemistry could deliver health benefits, generally leaving this to Horizon 2020 activities linked more strongly to the pharmaceutical industries, such as the Innovative Medicines Initiative, the Active and Assisted Living Programme and the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance.

SusChem well-being
However, it is recognised that there are a number of areas where SusChem could complement these activities, which are critically important if the objectives of Horizon 2020’s SC1 (‘Health, demographic change and wellbeing’) are to be delivered.

A number of topics have already been highlighted in personalised diagnosis using imaging; and responsive materials for prosthetic devices including:

• Innovative further development of highly sensitive imaging technologies for tumours, ischaemia and neurodegeneration using more specific and multifunctional chemical contrast agents and point-of-care diagnostics: an exciting prospect is to improve the specificity of expensive chemical markers, thus simultaneously increasing sustainability and reducing use of expensive reagents. 
• Further development of technologies that assist and enable those who either are partially and progressively disabled to continue to contribute positively to society for longer: Here, we envisage an enhanced role for new (‘smart’) materials, such as haptic (reactive to touch or other sensory input), photoactive or piezoelectric polymers, as well as improved prosthetic devices and biomedical implants containing improved biocompatible soft materials for artificial limbs and the like.

Formulation
In addition at the Stakeholder Meeting a key issue came to the fore during breakout discussions: formulation. This is an area that is often taken for granted, yet is of profound importance across the whole of sustainable chemical technology, pharmacology and biotechnology. Formulation comprises a set of key skills and technologies that are absolutely critical for bringing many new inventions and advances in technologies to market in nearly every industry sector.

For example, starting with health, it is fine to design at a molecular level a new contrast agent that can so specifically target characteristic moieties present in a tumour that it can lead to unambiguous identification of the location, size and nature of a tumour. But, can one also design a suitable vehicle for that contrast agent that will ensure that the contrast agent is dispersed quickly through to all the organs in the body, is kept stable as it is dispersed, and delivered in a targeted manner?

Designing a suitable vehicle to achieve this is what formulation is all about. And successful formulation technology is not just important for health applications. It forms the basis of many businesses beyond medical and/or pharmaceutical, including the processing, manufacture and delivery-in-use of foods, personal products, cosmetics, and paints. It also has a role in crude oil extraction, including enhanced recovery concepts such as ‘fracking’, vehicle fuel or lubrication systems and very many other areas.  

The theory that underpins formulation is primarily physico-chemical and was traditionally referred to as ‘colloid science’.  It is concerned with the quantification of the forces that operate at interfaces between discrete physical domains, and how these forces operate and change over a hierarchy of length and time scales in different types of colloidal systems for example suspensions, sols, pastes, gels, foams, emulsions, micro-emulsions, gels, polymer and fat crystal networks, complex fluids and liquid crystals.

These forces combine to yield the observed useful properties of these systems including targeted delivery, visco-elasticity, opalescence, thixotropy, adherence and ‘spreadability’, softness, and dispersibility etc. They also are key to the delivery of product characteristics under different physical and chemical conditions such as the clarity and response rate of a LCD phone display, when an ice cream will soften and melt, how long it takes for an emollient hand cream to spread and penetrate skin, the touch or taste or smell of a food or medicine, how easy a medicine is to swallow and how fast the active components ingest through the stomach and intestinal walls amongst many other examples.

A new SusChem KET?
Although the physics underpinning these phenomena is fairly well understood, this understanding does not in itself lead one to be able to a priori formulate a product with the desired properties. The ability to do this lies with physical and synthetic chemists together with chemical and process engineers and comprises a highly valuable set of skills, based on a sound knowledge of theory and years of experience. But this skill base, so important for future innovation, is declining across Europe as a whole.

The Stakeholder Meeting highlighted the need to nurture and build this skill set as a SusChem key enabling technology (KET) that is applicable across and along value chains that cover many different industry sectors.

In his closing remarks at the 12th Stakeholder Meeting, SusChem Chairman Dr Klaus Sommer emphasised the need for us to highlight “formulation for delivery” in the SusChem SIRA. This will probably now result in the inclusion of a proposal for a Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action (CSA) in the SIRA that would bring the chemical, biotechnological and pharmaceutical sectors together to exchange information and enhance each other’s innovative skills in formulation.

For more information on SusChem activities and the new SusChem SIRA contact Jacques Komornicki, SusChem Coordinator at Cefic.