SusChem Brokerage Event announced

The next SusChem Brokerage event was announced at the SusChem Stakeholder event that took place in Brussels on 16 June. The new brokerage session will take place on Tuesday 13 September in Seville, Spain.  

The event will take place at the FIBES - Seville Conference Centre during the Sixth European Chemistry Congress organised by EuCheMS and the Asociación Nacional de Químicos de España, ANQUE. The Congress itself runs from 11 to 15 September and is supported by SusChem Spain amongst others.

The Congress is a valuable and unique opportunity for the global community of chemistry professionals to meet, exchange ideas, explore the state of the art progress and debate the key issues underlying chemical science and practice. It is also where the European chemical community congregates and EuCheMS Divisions and sections showcase their research developments and plan future activities.

The scientific programme for the EuCheMS congress includes plenary lectures from world-leading scientists including Nobel Laureates, around 120 keynote and invited lecturers, with in total over 200 oral and poster sessions.

The Scientific programme is structured in horizontal major themes that include significant contributions to research at the forefront of chemical sciences in all areas related to chemistry: analytical, engineering, inorganic, physical, theoretical, biological, materials and technology. The main themes are for this year's Congress are outlined below.

International Days in CRM

The University of Burgos and its International Research Centre in Critical Raw Materials for Advanced Industrial Technologies (ICCRAM) is organising a conference entitled ‘International Days in Critical Raw Materials: Extraction, recycling and innovative industrial technologies’. The event takes place on 25 and 26 June in Burgos, Spain – and SusChem will be there to present!

This important event will focus on research and business opportunities meeting the challenges regarding extraction and mining, recycling and the circular economy, and substitution of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs).

Presentations will be given by relevant authorities and international actors from the European CRM scene including the Spanish authorities, the European Commission, the Nanotechnology Industries Association, Nanofutures, Euromines, EIT KIC Raw Materials, and Cefic-SusChem. Some of the speakers are shown below.

In addition, parallel technical sessions will take place on ‘Advanced Materials and CRM substitution technologies’, ‘Mining and raw materials’ and ‘Circular Economy and Recycling’.

The event will bring together researchers, experts and business people to create an environment that fosters a dialogue among the participants, leading to discussions and collaboration opportunities.

A Brokerage Event is planned for  25 June that will focus on the main topics foreseen under Societal Challenge 5 (SC5) in Horizon 2020 for the 2016/2017 work programme. An industrial business day and exchange with and between stakeholders is also planned on 26 June.

To find out more, including the full event programme, visit the conference website or register directly here. Be quick - early bird registration fees end on 1 June!

CRM_InnoNet Substitution
And don’t forget the CRM_InnoNet project is hosting a high level conference called 'SUBSTITUTION means EVOLUTION' on 17 June in Brussels. This free conference will be a one-stop shop to find out all you need to know about substitution of CRMs in Europe.

At the event you can:

• Learn about the opportunities provided by substitution and how it can solve technological challenges.
• Witness the state of play of substitution of CRMs in Europe with keynote speeches from companies and government bodies.
• Meet up with key EU industrial sectors in the area of substitution.
• Engage in discussions during dedicated panel debates to implement recommendations towards a European circular economy.
• Discuss with policy makers, industrial players, entrepreneurs and academia during the networking cocktail.
• Become part of the Innovation Network and meet potential partners for substitution projects in Horizon 2020.

At the conference you will also be able to explore applications of substitution in the exhibition space! If you wish to bring your own products and have your own stand contact the conference organisers now!

Confirmed speakers include:

• Iñigo Charola, Graphenea
• Dario della Sala, ENEA, Italian Agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development
• Thomas Lograsso, Critical Materials Institute, USA
• Holger Gruenewald, Juelich Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH
• Eberhard Gschwindt, European Investment Bank (EIB)
• Mattia Pellegrini, European Commission
• Christos Tokamanis, European Commission

Find out more on the CRM_InnoNet website and you can register via this link.

More on CRM_InnoNet
The CRM_InnoNet Innovation Network is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) funded under FP7 that is creating an integrated community to drive innovation in the field of critical raw material substitution for the benefit of EU industry. SusChem is a significant supporter of the network.

For more information on CRM_InnoNet and the conference, email the project secretariat at the UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and you can also follow the project on Twitter.

SusChem at Expoquimia 2014!

Barcelona will be hosting the seventeenth Expoquimia International Chemical Show from 30 September until 3 October and both SusChem Europe and SusChem Espana are organizing activities throughout the conference and exhibition.

On 30 September SusChem Spain will hold its annual General Assembly. Among the topics to be discussed are the use of CO2 as a raw material for the chemical industry, process intensification and the added value that the SusChem network brings to the industry, the wider chemical and process community and society as a whole. In the evening, there will also be a session dedicated to new opportunities to finance research and innovation activities including combining funds for maximum effect.

October 1 sees a session entitled ‘Smart cities: Chemicals inside’. The meeting will be chaired by Prof. Carlos Negro, President of the forum “Chemistry and Society” and will include presentations by Elisa Martin Garijo, Director of Innovation and Technology at IBM, and Antonia Morales from Cefic.

SusChem project workshops
Also on 1 October SusChem FP7 project E4Water is hosting a workshop on ‘Industrial Water Management: New Ways to Improve Efficiency.’ E4Water addresses crucial process industry needs to overcome bottlenecks and barriers for an integrated and energy-efficient water management. Its main objective is to develop, test and validate new integrated approaches for a more efficient and sustainable management of water in the chemical industry, with cross-fertilization possibilities for other industrial sectors.

SusChem Europe and the SPIRE PPP will be presenting on 2 October and SusChem FP7 projects BIO-TIC and R4R (Chemical Regions for Resource Efficiency) will be holding workshops on 3 October. See you there!

Smart Chemistry
Expoquimia takes place at Barcelona's Gran Via Exhibition Centre and will be attended by the leading companies and organizations from the international chemical industry. A major feature of the event is the Smart Chemistry, Smart Future initiative headed by the Spanish Federation of Chemical Industries (FEIQUE) that showcases the sector's capacity to generate wealth and employment and its contribution to improving the well-being of society as a whole.

The Smart Chemistry, Smart Future zone at Expoquimia is based around four main themes where, both now and in the future, the contribution of the chemical sector is absolutely fundamental:

• Smart Cities (how we can make the cities in which we live more sustainable)
• Energy & Water (how to improve the management of our natural resources)
• Life: Health and Food
• New Technologies4U (new technologies and their impact on our daily lives).

Expoquimia is being held in conjunction with Eurosurfas and Equiplast, two benchmark events in the surface treatments and plastics sectors respectively effectively making Barcelona the industrial and scientific capital of the chemical industry in Spain and southern Europe during the event.

For more information contact the conference organisers.

SusChem-Spain launches its Young Chemists Awards 2014!

For the sixth consecutive year SusChem-Spain has launched its prestigious Young Chemists Awards. With four different categories, the SusChem Young Chemists Awards 2014 aims to publicly acknowledge research activity carried out by Younger Chemists in Spain. To take part entries must be received by 6 May 2014. 

The Spanish Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry, SusChem-Spain, launched its SusChem-Young Chemists Awards this week in Madrid. The main objectives of the awards are to recognize, encourage and promote scientific activity among young researchers in Spain. And entrants for the awards must submit the required documents through the SusChem-Spain website by 6 May.

These awards, divided into four categories (Innova, Predoc, Postdoc and Futura - see below), are promoted by  SusChem – Spain , Foro Química y Sociedad, the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ), specialized RSEQ Young Researchers in Chemistry (JIQ), National Chemists Association (ANQUE), General Counsel of Chemists, Spanish Chemical Industry Federation (FEIQUE) and Tecnalia.

For 2014 the awards are sponsored by the companies Bruker and BSH.

Prize categories
SusChem Awards, aimed at young chemists aged under 40, are divided in four different categories –Innova, Predoc, Postdoc and Futura- and the winners of each category will be rewarded with a € 1 000 cash prize.

The categories are:

• INNOVA: This award recognises the best work (patent, scientific publication and/or final degree or master’s Project) developed after collaboration between one or more companies and any agent of the technology system (Public Research Institutes, Universities or RTOs). The candidate’s work must have been developed in the last two years in one or several of the following areas related to sustainable chemistry: Industrial Biotechnology, Reaction and Process Design, New Materials & Nanotechnologies and Waste Valorisation.
• PREDOC:  This award is for the author of the best scientific publication, published during 2013, in any area of chemistry and who had not finished their PhD studies before 31st December 2013.
• POSTDOC: This award is for the author of the best scientific publication, published during 2013, in any area of chemistry and who had finished the PhD studies before 1st January 2013.
• FUTURA: This award recognises the best academic record in Chemistry, or related Sciences, obtained in 2013.

The awards will be judged by a jury comprising six recognized members from each of the promoting organizations. The Jury’s decision will be announced no later than 16 June 2014 personally to the winners and via the SusChem-Spain website and the websites of the other promoting organisations.

The full Terms and Conditions of the competitions are available here (in Spanish).

SusChem Spain enabling the Circular Economy

Under the motto ‘Enabling circular economy’, the SusChem España national technology platform is organising the third edition of the Forum Sustainable Chemistry, innovative and competitive companies (3SCICC Forum Sustainable Chemistry), an international meeting aimed to debate and share information on new chemical products and processes that are more efficient, safe and environmentally friendly. This major event takes place in Tarragona, Spain on May 28 and 29. Tarragona is home to the largest chemical cluster in the Mediterranean and Southern Europe.

3SCICC Forum Sustainable Chemistry is sponsored by the Spanish Chemical Industry Federation (FEIQUE) and Expoquimia – the International Chemistry Event of Fira de Barcelona together with industrial sponsors Dow Chemicals and Emerson Process Management.

SusChem chairman Dr Klaus Sommer of Bayer and board member Gernot Klotz of Cefic will be presenting at the meeting. More details of the programme can be accessed here.

Circular
The Circular Economy is an economic model that finds ways to reuse products and components and restore their material and energy inputs. And sustainable chemistry innovation provides the fundamentals for making it possible.

A Circular Economy is an industrial system replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with restoration and aims for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products and systems, facilitating component separation and making it feasible for manufacturers to collect, re-manufacture and re-distribute their products, thus generating a circular, cradle-to-cradle system.

Circular Economy has an increasing number of supporters as the essential model needed to face the economic, social and resource challenges of the 21st century. The European Commission has chosen to move to this restorative economic system as part of its strategy for Europe 2020, as it drives substantial and lasting improvements in resource productivity. Sustainable chemistry and engineering innovation provides the fundamental basis that can enable the circular economy (new materials, new production systems, sustainable water management etc.).

Raw materials
Critical Raw Materials reducing, reusing, recycling or substitution; state-of-art and new trends in biobased products and biorefineries; new trends and challenges in process optimization or different ways for by-product valorization, are among the topics to be discussed at the 3SCICC Forum Sustainable Chemistry. Cities and industry symbiosis and the solutions chemistry provides to make this possible will also be addressed.

The day before the conference, May 27, will see the opportunity to visit a variety of industrial facilities and research centres in the Tarragona area to see the exciting sustainable chemistry taking place there.

For more information and registration details visit the 3SCICC Forum Sustainable Chemistry website.

National Platforms get ready for Horizon 2020

With the SusChem Europe’s forthcoming Brokerage event fast approaching two SusChem National Platforms, in the UK and Spain, are organising events in early October to ensure their industrial and academic stakeholders are ready to get the most out of the new EU Research and Innovation Framework programme when it launches on 1 January 2014.

On 1 October SusChem’s coordinating partner in the UK, Chemistry Innovation, is organising a Horizon 2020 Brokerage event on nanotechnologies, advanced materials, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing and processing (NMBP). Chemistry Innovation is coordinating the event on behalf of the Technology Strategy Board – the UK’s lead Innovation Strategy body - and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

This all day event takes place at the National Composites Centre in Bristol and is free, but places are limited. The main objectives of the event are to:

• Hear first-hand from the European Commission the content and detail of the first NMBP related calls within Horizon 2020
• Formulate partnerships with attendees for proposals that will be submitted to Horizon 2020

In order to encourage the formation of partnerships, attendees will have the opportunity to pre-book 1:1 meetings with attendees in addition to the option of attending parallel workshops in the afternoon.

For more information on this event, please visit the event web page or contact Tracy McCarroll by email.

Spanish preparations

The next day, 2 October, sees SusChem Espana starting its campaign to facilitate the participation of Spanish chemical industry stakeholders in the new Horizon 2020 programme by promoting and stimulating dialogue on innovation and project ideas.

The brokerage event takes place in the ACCIO Building in Barcelona and will be the first step in building highly innovative and competitive projects in cooperation with other stakeholders both within Spain and at European level including via the SusChem Europe brokerage event in Brussels on 23 October.

The active participation of the audience will be encouraged through the presentation of project ideas and through bilateral meetings between potential project partners.

More details (in Spanish) on the Barcelona event can be accessed here and you can download the event programme, which also includes a link to on-line registration.

The event is free if you are presenting a project proposal or if you have attended the preceding seminar on ‘Successful Preparation for Horizon 2020’ that also takes place in Barcelona at the Instituto de Química on 1 October. Otherwise registration costs €90 (VAT inc).

More information on the 1 October seminar on Strategies for Horizon 2020 ‘Cómo prepararse con éxito para el Horizonte 2020?’ can be found here.

Investment Forum for Biotech Enterprise at BioSpain 2012

The SusChem supported European project BIOCHEM will be at BioSpain 2012 in Bilbao on 19 to 21 September to hold an industrial biotechnology investment forum. This is the first time BIOSPAIN has organised such a forum, which has the objective of presenting start-up projects or SMEs in an initial development phase, or having high potential, to an audience of international investors and financiers who are specialised in the bio-based market segment.

Participation in the investment forum at BioSpain 2012 is free and will allow entrepreneurs to present their projects to an international panel of expert investors and industrial representatives who will be able to asses and evaluate their ideas, increasing the chances of finding the right investor and partners. You only need to complete a short profile of your company to participate. The registration and profile form can be found here.

BIOCHEM uses the term “Accelerator Fora” for these events that are targeted at biotechnological SMEs, researchers and entrepreneurs. As part of Accelerator Fora activities a Business Plan Competition, technological transfer sessions and bilateral meetings with International representatives will also take place. for more information, please visit the BIOCHEM page on the BioSpain 2012 website.

Support to Entrepreneurs
BIOCHEM is a European Project that offers a unique promotion and financing opportunity to entrepreneurs and researchers who plan to start a business in the biological product sector. This is enabled via ‘Accelerator Fora’ events that bring together potential partners from industry, academia, venture capital and laboratory facilities throughout Europe.

BIOCHEM was launched in February 2010. It is a European initiative with the participation of 16 partners, two of which are Spanish: Feique and Madrid Network‐Biocluster. The project is co‐financed by the European Commission’s INNOVA programme to support companies who wish to access the growing biotechnological based chemicals product market. For more information visit the BIOCHEM website or to register with the BIOCHEM collaboration platform visit the dedicated site.

BIOCHEM goes Bilbao

BIOCHEM, the European Bioeconomy Innovation project, offers unique promotion opportunities to entrepreneurs and researchers considering launching a business in the bio-based product sector. BIOCHEM facilitates introductions to European investors and other industrial stakeholders that can enable budding bio-entrepreneurs to find the financing and advice they need. And the next BIOCHEM event takes place in Bilbao.

BIOCHEM Accelerator Fora combine several activities, including bilateral meetings to bring together and introduce potential partners from industry, academia, venture capital investors, and test facilities based throughout Europe.

BIOCHEM has organised four events specifically focused on biotechnology sector SMEs, researchers and entrepreneurs. The first of these events took place in Milan in October 2011, the second happened during Achema in Frankfurt in June 2012 and the next will take place in Bilbao from September 19 to 21. The final event is scheduled for London during January 2013.

The Bilbao Forum is organised within the framework of Spain’s largest biotechnological event, BioSpain 2012. This should promote attendance and synergies amongst a wide spectrum of experts and offers a three day programme that will include BIOCHEM’s Business Plan competition final, Venture Capital Sessions and bilateral meetings for potential partnering.

Three days, three activities
The first activity is the Business Plan competition that will award and promote the most promising ideas to stimulate the creation of biotechnology businesses. The competition is open to universities, research centres and technological transfer offices.

In addition, six of the Business Plan Competition finalists will have the opportunity of presenting their projects to a venture capital investor expert panel during the second day of the Forum.

The Forum will also offer the opportunity to celebrate bilateral and technological transfer meetings to help identify potential partners from industry, academia, venture capital investors, and test facilities throughout Europe and share knowledge.

BIOCHEM, was launched on February 2010. It is a European initiative with the participation of 16 partners, two of which are Spanish: Feique and Madrid Network-Biocluster. The project is co-financed by European Commission’s INNOVA programme to support companies who wish to access the growing biotechnological based chemicals products market.

For more information on BIOCHEM visit the project website. There is also more information on the project section of SusChem-Espana website.

SusChem Spain Annual Assembly

On June 19, SusChem Spain will celebrate its Annual Assembly at the Ministry of Economy and Competitively in Madrid. The main theme of the meeting will be current and future Public-Private cooperation opportunities as a way of improving the competitively of science and technology based business.

Following a welcome address from a ministry speaker, delegates will debate public-private cooperation opportunities in the context of both national and European initiatives. The role of SusChem in stimulating public-private initiatives will be presented and then specific opportunities coming up under the new Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme will be discussed.

The SusChem-led SPIRE Public-Private-Partnership will be presented as well as the Energy Materials Industrial Research Initiative (EMIRI) and also the Biobased Industries PPP.

Registration for the Annual Assembly is free for SusChem members. For non-members of SusChem Spain there is a participation fee of €100 (VAT not included). For more information and registration, please visit the SusChem Spain website.

SusChem Espana Celebrates Young Researchers

SusChem Spain has launched its Young Chemists Awards for 2012. This is the fourth year that the Spanish National Technology Platform has organised these awards and for 2012 there are four different categories that aim to give public recognition to research by younger chemists working in Spain.

SusChem Spain launched the awards in early March with the main objective of recognising, encouraging and promoting scientific activity among young researchers in Spain. The closing date for nominations is April 9. All documentation, participation rules and conditions for the awards can be found on the SusChem Espana website.

The four award categories are called Innova, Predoc, Postdoc and Futura. The awards are promoted jointly by SusChem Spain, the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ), Specialized RSEQ Young Chemists Group, the Chemistry & Society Forum, National Chemists Association (ANQUE), General Counsel of Chemists and the Spanish Chemical Industry Federation (FEIQUE). The overall aim of the initiative is to foster, develop and promote chemistry both as an essential and applied science.

The 2011 Awards were an official activity of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) and were a major success not only for the excellent quality of the work submitted but for the high rate of participation with 47 candidates showing the remarkable potential of the current generation of young Spanish researchers.

Prize categories
SusChem Awards are open to Chemists under the age of 36 and winners will recieve €1 500 each. The four awards categories are:

• INNOVA for the best work (patent, scientific publication and/or final degree or master’s Project) developed after collaboration between one or more companies and any agent of the technology system (Public Research Institutes, Universities or RTOs). The candidate work must have been developed in the last two years in one or several of the following areas related to sustainable chemistry: Industrial Biotechnology, Reaction and Process Design, New Materials & Nanotechnologies and Waste Valourisation.
• PREDOC for the author of the best scientific paper in any area of chemistry published during 2011 where the author had not yet finished their PhD.
• POSTDOC for the author of the best scientific paper published in any area of chemistry during 2011 where the author had already been awarded their PhD.
• FUTURA for the best academic record in Chemistry, or related Sciences, obtained in 2011.

Nominations in all four categories will be considered by a panel comprising members from each of the promoting organisations. The Jury’s decision will be announced before 31 May 2012.

For more information on the awards contact More information Cristina González at the Technical Secretariat of SusChem-Spain.

SusChem España Stakeholders in Barcelona

SusChem España will be holding its Annual Stakeholder event on 16 November during Expoquimia - Spain’s premier International Chemistry Trade Show that is taking place from 14 to 18 November in Barcelona. The day before the Spanish national platform is also involved with a major cross technology platform event at the same venue.

On 15 November, SusChem España is organising a major workshop with other Spanish national technology platforms entitled "Searching for Innovation at the Knowledge Crossroads". The aim of the workshop is to try and identify areas in which there are opportunities to cooperate, that in turn could lead into new innovative projects.

The following day the SusChem España stakeholder event takes place. The programme includes presentations on the next European Commission Framework Programme (Horizon 2020) and activities carried out both by the European and Spanish technology platforms. Antonia Morales Perez, Innovation Manager at Cefic, will present SusChem Europe’s current activities and prospects for the forthcoming Horizon 2020 programme.

Attendees will also receive information about the various activities and initiatives developed over the last year by the Spanish platform's groups working to define the “Sustainable Chemistry after 2012” roadmap. The stakeholder event will close with an award ceremony for the SusChem Young Chemist Prizes, under the categories of “Innova” and “Futura”

CDTI Forum
Antonia Morales Perez will also be presenting at the III Forum CDTI on 18 November in Madrid where she will outline SusChem’s proposal for a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials that is specifically looking at the development of new innovative materials by design and solutions for the substitution of critical materials. Ms Pilar Aguar, Deputy Head of Unit of the Operational Unit Materials at the European Commission DG Research & Innovation will also be talking on this topic.

CDTI is the Centre for Industrial Technological Development an agency of the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation and organised the forum to discuss the EU 2020 agenda and the general concepts behind the proposed EIPs.

For more information on SusChem España activities please contact Cristina Gonzalez or visit the SusChem España website.