Help shape the next SusChem SIRA

Do you want to help shape the next SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA)? Then you need to register for the SusChem Workshop ‘Towards a New SusChem SIRA’, which will take place on 16 and 17 May 2019 at Hotel Le Plaza in Brussels, Belgium.

The May event will bring together members of the SusChem Board, the SusChem National Technology Platforms (NTPs) and Research and Innovation experts in a two-day working meeting to help finalise the revised SusChem SIRA that will feed into future technology road maps and calls under the next European Commission Framework Programme (Horizon Europe) and other European innovation initiatives.. 

The participation and contribution of as many SusChem Stakeholders as possible is crucial to ensuring the right priorities and topics are included in the revised SusChem SIRA. 

Sessions and key topics 

On 16 May, four sessions, with a number of round table discussions, will focus on cross-fertilisation topics, helping to define strategic priorities for future sustainable research and innovation activities in chemical sciences. 

The four sessions are: 

• Process Intensification. Sub-topics: reaction engineering, digitalisation, electrification, modularisation, and materials;
• Safe-chemicals-by-design. Sub-topics: R&I themes relevant to process and materials innovation as well as methodologies towards improved safety and sustainability;
• Circular Economy. Sub-topics: biomass valorisation, CO2 valorisation, waste valorisation, circularity-by-design and water circularity); and
• Sustainability Assessment. Sub-topics: methodologies, data, tools and uptake. 

On the second day, 17 May, the event will feature the conclusions on high-level priorities from Day 1, followed by a panel discussion on ‘Strategic Research priorities on Sustainable Chemistry and Industrial Biotech’, between SusChem Board members and European Commission representatives from the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation (DG RTD).

Three parallel sessions will follow to fill remaining gaps for specific technology priorities under Advanced Materials, Advanced Processes and enabling Digital Technologies, accounting for their contribution to Horizon Europe challenges and intervention areas.

A draft agenda for the Workshop can be downloaded here and details of how to register for the event can be found here. 

We look forward to seeing you in Brussels on 16 and 17 May!

BBI JU 2019 Call now open

The BioBased Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) has published its 2019 Call for proposals under Horizon 2020. This sixth call will provide a further EUR 135 million of funding to boost the development of the EU’s biobased industries sector. The call is built around four strategic orientations: Feedstock, Process, Products, and Market uptake and continues the BBI JU’s objective of accelerating the development of new sustainable value chains from biomass feedstock supply via efficient processing, to the acceptance and application of bio-based products in end-markets.

The 2019 call identifier is H2020-BBI-JTI-2019 and contains 21 topic areas previously outlined in the BBI JU Annual Work Plan 2019. This document gives the full texts of the call that include 10 Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs), 7 Innovation Actions (IAs) - specifically 4 Demonstration (DEMO) calls and 4 Flagship (FLAG) calls - and 4 Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 4 September 2019, 17:00 CET, with proposal evaluations taking place during October and November and results being sent to applicants hopefully during December 2019.

Proposals to the Call 2019 can be submitted through the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal - SEDIA (former known as the Participant Portal), the official EU funding communication channel, that gives an extensive overview of all Call information, such as Call documentation, how to get support regarding intellectual property, IT, and partner searches etc.

Via the BBI JU’s Partnering Platform, potential participants and consortia members can create  free, online profiles that enable a better interaction with other potential BBI JU Call applicants.

Applicants interested in receiving professional support or advice at the national level can get in contact with the appropriate member of the BBI network of National Contact Points.

BBI Info Day

On 12 April the BBI JU Info Day 2019 is taking place in the Charlemagne Building, Brussels. Plenary presentations on Europe's biobased sector and the development of the global bioeconomy will be followed by an outline of the BBI JU 2019 Work Programme from Philippe Mengal, Executive Director of the BBI JU. Information will be provided about the BBI JU initiative and all other aspects of the 2019 Call process including details of the proposal submission and evaluation processes.

After lunch, the BBI JU Networking event, will help participants to build their networks and find potential partners for the BBI JU Call for proposals.

And throughout the day, participants will have the opportunity to speak to representatives from BBI JU's founding partners and Member States as well as exchange views with entities in synergy with the BBI JU, including SusChem. The BBI JU's Programme Office staff will also be available to answer questions about the Call process and procedure.

Choose LIFE!

Apply now for LIFE Funding! The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. LIFE contributes to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental and climate policy and laws by co-financing projects with European added value. Since its creation in 1992, LIFE has been through a number of different funding periods. The current funding period 2014-2020 has a budget of EUR 3.4 billion and the 2019 LIFE Call for project proposals will be launched at the beginning of April and published on the LIFE Calls website.

To help potential project partners to prepare for the 2019 call the European Commission is organising an Information & Networking Day on the 2019 LIFE call for project proposals on 30 April in Brussels - #EULife19 - at the Charlemagne Building. The event is open to potential applicants presenting project proposals on green technology, nature protection and climate action and registration is open now.

Participants will be invited to a morning information session on the 2019 LIFE call, covering the significant changes to the programme compared to previous years.

The afternoon will be dedicated to networking with fellow participants to share experience, match with potential new partners and meet representatives of the LIFE programme from the European Commission.

The main topics in the 2019 call will cover:

• Environmental technologies and solutions including water, waste, air quality, soil, forest, health
• Climate change adaptation
• Climate change mitigation
• Nature conservation and biodiversity
• Climate and environmental governance and information initiatives

The agenda

The #EULife19 event will open with a review of the policy drivers of the LIFE programme led by Julien Guerrier, Director of EASME (the European Commission's Executive Agency for SMEs) before the 2019 programme call for action grants: priorities and novelties will be outlined.

There will be an opportunity for questions on the programme calls before a session on tips for a successful application.

After lunch an afternoon of  networking  and consortium building is foreseen with participants interested in applying for LIFE funding having the chance to find potential project partners or seek advice from EASME experts and National Contact Points in one-to-one meetings.

Why should you participate?

• To find and meet potential partners for your next LIFE project
• Take the chance to meet experts from the EASME)
• To get advice from LIFE National Contact Points

Register now! Registration is open until 25 April 2019.

A Roadmap for the Chemical Industry in Europe towards a Bioeconomy

The final event of the Horizon 2020 project RoadToBio will take place on Monday 18 February 2019 in Brussels. This stakeholder workshop event will present and discuss the project’s ‘Roadmap for the Chemical Industry in Europe towards a Bioeconomy’.

Over the last 18 months, the RoadToBio consortium has developed suggestions on how to produce 25% of organic chemical products in Europe as biobased goods by 2030. The results of the project have been achieved in close cooperation with many stakeholders from industry, associations, NGOs, and academia.

At this final workshop, the project will share the insights that have been gained and discuss the results of the analysis, the proposed actions and the messages that can help to facilitate the participatory development of Europe's bioeconomy going forward.

Objectives

There are three main objectives to the workshop.

• Firstly, to present the analysis on the selected nine product groups with a high potential to switch from a fossil-based to a biobased production pathway and to discuss their market opportunities. These nine products groups are: Agrochemicals, Adhesives, Cosmetics, Lubricants, Man-Made fibres, Paints and Coatings, Plastics, Solvents, and Surfactants. Participants to the workshop will be able to choose two breakout sessions covering specific aspects of each product group.
• Secondly, to discuss general barriers that may hinder the development of Europe’s bioeconomy and the recommended actions from the project to overcome these.
• And, thirdly, to explain how biobased products could be communicated better and what tools and messages can be used to better engage stakeholders and the public

The event will be held on the afternoon of 18 February 2019 at the Bluepoint Conference Centre in Brussels. You can download a draft agenda for the event here. Registration will be open until 13 February 2019 by emailing Lea Koening at Dechema indicating which two product groups you are particularly interested in.

More on RoadToBio

How can the chemical industry in Europe meet the challenges in global markets while becoming more sustainable at the same time? RoadToBio is a Horizon2020 project funded via the Biobased Industries JU that aims to pave the way for the European chemical industry towards a higher biobased portfolio and competitive success based on the benefits offered by the bioeconomy. The Project will deliver a roadmap for the chemical industry that will specify benefits as well as barriers towards a biobased economy to meet societal needs in 2030.

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.

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!

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. 

#suschem2018: Defining technology priorities for sustainable growth in Europe

Today (20 June, 2018() the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem) holds its annual Stakeholder event (#suschem2018) in Brussels. The event brings together global audiences, senior players from the chemical and biotechnology industries, academia, research and technology organisations (RTOs) and EU institutions to address common challenges and discuss priorities crucial to the sustainability of the European chemical and biotechnology innovation sectors. 

The theme for #suschem2018 is ‘The Future of Research & Innovation in Europe: Defining Technology Priorities for Sustainable Growth’.

This year’s opening keynote speeches will be presented by SusChem Chairman Dr. Markus Steilemann, Chief Executive Officer of Covestro, and Signe Ratso, Deputy Director-General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission. 

The event will culminate with a high-level debate on how the SusChem community can leverage the strength of the innovation ecosystem to boost research and innovation in Europe and deliver real socio-economic impact through the next European Research Framework Programme (Horizon Europe). 

SusChem Chairman Dr. Markus Steilemann said:

“SusChem welcomes the room given to industry in the first proposal of Horizon Europe and calls for continued support for Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) as drivers of innovation. Especially advanced materials and processes enhanced by digitalisation technologies and combined with new business models are considered key areas for investment and growth. SusChem can and will substantially contribute to this development. We believe that sustainable chemistry and its innovation ecosystem in Europe – consisting of businesses of all sizes, academia and associations – can  thrive well in the Open Science and Open Innovation Pillars of Horizon Europe.”

What’s happening?

In the morning, the event will kick off with the plenary presentations from Steilemann and Ratso, followed by two parallel breakout sessions on future research and innovation priorities for SusChem and Horizon Europe, including discussions on potential missions. The two sessions will cover:

• Creating the future with advanced materials: What are your priorities?
• Creating the future with advanced process technologies: What are your priorities?

Both sessions will also deal with the question of how emerging digital technologies can be integrated to enhance impact in these areas. 

In preparation for Horizon Europe, SusChem presented its position on the role of Key Enabling Technologies in a white paper outlining the major technology developments and initiatives needed to create advanced materials, develop advanced process technologies and leverage them by the implementation of digital technologies.

Innovation ecosystem

In the afternoon, the participants will hear from the SusChem National Technology Platform (NTP) network on their successful stakeholder engagement strategies and we will welcome three new NTPs (Bulgaria, Finland & Sweden). A high-level panel discussion will follow on how to leverage the strength of the innovation ecosystem to boost research and innovation in Europe, especially in the context of KETs and Horizon Europe.

The panel will be moderated by Cefic Director General Marco Mensink and will feature contributions from Peter Dröll, Director Industrial Technologies at DG RTD, Prof. Ferdi Schüth, Vice-President of the Max-Planck-Society, Kateřina Šebková, Director of the Stockholm Regional Centre for Central and Eastern Europe, Martin Stephan, Deputy CEO of CARBIOS, and Olaf Wachsen, Head of Group Process Technology, Clariant.

#suschem2018 takes place at the Thon Hotel City Centre, Brussels, Belgium on 20 June. A full programme for the event is available here.

Spotlight on Digital Technologies at #SusChem2018

Join us at the 2018 SusChem Stakeholder Event - #SusChem2018 - your number one destination for innovation policy dialogue and debate this summer. The 2018 Stakeholder event takes place at the Thon Hotel City Centre in Brussels on 20 June 2018 and will give you the opportunity to voice your priorities and help define SusChem’s input into the next EU Framework Funding Programme: Horizon Europe.

This year’s theme is "The Future of Research & Innovation in Europe: Defining Technology Priorities for Sustainable Growth" and will bring together global audiences, senior players from the chemical industry, academia, research technology organisations (RTOs) and EU institutions to address common innovation challenges and debate priorities crucial to the sustainability of the European chemical and biotechnology sectors.

At the event Stakeholder input will be collected through two carefully designed parallel breakout sessions: one on Advanced Materials and the other on Advanced Process Technologies. Input from both sessions will contribute to our future strategic research and innovation agenda beyond 2020.These two technology areas are complimented by Digital Technologies and will also feature at #SusChem 2018.

Spotlight on Digital Technologies
The chemical industry is an enabler for the continuous development of smarter and more sustainable electronic devices and equipment in other industries. The chemical industry is itself being transformed and disrupted through digitalisation. We have a real opportunity to leverage the immense capabilities of information and communication technologies (ICT) to optimise our processes and improve our production efficiency. Watch our social spotlight video ‘LEVERAGE’ with Martin Winter from the SusChem Management Team.



Watch out for our other Social Media Spotlights on Advanced Materials (CREATE) and Advanced Processes (MAKE).

All three of these SusChem Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) featured in SusChem’s recent white paper on the potential for KETs in Horizon Europe. The white paper outlined the major technology developments and initiatives needed to ‘create’ advanced materials, ‘develop’ advanced process technologies and ‘leverage’ digital technologies.

Debate at #SusChem2018
All three SusChem KETs will be debated and discussed at #SusChem2018. Our keynote speakers include: Signe Ratso, Deputy Director-General – Directorate Research and Innovation (RTD), EU Commission; Joanna Dupont-Inglis, Director of Industrial Biotechnology at EuropaBio, and SusChem Board Member; Markus Steilemann, Chief Commercial Officer & Member of Management Board, Covestro and Chair of the SusChem Board; and Marco Mensink, Director General of Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council.

Register today for a chance to define the technology priorities needed to shape Europe’s sustainable future. You can download a full list of speakers here.

Spotlight on Advanced Materials Technologies at #SusChem2018

Join us at the 2018 SusChem Stakeholder Event - #SusChem2018 - your number one destination for innovation policy dialogue and debate this summer. The 2018 Stakeholder event takes place at the Thon Hotel City Centre in Brussels on 20 June 2018 and will give you the opportunity to voice your priorities and help define SusChem’s input into the next EU Framework Funding Programme: Horizon Europe.

This year’s theme is "The Future of Research & Innovation in Europe: Defining Technology Priorities for Sustainable Growth" and will bring together global audiences, senior players from the chemical industry, academia, research technology organisations (RTOs) and EU institutions to address common innovation challenges and debate priorities crucial to the sustainability of the European chemical and biotechnology sectors.

At the event Stakeholder input will be collected through two carefully designed parallel breakout sessions: one on Advanced Materials and the other on Advanced Process Technologies. Input from both sessions will contribute to our future strategic research and innovation agenda beyond 2020.

http://www.suschem.org/events/suschem-stakeholder-event-2018/breakout-sessions-52

Spotlight on Advanced Materials Technologies

Advanced material technologies enable breakthrough application development across a wide range of value chains. Innovative products can improve your quality of life and offer solutions to many societal and environmental challenges and will feature at #2018. Watch our social spotlight video ‘CREATE’ with Anne Chloé Devic from the SusChem Management Team.

Watch out for our other Social Media Spotlights on Advanced Processes (MAKE) and Digital Technologies (LEVERAGE).

All three of these SusChem Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) featured in SusChem’s recent white paper on the potential for KETs in Horizon Europe. The white paper outlined the major technology developments and initiatives needed to ‘create’ advanced materials, ‘develop’ advanced process technologies and ‘leverage’ digital technologies.

Debate at #SusChem2018

All three SusChem KETs will be debated and discussed at #SusChem2018. Our keynote speakers include: Signe Ratso, Deputy Director-General – Directorate Research and Innovation (RTD), EU Commission; Joanna Dupont-Inglis, Director of Industrial Biotechnology at EuropaBio, and SusChem Board Member; Markus Steilemann, Chief Commercial Officer & Member of Management Board, Covestro and Chair of the SusChem Board; and Marco Mensink, Director General of Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council.

Register today for a chance to define the technology priorities needed to shape Europe’s sustainable future. You can download a full list of speakers here.

Registration open for second RoadToBio Stakeholder Workshop

Registration is now open for the second RoadToBio stakeholder workshop on biobased opportunities for the chemical industry. The workshop is organised by the RoadToBio consortium and will take place on Tuesday 19 June 2018 - the day before the SusChem Annual Stakeholder event - in Brussels. The workshop will introduce and discuss the biobased opportunities identified within the project for the chemical industry to increase its biobased portfolio.

Over the past year, RoadToBio has identified opportunities to switch fossil process chains in the chemical industry to biobased alternative methods. For this purpose, the technical side was analysed and complemented with studies on public perception and regulatory barriers. In this way nine 'sweet spots' were identified, which are to be worked out in detail in a roadmap to show the possibilities for how biobased alternatives can be included in the portfolio of the European chemical industry.

The aim of the workshop is to invite participants to take a closer look at these sweet spots, the methods the project has used for their identification and to discuss what is important to develop a new process.

The workshop will take place on 19 June 2018 from 12h30 to 16h15 at Factory forty, Rue des anciens étangs, 40, 1190 Brussels, Belgium.

Register for this event before 08 June by sending an email to Lea Koening at Dechema.

More on RoadToBio

How can the chemical industry in Europe meet the challenges in global markets while becoming more sustainable at the same time? RoadToBio is a Horizon2020 project and funded via the Biobased Industries JU that aims to pave the way for the European chemical industry towards a higher biobased portfolio and competitive success based on the benefits offered by the bioeconomy. The Project will deliver a roadmap for the chemical industry that will specify benefits as well as barriers towards a biobased economy to meet societal needs in 2030.

Recently, many successful production and subsequent uses of biobased building blocks have started up. However, their production and applications are limited. Aside from technical and operational challenges, there is a plethora of hurdles in the fields of regulation and acceptance hindering the chemical industry to increase its biobased portfolio.

The roadmap developed in RoadToBio will contain two main components: first, an analysis of the most promising opportunities (‘sweet spots’) for the chemical industry to increase its biobased portfolio as well as the technological and commercial barriers and the hurdles in regulations and acceptance by society, governing bodies and the industry itself, and second, a strategy, action plan and engagement guide to overcome the existing and anticipated barriers and hurdles as mentioned above.

The roadmap for the chemicals industry to a bioeconomy will describe the actions that need to be done by all stakeholders to achieve the overarching objectives, set out over time, showing inter-dependencies between them. The overarching objectives are to achieve the full exploitation of the bioeconomy within the EU, specifically aiming for a 30% share of biobased products in the chemical industry by 2030.

SusChem Brokerage 2017 is on 18 October

The SusChem 2017 Brokerage event which will take place on Wednesday 18 October 2017 in Brussels, Belgium at the Thon Hotel in the EU quarter. Don’t hesitate - register now! Participation in the event is free of charge, but prior registration is compulsory.

As always the SusChem Brokerage event will be the unique opportunity for SusChem stakeholders from industry, academia, SMEs and other sectors to present project ideas, develop consortia and submit funding proposals targeting the 2018 and 2019 calls for Horizon 2020 with deadlines falling in the late 2017 and early 2018.

The Horizon 2020 work programme for 2018-2020 is expected to be officially published in early October, but you can read a Commission document that describes the context for the entire strategic programming process, which will guide the preparation of the work programme itself, here.

During the SusChem brokerage event, you will have the opportunity to:

• Get detailed views on the Horizon 2020 2018-2019 programme calls focusing on:
• Advanced Materials Research
• Process and Biotechnologies, and
• Raw Materials calls in Societal Challenge 5
• Present your project ideas to the SusChem stakeholder community
• Meet consortia looking for partners, and
• Interact with other stakeholders during the speed dating session.  

The draft agenda for the Brokerage event is available here.

Use Grant-It

Delegates are kindly invited to propose their project ideas for the 2018 and 2019 calls of Horizon 2020 on GRANT-IT - your one-stop access to funding opportunities from the European Commission and Regional and National governments in the field of sustainable chemistry.

SusChem members can use GRANT-IT resources for free to search for funding, identify project opportunities, propose project ideas and search for potential project partners.

Submitting your project ideas via GRANT-IT will make it available to the whole SusChem community and allow interested partners to contact you for meeting requests when the brokerage speed dating tool is open.

For additional information and for questions related to accommodation or how to access the venue, please visit the SusChem 2017 Brokerage event registration portal.

Do not miss this opportunity - register now for the SusChem 2017 Brokerage Event! 

Three Awesome Reasons to be at #suschem2017

The annual SusChem Stakeholder event is happening on 8 June 2017 in Brussels. To find out more about #suschem2017 and register click here!


See you there!

SusChem 2017 Registration - Lets do it!

Our most influential annual event – the SusChem Stakeholder event – is now open for registration. The 2017 event takes place on 8 June at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Brussels and will bring together global audiences, senior players from the chemical industry, academia, research technology organisations (RTOs) and EU institutions to address common challenges and debate priorities crucial to the sustainability of the European chemical and biotechnology innovation sectors. This year’s theme is ‘Accelerating innovation and impact in Europe: Shaping expectations and priorities for the next EU Framework Programme’.

Registration is easy. Cefic Innovation manager and member of the SusChem secretariat show you how the registration launch happened - and how to sign up for the sustainable chemistry event of the year!

As usual the annual stakeholder event is free to SusChem members so why not register now!

Registration for SusChem Stakeholder event 2017 is open!

Our most influential annual event – the SusChem Stakeholder event – is now open for registration. The 2017 event takes place on 8 June at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Brussels and will bring together global audiences, senior players from the chemical industry, academia, research technology organisations (RTOs) and EU institutions to address common challenges and debate priorities crucial to the sustainability of the European chemical and biotechnology innovation sectors. This year’s theme is ‘Accelerating innovation and impact in Europe: Shaping expectations and priorities for the next EU Framework Programme’.

As usual the annual stakeholder event is free to SusChem members so why not register now!

In the morning plenary presentations will be given by Peter Droell, Director at DG Research and Innovation for Industrial Technologies and Dr. Klaus Sommer, Chairman of the SusChem Board and the SusChem communications team will also present the SusChem rebranding project.

Breakout sessions

Participants will then split into three parallel breakout workshops. There will be two sessions held either side of the morning coffee break and delegates will be asked to select two of the three topics at registration.

The three breakout session topics are:

• Defining success factors for EU funded projects to optimise innovation impact and value for Europe How can we maximise the market uptake and impact of EU funded project results by examining success learnings from projects? Exemplary projects will share relevant success factors and critical learnings and all stakeholders will have an opportunity to share their views on collaborative projects and how they can be designed to optimise impact.
• SME’s as a driver of the EU innovation ecosystems: How can we stimulate market-creating innovation through SME funding? Chemical and biotechnology SMEs are key enablers of innovation. This breakout session will try to identify the right mechanisms and ways to enhance their engagement in European public funding.  The session will examine current policies drivers, funding requirements and barriers to the commercialisation of SME innovation.
• Shaping funding instruments to accelerate innovation and competitiveness in Europe Competitiveness relies on the capacity to create added value.  In this breakout session we will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the design and structure of EU innovation funding instruments by sharing experiences with Horizon 2020. Together, we will identify a short list of ideas and recommendations for the EU Commission in the evolution and design of the next EU Framework Programme.

FP9 debate

After lunch SusChem stakeholders will receive updates from our National Research Platform (NTP) network and feedback from the breakout sessions before a high-level panel discussion that will examine how to accelerate innovation and deliver impact in the upcoming Framework Funding Programme (FP9).

The panel will be moderated by Cefic Director General Marco Mensink and will feature contributions from Prof. Michael Matlosz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the French National Research Agency (ANR), Cosimo Franco, CEO of Endura, Angels Orduña, the SPIRE PPP Executive Director, Ulrich Kuesthardt, SusChem Board Member and CIO at Evonik, and Kurt Vandenberghe, Director for Policy Development and Coordination at DG Research and Innovation.

Following a summing up of the day’s activities and outcomes, the SusChem Stakeholder event 2017 will conclude – as ever – with a networking cocktail reception.

For more details, please visit the event website or register direct by clicking here. In the meantime why not catch up with the highlights of the 2016 SusChem Stakeholder event!

VERAM holds Expert Workshop on future of European raw materials research

On Tuesday 13 June 2017, the Horizon 2020 project VERAM (Visionand Roadmap for European Raw Materials) is holding a workshop to explore opportunities and develop solutions which will help shape the landscape of European raw materials research and innovation towards 2050. The event will take place in Brussels. SusChem is a partner in VERAM and you are invited to participate, but places are limited so don't miss this opportunity to have your say on the future of raw materials research and innovation!

VERAM is a unique coordination project that links two European Technology Platforms (ETPs) in minerals and forestry and two European Research Areas (ERA-NETs). And SusChem is involved too. With a total budget of €1.4 million to be implemented over a period of 30 months, the project kicked off in December 2015 and will complete its work by 31 May 2018.

The VERAM project is working to produce a Vision and Roadmap for European Raw Materials to 2050 based on the coordination of raw materials research and innovation. At the heart of this collaboration are two of our fellow ETPs: ETP SMR on Sustainable Minerals Resources and FTP (Forest Technology Platform). They are supported in their efforts by the ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform) represented by Università Politecnica dells Marche - UNIVPM, EuMaT (Advanced Materials ETP) represented by Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek - VITO, and by SusChem represented by the European Chemical Industry Council - Cefic.

In addition the ERA-NETs WoodWisdomNet (represented in the project by Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe – FNR – from Germany) and ERA‐Min (represented by the French National Centre for Scientific Research – CNRS) will link to national research funding activities and four well-known research institutes - D’Appolonia SPA from Italy, Germany's Forschunszentrum Juelich - FZ Juelich, Fundacion Technalia Research and Innovation - Tecnalia from Spain, and Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy - VTT from Finland - complete the partnership.

The VERAM Experts' Workshop takes place on 13 June at the Orega - EU District, Rue du Commerce 123, 1000 Brussels from 10:00 to 16:00 and will gather information, ideas and opinions from expert stakeholders to develop a solid Research and Innovation Roadmap for European Raw Materials.

If you want to help shape the future of European raw materials research and innovation, please register for the event by clicking here. For more information on the VERAM project, please visit the project website.

2016 SusChem End of Year Message

Dear colleagues and members of the SusChem community,

The year 2016 represented a significant milestone for SusChem. Together we defined five main priority areas for our research and innovation activities in sustainable chemistry -  Sustainable bio-economy, ICT for processes, Water, Catalysis and Processes, and Materials for Energy  -  and developed a comprehensive plan for following up other important topics.

During the year a number of SusChem inspired projects delivered significant results, most notably the E4Water project, that demonstrated the very tangible impact of our research and innovation agenda. 2016 also saw SusChem act to facilitate enhanced collaboration and cooperation between the two SusChem inspired Public Private Partnerships: the BBI Joint Undertaking and SPIRE.

We successfully held our annual Stakeholder event in June, as usual in Brussels, and a very successful Brokerage event in Seville in September during the 6th European Chemical Congress. New Working Groups were created and substantial and significant input, based on the needs of our sector, was gathered, delivered to the European Commission and well received by them. Moreover, our network of National Technology Platforms expanded to include a record number of fourteen Member States.

Towards the end of the year we launched our new SusChem identity at a reception in the European Parliament. This rebranding campaign will continue into 2017 including a revision of the SusChem website.

But above all, the greatest success factor for SusChem in 2016 was YOU! Your commitment, trust and involvement strengthened SusChem and motivated the platform in its mission to represent the significant sustainable chemistry research and innovation efforts of the Chemical Industry within the chemical science community, to the European Institutions, and beyond.

On behalf of the SusChem Board and the SusChem secretariat, I would like to thank you for your continuing engagement and we wish you all very happy and relaxing holidays and a healthy, happy and “sustainable” New Year. 2017 will be another important year for SusChem and we look forward to working with you on new SusChem inspired initiatives over the next 12 months.

Best wishes,

Dr Klaus H. Sommer
Chairman of the SusChem Board

New SusChem Branding launched at 8EIS

The new SusChem branding and logo were unveiled at an evening reception at the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday (15 November). The event was part of the Eighth European Innovation Summit (8EIS) organised by Knowledge4Innovation (K4I) and featured SusChem’s forward strategy plus a networking prize competition! Look out for the new SusChem clouds!

SusChem’s branding launch event was hosted by Lambert van Nistelrooij, MEP, Chair of the K4I Forum Governing Board (left), who praised SusChem for its commitment to collaboration and cooperation in research and innovation at the European and National level.

He looked forward to further contributions to address Europe’s common societal challenges combining sustainability and competitiveness.

Together for sustainability

Dr. Klaus Sommer of Bayer and Chair of the SusChem board introduced the new branding and logo. He stated that SusChem had been conceived in 2004 to shape one voice on innovation for the European chemical industry and had been very successful in promoting the chemical sciences and biotechnology in European research and innovation programmes.

“Sustainability and competitiveness are strategic priorities for SusChem,” he said. “Progress on sustainability, competitiveness and environmental protection are intimately linked; and chemical products and chemistry-driven technological advances provide critical answers to ensure the sustainable development of modern societies.”

Dr. Sommer described SusChem’s vision of “a competitive and innovative Europe where sustainable chemistry and biotechnology together provide solutions for future generations” and its mission is “to initiate and inspire European chemical and biochemical innovation to respond effectively to society’s challenges by providing sustainable solutions.”

There are three elements to the SusChem mission: 

• Developing strategies and providing a coherent business-focused analysis of research and innovation bottlenecks and opportunities related to societal challenges and industrial leadership 
• Mobilising industry and other stakeholders within the EU to work in partnership and deliver on agreed innovation priorities
• Disseminating information and enabling knowledge transfer to a wide range of stake-holders across the Europe

Dr Sommer highlighted that “the breakthrough technologies needed to transform our society to a more sustainable future will be enabled through chemistry.” The work to achieve this is already underway in several domains including the development of:

• Advanced materials for the sustainable production of renewable electricity,
• Energy storage solutions, 
• Energy efficiency solutions for buildings,  
• More sustainable water management, 
• More sustainable transport systems and mobility options
• More efficient processes

The new logo was then launched via a short video (see below).



Scratch card prizes
After the formal presentation SusChem Secretary, Flavio Benedito, introduced a fun networking activity with the chance to win an iWatch prize! All the attendees at the event had been given scratch cards on arrival and each revealed a ‘sustainable motto’. Ten phrases matched the chosen criteria and from these two were drawn as prize winners!

Our two winners were Susan Robertson of Innovators magazine (above right) and Tatiana Ivanciuc a student from Hanze University. 

Attendees were also given SusChem cloud stress busters. These blue clouds will also be distributed to SusChem National Technology Platforms and will be the subject of a further promotional prize competition in the near future. More details soon!

LRI Innovative Science Award 2016 to be revealed at Red Carpet Gala Dinner

Join us at a Red Carpet Gala Dinner organised by Cefic-LRI on 16 November 2016 to find out the winner of the 2016 LRI Innovative Science Award. The 2016 awardee will be officially revealed at the glamorous Cefic-LRI Annual Workshop dinner during the first day of the 18th Annual Cefic-LRI Workshop. The Cefic-LRI Red Carpet Gala Dinner will start with a networking poster session at 17:30 followed by the Gala Dinner at 19:30 at Le Plaza Hotel in Brussels.

The LRI Innovative Science Award is an initiative of the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), in conjunction with the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), the Association of European Toxicologists and European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX), the International Society of Exposure Sciences (ISES) and Chemical Week. It offers a €100 000 award to support promising new research in the field of novel approaches to the characterisation of molecular initiating events (MIEs), or other key events, in pathways of human and environmental toxicity.

The 2016 award winner will be presented by Dr Nicolas Cudre-Mauroux, Group Head of Research and Innovation at Solvay.

Out of the box
The objective of the LRI Award is to stimulate innovative research, ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking and new approaches, which will advance the development and application of new and existing data in the assessment of chemical safety. The initiative seeks to foster inventive research, focused either on human health or environmental safety that is pioneering new approaches to identifying and characterising MIEs and other key events/biomarkers relevant for important new Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs).

Places are filling quickly so if you would like to be part of this special evening on 16 November, please register for the Red Carpet Gala Dinner now here or by 4 November at the latest.

Please note that separate registrations are required for both the Gala Dinner and the Annual Workshop.

If you haven't registered yet for the 18th Annual Cefic-LRI Workshop, click here. On 17 November, the 18th Annual LRI Workshop will be held at The Square, in Brussels – you can find the programme here. For enquiries related to the workshop, please contact Dr. Bruno Hubesch, LRI Programme Manager, or the LRI Secretariat.