Relive #SusChem2015!

SusChem's 2015 Stakeholder event was a great success! With new exciting and interactive elements, the SusChem community put some serious work into working up future ideas for SusChem inspired projects across our portfolio of priority research and innovation challenges. The outcomes from the two-day event will move the implementation of SusChem's Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) forward. As well as generating a buzz in the conference itself #SusChem2015 made a big impact in the virtual world too. With tweeted photos and short videos the event was a #trending topic on both 8 and 9 June!  

Proceedings were led by SusChem chairman Klaus Sommer (above) with contributions from academia, industry and European Commission officials. There was also a clear focus on SMEs and facilitating their access to European research and innovation programmes and funding. To coincide with #SusChem2015, the technology platform published a new SME Funding Guide and the event ended with a very stimulating showcase involving 19 of Europe's most innovative SMEs 'pitching' their ideas and expertise to a panel of industry experts.

Breakout sessions
The first day of #SusChem2015 focused on the implementation of priorities from the the new SusChem SIRA in six parallel breakout sessions.

Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials was led by Philippe Krafft of Solvay (above) examining a wide range of material and process challenges including industrial symbiosis.

The Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy group chaired by Jens Rieger of BASF who looked at how chemistry and materials for energy storage can enable full integration of renewable energy sources.

ICT and the Chemical Industry was led by Thorsten Potter of Bayer discussing how smart processes and smart materials can deliver improved competitiveness for  the chemical industry in Europe.

The Sustainable and inclusive bioeconomy discussion was orchestrated by Joanna Dupont of EuropaBio covering challenges for chemistry along the full value chain from agriculture and forestry to new markets for platform biobased chemicals

Health, Demographic Change and Well-being was led by Rodney Townsend of the Royal Society of Chemistry focusing on modelling pharmokinetic processes to improve targeted delivery of Active Ingredients.

Finally Smart, Green and Integrated Transport chaired by Peter Nagler of Evonik debated the chemical and material challenges of clean and green mobility.

The outcomes of the breakout sessions were discussed on the second day of  #SusChem2015 in an extended panel discussion and audience Q&A.

Commission contributions
The European Commission were active across two days with word of encouragement and insights on future plans for European collaborative research and innovation. The opening plenary of the event was given by Rudolf Strohmeier, Deputy Director General of DG Research and Innovation (below).

He acknowledged SusChem's role in driving forward the research and innovation agenda in Europe and had particular praise for the SusChem-inspired SPIRE PPP. He also stated that the Commission was fully aware that if the regulatory framework conditions in Europe did not improve then industry would not invest and asked the SusChem community to contribute to the ongoing consultation on this topic in the context of the circular economy and more generally. He also highlighted a recent joint workshop on CO2 conversion technology. This could be a first step towards a possible project of Common European Interest and a 'lighthouse example' for circular economy thinking.

On the second day further insights on how the Horizon 2020 programme had proceeded so far in the 2014 and 2015 calls was given by Soren Bowadt from DG R&I (above).

Christos Tokamanis from DG R&I described Commission work in the area of materials technologies and the major societal challenges.

The Open Innovation SME Workshop was prefaced with a presentation by Catherine Eginard from the Commission's DG GROW describing initiatives for SMEs including the work of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (EASME).

Another important contribution was the final plenary presentation on 9 June: a joint presentation on the SusChem-inspired Horizon 2020 PPPs with Dirk Carrez of the Biobased Industries Consortium (above, left) and Loredana Ghinea of SPIRE.

CRM_InnoNet - Final Newsletter, Video and Conference

The end is nigh! SusChem's FP7 CRM_InnoNet project is approaching its final few days of activity and has just published its tenth and final Issue newsletter. This final issue covers the project's final high level conference (see below), announces the project's new video and much more! 

As well as highlighting the “SUBSTITUTION means EVOLUTION” conference on 17 June 2015 the newsletter features the project's new video addressing the importance of substitution of CRMs for Europe’s economic growth and competitiveness. The video is embedded below.

Also covered are a short summary and link to the project‘s five roadmaps and summary report, a  summary of the CRM policy workshop that took place on 3 March (with links to all the presentations given), a close-up article on the UK's Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and plenty of links to other upcoming events!

Final act
There is still time to register for CRM_InnoNet's final high level conference called 'SUBSTITUTION means EVOLUTION' taking place on 17 June in Brussels. This free conference will be your one-stop shop to find out all you need to know about substitution of CRMs in Europe.

At the event you will:

• Learn about the opportunities provided by substitution in terms of CRMs and how it can solve technological challenges.
• Witness the state of play of CRM substitution activities in Europe with keynote speeches from companies and government bodies.
• Meet up with key EU industrial sectors in the area of substitution.
• Engage in 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 continuing European CRM 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! The final agenda is shown below.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Eva Kailil, MEP - first STOA vice-chair
• 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)
• Christos Tokamanis, European Commission

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

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.

#SusChem2015 - Sustainable chemistry in action: Driving jobs, growth and investment in Europe

Today (8 June) and tomorrow at its annual Stakeholder event (#SusChem2015) the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem) will be discussing how sustainable chemistry can continue to deliver jobs, growth and investment in Europe. Following the publication of the SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) delegates at the event in Brussels will focus on the platform’s priorities for the next Horizon 2020 calls and on working to ensure greater involvement from SMEs in SusChem and Horizon 2020 projects and initiatives.

SusChem Chairman Dr. Klaus Sommer said: “We have the new SusChem SIRA which is clearly aligned to European priorities. Our task today is to identify the key issues and technical priorities that we can take forward to maximise the impact of the SusChem SIRA.”

“In FP7 SusChem inspired a portfolio of role model or flagship projects such as the F3 Factory and the Smart Energy Home projects. We need to define SusChem’s flagship projects for the next phase of Horizon 2020,” he continued.

The stakeholder event will feature keynote speeches, breakout sessions and a panel discussion to work on these issues and set SusChem’s work programme for 2016-2017.

Six breakout sessions
The main theme of #SusChem2015 is 'Propelling Sustainable Chemistry to Exciting New Frontiers’. The first day  will focus on the implementation of priorities from the the new SusChem SIRA in six parallel breakout sessions. The session topics show the intimate involvement of sustainable chemistry in almost all aspects of society. The six sessions will cover:

• Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials led by Philippe Krafft of Solvay who will examine how sustainable chemistry can improve Europe’s access to critical raw material, develop the CO2 value chain, reduce solid wastes, make use of low-temperature wastewater, and enable effective industrial symbiosis
• Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy chaired by Jens Rieger of BASF will have an emphasis on chemistry and materials for energy storage with the main challenge being to enable full integration of renewable energy sources into Europe’s power systems. 
• ICT and the Chemical Industry led by Thorsten Potter of Bayer will look at how smart processes and smart materials can deliver improved competitiveness for  the chemical (and wider process) industries in Europe
• Sustainable and inclusive bioeconomy orchestrated by Joanna Dupont of EuropaBio will cover challenges in sustainable and productive agriculture and forestry, adding value to wastes and residues, resource efficiency, using CO2 as a (bio)feedstock, and new markets for platform (biobased) chemicals 
• Health, Demographic Change and Well-being led by Rodney Townsend of the Royal Society of Chemistry will focus on the challenge of  modelling the pharmokinetic processes underlying diseases and ageing to improve targeted delivery of Active Ingredients and to model and design the most effective delivery vehicles including new ideas for flexible, scalable  manufacturing systems
• Smart, Green and Integrated Transport chaired by Peter Nagler of Evonik will examine the chemical and material challenges of clean and green vehicles (especially electric vehicles) and how to reduce energy consumption across transport applications through lightweight materials, vehicle temperature management and the development of ‘greener’ tyres.

Open Innovation for SMEs
A major part of the second day of the #SusChem2015 focuses on SusChem's goal to foster collaboration between larger chemical players and SMEs with an Open Innovation SME workshop. This special event will be followed by a poster session and a Horizon 2020 brokerage session. Participants will experience first-hand the creation of new partnerships as innovative SMEs from across Europe pitch their brilliant ideas and technologies to bigger chemical companies in three technical fields:

• ICT for chemical and biotechnology processes
• Eco-innovation technologies
• Advanced materials and nanotechnologies

Coinciding with #SusChem2015 the platform is publishing a new Guide to Innovation Funding for SMEs in Europe (left). The publication outlines five dedicated SME funding schemes and describes how SusChem can help SMEs get involved with collaborative research and innovation projects.

SusChem’s Network of National Technology Platforms (NTPs) will also present and demonstrate their vital role in the SusChem eco-system by leveraging national government funds, working with SMEs and initiating cross border cooperation.

#SusChem2015 takes place at the Sheraton Rogier Hotel in Brussels, Belgium on 8 and 9 June. The full programme for the event is available here.

Bio Base Europe celebrates 5 years as a Bioeconomy Pioneer!

On Tuesday 16 June the SusChem-inspired Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant will celebrate five years of operation in Ghent, Belgium. And it will also start to prepare for the next stage in its evolution with a ceremony to inaugurate new 15 000 Litre bioreactors tanks.

The Bio Base Europe celebration will start at 14:00 on Tuesday 16 June at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant in Ghent. For more information on the celebration visit the dedicated website.

Over 350 bioeconomy professionals already decided to join the celebration. The event is free but prior registration is mandatory and the registration deadline in 9 June. Don’t miss the bioeconomy networking event of the year!

Bio Base Europe
Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is a pilot plant for biobased products and processes. The construction of the plant started in 2008 and by the end of 2010, the first projects were running. In those five years Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant became a European frontrunner with regard to the development of the biobased economy in Europe.

Bio Base Europe is a flexible and diversified pilot plant for developing, scaling-up and the trial production of biobased products and processes. Its aim is to bridge the gap between scientific development and the industrial production of new, innovative, biobased products. It provides the scaling-up step needed to continue the development of innovations that appear to be promising at laboratory scale up to industrial scale. The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant helps companies from across the globe to scale-up their biobased processes and to industrialise them. The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is an independent, open, innovation centre for the biobased economy.

Biofuel from barley
The pilot plant recently hit the headlines when it helped partner Celtic Renewables to produce the first biofuel derived from waste products from Scotch Whisky production.

The biobutanol biofuel is produced from draff - kernels of barley which are soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process in whisky production - and pot ale, the yeasty liquid that is left over following distillation.

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.

#SusChem2015, Open Innovation SME Workshop and Brokerage Event

Places are going fast for the 2015 SusChem Stakeholder event #SusChem2015 and registration will close on Friday 29 May. The event takes place on 8 and 9 June at the Sheraton Rogier Hotel in Brussels. Immediately after the Stakeholder event there is a special Open Innovation SME workshop and Brokerage Event on the afternoon of 9 June that is also open to all SusChem Stakeholders.

One of SusChem's goals is to foster greater collaboration between larger chemical players and SMEs in the sector. The Open Innovation Workshop is part of our work in this area and participants will learn about the EU funding instruments available to SMEs and experience first-hand the creation of new partnerships as innovative SMEs from across Europe pitch their bright ideas and novel technologies to big chemical companies.

Entrepreneurial SMEs
During the event more than 20 leading SMEs, from across Europe with ambitions to connect to new industrial partners and investors will present their elevator pitches in three fields of interest to sustainable chemistry:

• ICT for chemical and bio-tech processes
• Eco-innovation technologies
• Advanced materials and nano-technologies

Listening to them will be representatives from leading Multinational Chemical Companies, including BASF, Bayer AG, Solvay, Dow, DuPont, Arkema, Repsol, DSM, EVONIK Akzo Nobel and Clariant, that are keen to connect to innovative SMEs.

In addition there will be a dedicated SME poster session where SMEs will be able to present their innovative technologies and expertise to potential partners and collaborators.

Finally, a Speed Dating Brokerage Session will give the opportunity to network and set up one-on-one meetings with the 150+ participants from industry, academia, RTOs, leading experts and policymakers who have already registered to attend the SusChem Stakeholder event.

Who Should Attend?
The aim of the SME workshop is to facilitate the development of new partnerships and to start building the bridges required to foster successful collaborations between SMEs and big chemical companies. Anyone interested in innovation and SMEs in Europe can attend, including:

• SMEs
• Industry
• Academia
• NGOs
• Policymakers
• Venture Capitalists

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity! Spaces are filling up quickly, so reserve your place HERE! Registration will close end of the day on Friday 29 May.

Stakeholder event
Registration for this event is in conjunction with the main 2015 SusChem Stakeholder event. The main focus of the Stakeholder event will be the recent SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) and how it is being implemented. The overall theme of this year's event is 'Propelling Sustainable Chemistry to exciting new frontiers - Implementing the New Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda'.

The packed programme includes many exciting activities over two days including:

• Presentation of the key highlights addressed in the SIRA by SusChem Board members, followed by a stakeholder breakout discussion on how to translate the SIRA into tangible action
• Conclusions from breakout session discussions to be addressed in a lively panel debate on day two, and
• The latest news and activities from our SusChem National Technology Platforms (NTPs)

Confirmed speakers over the two days include:

• Rudolf Strohmeier, Deputy Director General, DG Research and Innovation 
• Klaus H. Sommer, Senior VP Bayer Technology Services and Chairman of the SusChem Board
• Christos Tokamanis, Head of Unit Nano and Converging Sciences and Technologies, DG Research and Innovation
• Dirk Carrez, Executive Director, Biobased Industry Consortium
• Loredana Ghinea, Executive Director, A.SPIRE

For a complete list of confirmed speakers please refer to our updated agenda. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity! Register now to avoid disappointment!

Book your accommodation before 29 May!
Accommodation for delegates is also available at the Sheraton Rogier Hotel in Brussels for the days of the event. SusChem has managed to extend the deadline for booking rooms with a fixed discount rate also until 29 May. You can book via this link. Don't delay!

See you in Brussels on 8 and 9 June!

BBI – JU launches €100 million Call

The Bio-based Industries (BBI) Joint Undertaking (JU) PPP has just launched a €100 million Call for Proposals. This second call from the BBI JU is dedicated to Innovation Actions (aka ‘Flagship projects’) and focuses on lignocellulosic feedstock (BBI Value Chain 1), valorisation of cellulose (BBI Value Chain 2) and innovative processes for sugar recovery and conversion from Municipal Solid Waste (BBI Value Chain 4). See the BBI JU value chains below.

The Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking will be holding an Info Day session in Brussels on the morning of 26 June on this call followed by a networking and brokerage session in the afternoon. 

All three sub-calls will be subject to a single stage selection process and proposals must be submitted by the closing deadline of 15 September 2015. The call documentation estimates that proposals with total eligible budgets up to €35 million should allow the specified challenges to be addressed appropriately.

In addition any proposals should look to include industrial symbiosis and integration of actors along the whole value chain in their proposed projects and, wherever possible, make use of existing facilities.

The topics chosen in this call reflect elements of the section on 'A Sustainable and Inclusive Bioeconomy' in SusChem's recently published Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA). The three sub-calls are summarised below with links to their specific Horizon 2020 call page (click on the header).

From lignocellulosic feedstock to advanced biobased chemicals (BBI.VC1.F1)

Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most abundant resources of fixed renewable carbon on earth present in woody crops, agricultural and forest and other process residues. While bio-based chemicals, materials and ethanol produced from food crops are already on the market production from lignocellulosic feedstock would open up large opportunities in terms of enhanced sustainability, avoiding land conflicts and expanding resource potential.

Research and innovation activities in this area are on-going, but the challenge lies in establishing at industrial scale a first-of-a-kind, cost-effective biorefinery concept leading to the conversion of lignocellulosic feedstock into biobased chemicals, materials and ethanol. Therefore the principal objective of this call is the demonstration of the techno-economic viability of transformation of one or multiple lignocellulosic feedstock into a bio-based product such as bioethanol (targeting a production capacity of at least 50 000 ton/year); and/or diols and/or diacids (targeting a production capacity of at least 5 000 ton/year). Proposals should address their further conversion into sustainable biomaterials within an integrated biorefinery concept applying a cascading approach.

Valorisation of cellulose into new added value products (BBI.VC2.F2)

Cellulose is a well-known and widely exploited material, but recent technological developments are opening up opportunities for its use in new and higher added value applications. This enhances competitiveness and also significantly improves environmental performance. As for lignocellulosic feedstock, while demonstration activities are being pursued, the challenge in this call lies in demonstrating at industrial scale first-of-a-kind cost-effective biorefinery concepts leading to the production of economically competitive cellulose-based products for bulk materials and volume applications.

Proposals should aim to demonstrate the techno-economic viability of biorefinery concepts leading to new cellulose-based products with tailored functionalities for either microfibrillar cellulose (MFC) based additives (at a scale of at least 1 000 ton/year) or lightweight structural composites based on (bio-based and/or conventional) polymers reinforced with cellulose pulp fibres (demonstrated at 25 000 ton/year of composite materials).

Innovative processes for Municipal Solid Waste (BBI.VC4.F3)

The biodegradable fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is an abundant feedstock rich in sugars and suitable for conversion into biobased chemicals and fuels through biotechnological processes. However, its quality is highly variable and contains other components, such as proteins, fats, ashes and other inhibitor compounds which affect the overall yield of fermentation and enzymatic conversion processes. This call again looks to demonstrating at industrial scale a first-of-a-kind, cost effective new value chain for the recovery and conversion of MSW-based sugars into biobased products for the whole value chain: from sourcing and management of MSW to its conversion. 

What is the BBI JU?

The Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking is a €3.7 billion Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). It is dedicated to realising the European bioeconomy potential, turning biological residues and wastes into greener everyday products through innovative technologies and biorefineries, which are at the heart of the bioeconomy. The BBI is about connecting key sectors, creating new value chains and producing a range of innovative bio-based products to ultimately form a new bio-based community and economy.

For more information on the BBI JU visit the BBI JU website or contact the BIC secretariat.