2015 Season's Greetings from SusChem

Dear colleagues and avid SusChem supporters,

2015 was an important year for SusChem: Early in the year we published the new SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) which is the result of intensive discussions with you and our other stakeholders. It focuses on the solutions that the chemical industry and its customers and partners in industrial value-chains can bring to tackle the societal challenges that Europe is facing. As such SusChem is an important contributor to the European innovation landscape.

When analysing the first round of Horizon 2020 calls that were issued for the 2014-2015 period, we found that more than 100 calls are connected to technologies described in the SusChem SIRA. We see a similar trend for the 2016-2017 calls. This emphasises in a very tangible way the central role that the chemical industry plays in carrying out Research and Innovation actions that have a significant impact for Europe.

More importantly, SusChem is committed to mobilise its stakeholders to participate in the European innovation effort. We do not only do this through our yearly brokerage event but also through special efforts e.g. dedicated to SMEs. During our stakeholder event in June 2015 we conducted a special brokerage session for SMEs. Here we created an opportunity for SMEs to link with other companies, creating room for companies to get to know the special innovations and business propositions of the SMEs.

Looking forward, SusChem is now engaged in establishing its roadmap for the five years to come, geared towards the implementation of the SIRA. After the kick-off during the Stakeholder event in June we are now working hard on identifying priorities that will be translated into specific initiatives and lighthouse projects. We are looking forward to discussing the outcome with you, soon.

The end of 2015 has also seen a successful conclusion to the COP 21 discussions in Paris. Beyond the global negotiation between states, we all know that the world will need technology solutions to support the transition towards an economy with substantially reduced CO₂ emissions. Here, SusChem is uniquely positioned with sustainability as our fundamental theme and the SIRA clearly focused on the many contributions that the chemical and industrial biotechnology sectors can make.

On behalf of the SusChem Board and the SusChem secretariat, we wish you all very happy and relaxing holidays and a healthy, happy and “sustainable” New Year. 2016 will be another important year for SusChem and we expect to see the first results from the SusChem inspired projects that were launched in the first two years of Horizon 2020 and in which many of you are participating.

Best wishes






Dr Klaus H. Sommer

Chairman of the SusChem Board

Head Consumer and Product Management Bayer Technology Services

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.

#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.

#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!