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.

Register now for BIO-TIC webinars: Biosurfactants on 22 May

The Cefic and SusChem supported FP7 BIO-TIC project is organising a series of webinars to present the main findings from the project. SusChem and Cefic invite you to participate in the next webinar on the biosurfactants product group that will take place on Friday 22 May 2015 from 3-4 pm CET. The webinars are free but you will need to register beforehand. 

The agenda for the first BIO-TIC webinar on 22 May on biosurfactants includes:

• Introduction to BIO-TIC from Pierre Barthélemy, Cefic Executive Director for Research & Innovation
• Industrial Biotechnology (IB) market roadmap by Anna Saarentaus, Principal in Pöyry
• Overview on Biosurfactants by Prof. Wim Soetaert, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant
• Future of Biosurfactants according to BIO-TIC by Pierre Barthélemy
• Q&A session

Biosurfactants are one of five business cases which the project has identified to have significant potential to enhance the European economic competitiveness and introduce cross-cutting technology ideas. Europe has already an established biosurfactants market and is currently the global leader in terms of both biosurfactant production and consumption. Still, the market share could be higher if the various innovation hurdles to biosurfactants are addressed.

The BIO-TIC project has extensively examined the market, R&D and technological hurdles for biosurfactants and with this webinar is now presenting its findings to the public. Later this year, an integrated roadmap with the main findings of the project including examples on all the five business cases will be publicly available on the project website and will be presented at the project final conference 'From bugs to business: Unlocking the Bioeconomy in Europe' on 23 June.

Webinar schedule
The project’s dissemination activity will continue over the summer with more webinars scheduled on the other BIO-TIC business cases and on the uptake of IB in general. Note the webinar schedule is your agenda now!

• Tuesday 26 May 2015, 10-11 am CET:  Chemical Building Blocks organised by TNO
• Monday 8 June 2015, 10-11 am CET: CO2-based Chemicals organised by Nova Institute
• Wednesday 10 June 2015, 10-11 am CET: European Bioeconomy revisited organised by DECHEMA
• Tuesday 7 July, 1-2 pm CET: Where next: Industrial Biotechnology? – A review of the results of the BIO-TIC project organised by EuropaBio
• TBD, Webinar on Biofuels organised by DECHEMA

You can register for all the webinars for free via: https://dechema.ilinc.com.

BIO-TIC Final Conference
As mentioned above the SusChem inspired FP7 BIO-TIC project will be holding its final conference entitled ‘From bugs to business! Unlocking the Bioeconomy in Europe’ on the afternoon of 23 June 2015 in central Brussels.

The conference will provide all you need to know about industrial biotechnology (IB) in Europe in one compact and easily digestible event. It will be the place for you to embark on the bioeconomy journey! Registration for the event is now open and is free of charge.

What is BIO-TIC? 
Funded by the European Commission, BIO-TIC is an FP7 project launched in 2012 with with the vision to investigate hurdles and critical success factors to deploy industrial biotechnology in Europe.

Modern use of industrial biotechnology is critical in a bio-based economy. Deploying the full potential of biotech innovation will enable European industry to deliver high-value products to consumers and create new commercial opportunities. New feedstock demands will lead to synergies amongst SMEs and large industrial partners. New technological developments will boost European export of technology and facilities by bringing some of Europe’s top sectors together: chemical industry, engineering and renewables.

For more information about BIO-TIC visit the project website or contact Pierre Barthélemy, Cefic Executive Director for research and innovation.

Save the date: BIO-TIC Final Conference 23 June

The SusChem inspired FP7 BIO-TIC project will be holding its final conference entitled ‘From bugs to business! Unlocking the Bioeconomy in Europe’ on the afternoon of 23 June 2015 in central Brussels. The conference will provide all you need to know about industrial biotechnology (IB) in Europe in one compact and easily digestible event. It will be the place for you to embark on the bioeconomy journey! Registration for the event is now open and is free of charge.

The conference: ‘From bugs to business! Unlocking the Bioeconomy in Europe’ will start at 13h30 and will close at 17h30 with a networking cocktail reception. The event will take place at the Royal Flemish Academy for Sciences and Arts in Brussels. The full programme will be confirmed soon and will consist of two parts:

• Part 1: Setting the scene - which will use case studies gathered during the project to illustrate the state of industrial biotechnology in Europe today
• Part 2: Making industrial biotechnology happen – during which expert panel sessions will focus on how the recommendations that have emerged from the work of BIO-TIC can be implemented

The half-day conference will enable you to:

• Learn about the opportunities provided by this key enabling technology
• Witness the state of play of industrial biotechnology in Europe with keynote speeches from companies and government bodies
• Engage in discussions during dedicated panel debates on the implementation of recommendations to build a booming industrial biotechnology sector and the European bioeconomy
• Discuss with policy makers, industrial players, entrepreneurs and academia during the networking cocktail
• Explore industrial biotechnology products and tools in the exhibition space

In addition on the following day (24 June) there will be an opportunity for delegates to visit the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant facility in Ghent.

More details of the conference will be published on the conference website and the twitter hashtag #bioeconomy4EU has been created for the event.

IB for development
As well as examining the potential for the impact of industrial biotechnology in Europe, the BIO-TIC final links in with the focus for the European Year of Development (EYD2015) during the month of June, which is ‘Sustainable Green Growth, Decent Jobs and Businesses.’

The green economy and the bioeconomy have particular relevance for developing countries, as many are vulnerable to external shocks such as climate change, natural disasters or food and fuel crises. Sustainable green growth should be able to simultaneously alleviate poverty, protect the natural environment and ensure decent work with labour rights and standards, social protection and social dialogue all upheld.

Businesses are job creators and lead innovation and change, they are key to ensuring decent work and forging responsible and sustainable development. At the end of the day, development is about making investment and economic activity work for everyone, while also protecting our planet.

This ethos is very much at the heart of what SusChem and projects like BIO-TIC are striving to enable.

About BIO-TIC
This conference marks the final stage of the BIO-TIC project. BIO-TIC was launched in 2012 with the vision to investigate hurdles and critical success factors to deploy industrial biotechnology in Europe. Find out more at the project’s website.

BIC publishes new practical guide to Combined Funding

SusChem stakeholders all know that in theory there are now numerous synergies between sources of European Union (EU) funding for innovation and research. And EU leaders are promoting combined funding to maximise impact when tackling societal challenges. Now a practical guide has been published by the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) focusing on Combining BBI funds under Horizon 2020 with European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).

The new guide  (below) is is a very useful tool for anyone applying for funds in the Biobased Industries JTI calls and interested in creating synergies with European regional funds. And the guide is also an excellent primer for anyone interested in the practicalities of combined funding for research and innovation.

New funds
New European funding programmes to strengthen research and innovation in Europe have come available in the 2014 – 2020 Financial Framework of the European Union. A myriad of different programmes are available for beneficiaries throughout Europe to co-fund innovation and market developments. These include:

• Over €70 billion is invested in research and innovation through the centrally managed Horizon 2020 programme
• The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) will invest between €80 – €100 billion via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in innovation-drivers, infrastructures, logistics and market take-up activities
• €70 billion from the European Social Fund (ESF) will be invested in skills, life-long learning, social integration, employment services, capacity building entrepreneurship and social innovation
• More than € 100 billion will go into funding for Rural Development via the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
• €66 billion will be available for Trans-European transport connections and environmental projects

Many of these funds can be combined to boost the European bio-based economy.

In June 2014 the European Commission (EC) has published a European Guide on synergy possibilities between ESIF and other (centrally managed) EU funds including Horizon 2020. The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) guide complements this and provides guiding principles, synergy scenarios and illustrative practical examples on how the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI) funding from Horizon 2020 can be combined with ESIF (and other) funding.

The 'BIC specific' practical guide is particularly useful as the BBI aims to build new biobased Value Chains from different kinds of (regional) biofeedstocks to new biobased products, aiming to bridge currently different worlds and sectors. Synergies are targeted to maximise the impact of public policies and support in bridging regions, sectors and value chain stakeholders towards new biobased business, new and better jobs and benefits for the environment.

The 38 page guide includes a number of case studies, many SusChem related, that illustrate how funds have been combined. These include:

• Bio Base Europe: one of several pilot facilities funded by ESIF (INTERREG IV 2007-2013 programme).
• Novamont: an industrial company integrating chemistry, agriculture and the environment that has various relevant experiences with both EU and regional funding.
• Biochemtex: its proprietary PROESA(R) technology received funding under FP7, NER300 (a financial instrument of the EU Commission and EIB for renewable demonstration plant) and national funds.
• R4R: The FP7 funded project is a good example of regional smart specialisation activities receiving funding from FP7, ERDF, INTERREG (ESIF) and national/regional funding.

Commission guide 
A guide on the practicalities of combining funding was published by the European Commission.
The European Commission guide published in June is entitled ‘Enabling synergies between European Structural application: and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020 and other research, innovation and competitiveness-related Union programmes’ and describes the synergies now available between ESIF (European Structural and Investment Funds) and Horizon 2020 and other EU programmes for innovation and competitiveness.

The 125 page guide contains explanations on the basic rules and principles for obtaining synergies and combining the different funds, and contains recommendations for relevant actors. It is accompanied by descriptions of the various programmes (Annex 1) and guidance via a set of scenarios designed to “inspire programme designers and implementers” with respect to the potential to combine schemes (Annex 2).

More information
To download the BIC guide visit the website and for more information on BIC and BBI activities, or you can contact the BIC secretariat.

Bio Base Europe selected as Demo Pilot Line

The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, a pilot plant for biobased products and processes located in the port of Ghent in Belgium, has been selected by the European Commission as a demonstrator multi-KETs pilot line. Supporting Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) is a key part of Europe’s industrial strategy to stimulate competitiveness and growth.

Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant has been selected as one of the four European demonstrator multi-KETs Pilot Lines. The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is a flexible and diversified pilot plant for the development, scale-up and custom manufacturing of biobased processes and products. It is an independent and open innovation pilot plant, accessible for companies and research institutions throughout the world. Bio Base Europe is one of a suite of projects across Europe that are working to realise the concepts outlined in SusChem’s original visionary project on ‘The Integrated Biorefinery’.

Six KETs - Industrial Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Nano- and Microelectronics, Photonics, Advanced Materials, and Advanced Manufacturing - have been were defined by the European Commission. Europe invests in these technologies, in part, to enable the shift to a low carbon, knowledge-based economy ensuring the competitiveness of European industries and the creation of jobs.

To support this policy, the European Commission has launched the multi-KETs Pilot Lines project that seeks to combine several KETs under one roof. In the frame of this project, four promising European pilot facilities will be scrutinized, resulting in a tentative implementation roadmap that can be used for the further development of a systematic EU policy to support pilot and other KETs activities.

The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is one of the selected demonstrator projects. During the coming months, its entire ecosystem will be mapped out including best practices, barriers to be overcome, technological and organizational aspects, financing mechanisms etc.

Bio Base Europe will organize monthly guided tours for interested parties, such as SME’s, large companies, policy makers etc, and host workshops to give participants insight into its daily operations. The first guided tour is scheduled for 25 March 2014. More information on the guided tours and workshops can be found here.

This accolade strengthens the position of Bio Base Europe in its mission to support SMEs and large companies with biotechnological innovations. Prof. Wim Soetaert, founder and managing director of Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is very pleased with this international recognition. “Through the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Flanders has obtained a pole position in the field of industrial biotechnology,’ he commented. Prof Stoetaert was a SusChem board member.

A recent video (see below) on the initiative was made for Euronews.



More information
Bio Base Europe was Europe’s first open innovation and education centre for the biobased economy. The project is a joint venture between founding partners Ghent Bio-energy Valley in Belgium and Biopark Terneuzen from the Netherlands and is supported by the European Commission through its European Regional Development Fund programme INTERREG IV.

The aim of the project is to facilitate scale up and optimisation of bioprocesses at pilot plant scale and run test production quantities of new bio-based products for testing, and provide a facility for education and training for process operators for the bio-based industries. At the heart of the project are a pilot plant facility and a dedicated training centre.

The Bio Base Europe pilot plant is located in Ghent and was officially opened in June 2012. It is a flexible and diversified facility that can operate at the tonne level. Its mission is to provide a bridge over a critical innovation gap from scientific feasibility to industrial application for new biotechnological processes and products. It is a one-stop shop focusing on second generation biotechnologies to convert agricultural waste and non-food crops to useful bio-products. The facility is open to all and operations are supported by its own professional staff.

The Bio Base Training Centre is based in Terneuzen and is an education, networking and exhibition facility promoting the development of a sustainable, bio-based economy. It offers general and company-specific training connecting closely with current market demand. The centre is addressing a clear industry-wide skill shortage for process operators and technical specialists with experience in bio-based production and sustainable energy processes.

For more information contact Katrien Molders, Communication Manager for the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant project.