Press Release: BBI JU Showcases Novel Bio-Based Products At The Bratislava Bioeconomy Conference

Details

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

The Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) together with 4 of its projects, introduced participants to the products and production methods of the future during the Bratislava Bioeconomy conference (BBEC2016) organised under the Slovakian Presidency of the Council.

The BBI JU presented the potential for the bio-based industries in a range of everyday bio-based products. From dandelion tyres to dresses made from milk fibres, bio-degradable compostable shopping bags to high performance bio-ethanol, BBI JU proved that greener production methods and processes offer real progress towards the reality of a bio-based economy.

During the event, BBI JU showcased some novel products which demonstrate advances being made in Europe in developing and scaling up the technologies needed to transform Europe’s bio-based sector.

Philippe Mengal, Executive Director of the BBI JU, stated: “We have already now with us and hopefully even more in the future everyday life products, ‘greener’ products that all EU citizens can use in their daily life! In BBI JU we are proud to work towards building a strong and competitive bio-based sector in Europe.”

BBI JU was accompanied at the event by four of its projects which are a great example of putting new technologies into practice for the first time in Europe. Flagship projects like BIOSKOH, EXILVA and FIRST2RUN, together with demonstration project PULP2VALUE exhibited their products and explained their specific added-value to all the participants.

With a total of 36 ongoing projects since its first Call in 2014, the BBI JU has established itself as the catalyst for the development of bio-based industries. Reaching out to industry innovators in an inclusive way, the new projects do not only improve cooperation between different economic sectors but also pave the way for additional benefits to both EU public and industrial sectors.

Contributing to the topic of the conference, "The role of regions in the European Bioeconomy", the BBI JU and its projects show the bioeconomy strategy in action, and demonstrates how sustainable regional development can be combined with industry smart regional bioeconomy strategies.

With innovation and education at the heart of its “walking exhibition”, the projects are a clear example of the novel ideas and processes BBI JU aspires to establish in Europe. Having recently added 23 new projects to its portfolio over the summer, BBI JU is helping to bring about the shift to a strong European bioeconomy. Public-private funding through the BBI JU is made available to projects developing innovative research methods and importantly on disseminating them. 3 out of the 23 new projects fall under Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) and will elaborate “didactic” and awareness-raising actions.

John Bell, Director for Bioeconomy with the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission, commented: “We are excited to see the launch of projects that support Coordination and Support Actions. This means that their research activities and industrial processes will be communicated and explained, bringing the potential of the sector closer to the end users, the EU citizens. The EU does not only innovate but makes sure that our citizens are at the centre of it."

With strong industry commitment and support for the BBI JU, represented by the Bio-Based Industries Consortium (BIC), the growing BBI JU project portfolio represents the step changes being made in the way large industry invests in the European bioeconomy.

Dirk Carrez, Executive Director of the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), the private partner in the BBI Joint Undertaking, stated: “The start of the 23 additional projects signals an important step for the development of the bio-based industries. It is the first time that we witness the creation of projects operating across different value chains which proves the great potential of the European bio-based industries working successfully across vastly different and mostly unconnected different sectors including agriculture, forestry, chemical industry and waste management.”

~Ends~

Notes for editors

More information on the BIOSKOH, EXILVA, FIRST2RUN and PULP2VALUE projects, can be found on the BBI JU website at: http://www.bbi-europe.eu/projects

For more information about BBI JU’s mission & objectives, please visit: http://www.bbi-europe.eu

More information about the Bio-Based Industries Consortium and membership information can be found here: http://biconsortium.eu/join-us

Press contact

Sarah Black – Communications & Stakeholder Relationships Officer
Tel: +32 2 541 8350 | E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About the BBI JU

The BBI JU is a public-private partnership (PPP), part of the EU’s plan to move its economy to a post-petroleum era. It is expected to help make the EU’s economy more resource-efficient and sustainable, while supporting growth and employment. The BBI is dedicated to realising the European bioeconomy potential and contributing to a sustainable circular economy, by turning biological residues and wastes (from agro-food, forestry and municipal) into greener everyday products, through innovative technologies and biorefineries, which are at the heart of the bioeconomy.

€3.7 billion will fund the BBI JU between 2014 and 2024, with €975 million coming from the European Commission and €2.7 billion from its private partner, the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). The BBI JU initiative focuses on using Europe’s biomass and wastes to make high value products and bring them to market. Advanced biorefineries and innovative technologies are at the heart of this process, converting renewable resources into sustainable bio-based chemicals, materials and fuels, allowing the EU to reduce its dependence on finite fossil resources.

The BBI projects bring the researchers from the European centres of excellence – being companies, research institutes or universities - together to develop new technologies and products, and bring them to maturity or even commercial level. This novel structure means that the bio-based sector can work more coherently through measures that bring in feedstock suppliers as partners in the value chains, develop biorefinery technologies and processes, raise business-to-business demand, and promote customer awareness about innovative products and applications.