Bio-based Plastics and Composites, Biorefineries and Industrial Biotechnology – the Highlights from Europe

The 7th International Conference on Bio-Based Materials, 8-10 April 2014, at the Maternushaus in Cologne (Germany), will provide you with the latest and hottest developments in Europe

The conference, exhibition and “Bio-based Material of the Year 2014” Innovation Award are organised by nova-Institut, Germany. The event’s sponsor is BIOTEC – Bioplastics for a better life (www.biotec.de) and the sponsor of the Innovation Award is the compounding and extrusion company Coperion (www.coperion.com).

The 7th International Conference on Bio-Based Materials aims to provide major players from the European bio-based chemical, plastics and composite industries with an opportunity to present and discuss their latest developments and strategies. Representatives of political bodies and associations will also have a say alongside leading companies. For the first time, the conference will feature a third day dedicated to start-ups to put them in touch with investors and industry. One highlight of the conference will be the presentation of the first operational European biorefineries and a status report on industrial biotechnology. It is one of the biggest conferences and provides, with more than 180 participants from all over the world and an exhibition, an excellent platform for networking!

The bio-based economy, and especially the area of bio-based materials, is one of the key drivers of innovative and sustainable development of the economy and industry as a whole. Bio-based plastics and their building blocks are the true centre of attention. More and more companies are entering this field, and Europe is one of the key regions – but it is under great pressure from Asia and North and South America. The 7th International Conference on Bio-Based Materials will present the leading players in this race to establish a European bio-based economy for the future.

Latest policies, strategies and visions for Europe’s bio-based future

A new framework is needed to build a strong and innovative European bio-based economy – and this includes policies, investments and companies. Although European companies are among the biggest and most innovative companies in the world, particularly in the chemical and polymer industry, various barriers and hurdles must be overcome. The right frameworks and well-thought-out ideas are needed to create a perfect backbone for the development of this future economy. Leading experts have been invited to present and discuss their policies, strategies and visions for Europe’s bio-based future.

Rafael Cayuela from Styron Europe GmbH (CH) will discuss global trends and the future of the world-wide chemical industry, especially the role of bio-based chemistry. Prof. Dr. Stefaan de Wildeman, Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (NL), sees the future in new bio-based building blocks which allow decentralised biopolymer production. Mario Bonaccorso of Assobiotec, the Italian Association for the Development of Biotechnology (I), sees great growth opportunities for the Italian economy.

Michael Carus of nova-Institut GmbH (DE) will give the first public presentation of the comprehensive nova paper on reforming the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) so as to level the playing field for bio-based chemicals and plastics with biofuels.

Commercial biorefineries in Europe – they already exist!

Many of the discussions and research projects in Europe concentrate on biorefinery technologies. Those large integrated systems designed to produce all types of products such as fuels, chemicals and polymers from biomass are seen as the future of the bio-economy. What is generally overseen: the first biorefinery concepts are already in place and operating commercially. Lenzing from Austria produces high value textile fibres from beechwood; Arizona Chemical is the world’s leading pine chemical company and will be presenting their Swedish biorefinery; and Borregaard from Norway and Novamont from Italy will report on their biorefinery experiences. Learn your lessons from the technology leaders.

Bio-based building blocks are the key to new sustainable materials

In the last few years, many new innovations have taken place in the field of bio-based building blocks and platform chemicals for the chemical industry. The field of polymers and plastics has evolved, and several innovations have been made e.g. polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxic alkanoates (PHAs), polyamides (PA) and drop-in solutions (PET, PE). But the main recent innovations have been new production plants for several bio-based building blocks like succinic acid, isobutene, butadiene, butanediol and furan-based chemicals.

These products will be the focus of the conference’s second day, when companies such as Reverdia (NL/F), Global Bioenergies (F) – with their latest investment in Leuna Chemical Park (DE) – SEKAB (SE), Corbion (NL), Arkema (F), SOPREMA (F), Succinity (DE/NL), Novozymes (DK), Avantium (NL) and Myriant, a special guest from the US, will present their latest innovations and investments, as well as their experiences of producing bio-based building blocks and polymers.

Start-ups present their technologies and latest developments

In cooperation with industrial clusters in Germany, France and the Netherlands, the third day will feature start-ups that have been invited to present their technologies and latest developments in the field of building blocks, polymers and composite to industry and potential investors.

“Bio-based Material of the Year 2014” Innovation Award

For the seventh year running, the “Bio-based Material of the Year” Innovation Award will be presented to young, innovative bio-based chemicals and materials industry actors that have found suitable applications and markets for bio-based products. The competition focuses on new developments in these areas, which have been (or will be) launched onto the market in 2013 and 2014, but exclusively from Europe this time round.

A jury consisting of representatives from nova-Institut and the conference’s sponsors and partners will nominate the “Top 6” outstanding applicants prior to the conference. Each of the six companies will make a short presentation to introduce its innovation. The conference participants will choose the three winners. The compounding and extrusion company Coperion (www.coperion.com) is the Innovation Award sponsor.

• You can find full details about the conference, exhibition and Innovation Award at www.bio-based.eu/conference

• For the latest news about the programme: www.biowerkstoff-kongress.de/programme

• For the latest participant list: www.biowerkstoff-kongress.de/tnlist

Contact:

Dominik Vogt, +49 (0)2233 4814 49, E-Mail: dominik.vogt@nova-institut.de

The conference is organised by nova-Institut (Managing Director: Dipl.-Phys. Michael Carus) in co-operation with The Biological Materials Group (Prof. Dr. Jörg Müssig), Hochschule Bremen.

Thanks to our sponsor BIOTEC – Bioplastics for a better life (www.biotec.de).

Photos from the 6th International Conference 2013 (please include the photographer’s name).

You can download photos of conference at this link:
http://biowerkstoff-kongress.de/media/Pictures_Press_2013.zip

The zip-file includes:

• Award.jpg: Winner of the Innovation Prize for “Bio-based Material of the Year 2013”: Uta
Kühnen (left, Coperion GmbH), prizewinner Mark Herrema (centre, CEO of Newlight Technologies LLC, USA) and Michael Carus (right, Managing Director of nova-Institute GmbH). (Photo: Peter von Pigage, PvP-Fotodesign)

• Participants.png: Question to Prof. Dr. Christine Lang, Bioeconomy Council (Germany). (Photo: Peter von Pigage, PvP-Fotodesign)

 

Download this press release as PDF file: 14-02-18 PR International Conference on Bio-Based Materials 2014 nova

Responsible under press legislation (V.i.S.d.P.):

Dipl.-Phys. Michael Carus (Managing Director)
nova-Institut GmbH, Chemiepark Knapsack, Industriestrasse 300, DE-50354 Huerth (Germany)
Internet: www.nova-institute.eu and www.bio-based.eu
Email: contact@nova-institut.de
Phone: +49 (0) 22 33-48 14 40

About the nova-Institut GmbH:

nova-Institut is a private and independent institute, founded in 1994; nova offers research and consultancy with a focus on bio-based and CO2-based economy in the fields of feedstock, techno-economic evaluation, markets, LCA, dissemination, B2B communication and policy. Today, nova-Institut has more than 20 employees and an annual turnover of about 2 Mio. €.

Source

nova-Institut GmbH, press release, 2014-02-18.

Supplier

Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM)
Arizona Chemical
Arkema
Assobiotec (Italian Association for the Development of Biotechnology)
Avantium Technologies B.V.
Bioökonomierat
BIOTEC GmbH & Co. KG
Borregaard
Coperion
Corbion
Global Bioenergies
Hochschule Bremen (Professur Biologische Werkstoffe)
Lenzing Gruppe
Myriant Technologies LLC
nova-Institut GmbH
Novamont S.p.A.
Novozymes
Reverdia
SEKAB
SOPREMA Group
STYRON Europe GmbH
Succinity GmbH

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