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Friday 28 April 2017

'Industry Water: From Single Use to Integrated Management' Workshop

On 20 April, the WssTP and SusChem European Technology Platforms jointly hosted a successful and well-attended workshop on ‘Industry water: from single use to integrated management’ in Brussels.


The workshop succeeded in gathering challenges and perspectives on the management of smart industrial water reuse and featured contributions from the European Commission and the sector made by both “problem owners” and “solution providers”, and with a final insight on the holistic and systemic structure (Smart Governance and Digital Water) which addressed the challenges for discovering and exploiting the true Value of Water as highlighted in the WssTP Vision document.

For WssTP the Value of Water highlights the crucial role of water for our economy, industry, society, nature and citizens and foresees a future digitally connected water-smart society that works with waters of different qualities that are appropriate to their use.

SusChem sees fresh water as a scarce resource and a critical element for sustainable development of society. Water is a priority area for SusChem and it is pursuing specific topics with the overall aim of decoupling economic growth from actual water use.

Outputs for action 
The workshop produced tangible outputs through a final parallel breakout session that developed and proposed content, gaps, strengths and needs of the four pillars of the Value of Water vision:

  • Modelling and Analysis
  • Big Data
  • Smart Governance, and 
  • Sensor Networks.

This final session built the basis for an action plan to bring the outcomes of the workshop to the European Innovation Partnership for Water (EIP Water) Conference, which will be held in the city of Porto in the week of 25 September 2017. A group of participants from the workshop will support the further development of the outputs for final presentation at the EIP Water Conference. A list of action derived from the joint workshop will drive the content of a follow-up workshop that will take place during the EIP Water Conference.


The outputs and challenges identified for each pillar of the Value of Water are briefly described below:

Sensor Networks
Sensor development provides a unique opportunity for enhancing the Value of Water. Advanced sensor development is required to ensure continuous understanding and control of water quality. Handling of dynamic water systems requires advanced sensors. Full implementation, reliable operation costs and maintenance are important.

Big Data
Identifying the value of the water system in generating and creating data is central to its economic value. The creation of a resilient basis for cyber security and privacy legislation is necessary, as no holistic overview currently exists. Links between data silos and pockets of data should be established and prioritized.

Modelling and Analysis
Many models for enhancing water management exist in academia or within RTOs. But these methodologies need to be brought into context before moving to the next pilot phase. It is necessary to identify models and tailor them to the requirements of users in order to develop more efficient  water systems, while observing the interactions and implications.
 
Smart Governance
Smart governance models vary from region to region. The selection process for an appropriate governance design requires extensive consideration. Education and communication is crucial for its successful understanding and implementation.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact the WssTP secretariat.

Wednesday 19 April 2017

SusChem 2017 Registration - Lets do it!

Our most influential annual event – the SusChem Stakeholder event – is now open for registration. The 2017 event takes place on 8 June at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Brussels and will bring together global audiences, senior players from the chemical industry, academia, research technology organisations (RTOs) and EU institutions to address common challenges and debate priorities crucial to the sustainability of the European chemical and biotechnology innovation sectors. This year’s theme is ‘Accelerating innovation and impact in Europe: Shaping expectations and priorities for the next EU Framework Programme’.

Registration is easy. Cefic Innovation manager and member of the SusChem secretariat show you how the registration launch happened - and how to sign up for the sustainable chemistry event of the year!


Thursday 13 April 2017

Registration for SusChem Stakeholder event 2017 is open!

Our most influential annual event – the SusChem Stakeholder event – is now open for registration. The 2017 event takes place on 8 June at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Brussels and will bring together global audiences, senior players from the chemical industry, academia, research technology organisations (RTOs) and EU institutions to address common challenges and debate priorities crucial to the sustainability of the European chemical and biotechnology innovation sectors. This year’s theme is ‘Accelerating innovation and impact in Europe: Shaping expectations and priorities for the next EU Framework Programme’.


In the morning plenary presentations will be given by Peter Droell, Director at DG Research and Innovation for Industrial Technologies and Dr. Klaus Sommer, Chairman of the SusChem Board and the SusChem communications team will also present the SusChem rebranding project.

Breakout sessions
Participants will then split into three parallel breakout workshops. There will be two sessions held either side of the morning coffee break and delegates will be asked to select two of the three topics at registration.

The three breakout session topics are:

  • Defining success factors for EU funded projects to optimise innovation impact and value for Europe How can we maximise the market uptake and impact of EU funded project results by examining success learnings from projects? Exemplary projects will share relevant success factors and critical learnings and all stakeholders will have an opportunity to share their views on collaborative projects and how they can be designed to optimise impact.
  • SME’s as a driver of the EU innovation ecosystems: How can we stimulate market-creating innovation through SME funding? Chemical and biotechnology SMEs are key enablers of innovation. This breakout session will try to identify the right mechanisms and ways to enhance their engagement in European public funding.  The session will examine current policies drivers, funding requirements and barriers to the commercialisation of SME innovation.
  • Shaping funding instruments to accelerate innovation and competitiveness in Europe Competitiveness relies on the capacity to create added value.  In this breakout session we will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the design and structure of EU innovation funding instruments by sharing experiences with Horizon 2020. Together, we will identify a short list of ideas and recommendations for the EU Commission in the evolution and design of the next EU Framework Programme.

FP9 debate
After lunch SusChem stakeholders will receive updates from our National Research Platform (NTP) network and feedback from the breakout sessions before a high-level panel discussion that will examine how to accelerate innovation and deliver impact in the upcoming Framework Funding Programme (FP9).

The panel will be moderated by Cefic Director General Marco Mensink and will feature contributions from Prof. Michael Matlosz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the French National Research Agency (ANR), Cosimo Franco, CEO of Endura, Angels Orduña, the SPIRE PPP Executive Director, Ulrich Kuesthardt, SusChem Board Member and CIO at Evonik, and Kurt Vandenberghe, Director for Policy Development and Coordination at DG Research and Innovation.

Following a summing up of the day’s activities and outcomes, the SusChem Stakeholder event 2017 will conclude – as ever – with a networking cocktail reception.

For more details, please visit the event website or register direct by clicking here. In the meantime why not catch up with the highlights of the 2016 SusChem Stakeholder event!



Tuesday 11 April 2017

VERAM holds Expert Workshop on future of European raw materials research

On Tuesday 13 June 2017, the Horizon 2020 project VERAM (Visionand Roadmap for European Raw Materials) is holding a workshop to explore opportunities and develop solutions which will help shape the landscape of European raw materials research and innovation towards 2050. The event will take place in Brussels. SusChem is a partner in VERAM and you are invited to participate, but places are limited so don't miss this opportunity to have your say on the future of raw materials research and innovation!

VERAM is a unique coordination project that links two European Technology Platforms (ETPs) in minerals and forestry and two European Research Areas (ERA-NETs). And SusChem is involved too. With a total budget of €1.4 million to be implemented over a period of 30 months, the project kicked off in December 2015 and will complete its work by 31 May 2018.

The VERAM project is working to produce a Vision and Roadmap for European Raw Materials to 2050 based on the coordination of raw materials research and innovation. At the heart of this collaboration are two of our fellow ETPs: ETP SMR on Sustainable Minerals Resources and FTP (Forest Technology Platform). They are supported in their efforts by the ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform) represented by UniversitĂ  Politecnica dells Marche - UNIVPMEuMaT (Advanced Materials ETP) represented by Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek - VITO, and by SusChem represented by the European Chemical Industry Council - Cefic.

In addition the ERA-NETs WoodWisdomNet (represented in the project by Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe – FNR – from Germany) and ERA‐Min (represented by the French National Centre for Scientific Research – CNRS) will link to national research funding activities and four well-known research institutes - D’Appolonia SPA from Italy, Germany's Forschunszentrum Juelich - FZ Juelich, Fundacion Technalia Research and Innovation - Tecnalia from Spain, and Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy - VTT from Finland - complete the partnership.

The VERAM Experts' Workshop takes place on 13 June at the Orega - EU District, Rue du Commerce 123, 1000 Brussels from 10:00 to 16:00 and will gather information, ideas and opinions from expert stakeholders to develop a solid Research and Innovation Roadmap for European Raw Materials.

Tuesday 4 April 2017

SusChem UK hosts BBI workshop in London

On 3 May 2017 SusChem UK, the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), the Horizon 2020 UK National Contact Points (NCPs), and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) are holding a Consortia Building Event: European Funding for Bio Based Industries in London. This one-day event will give details about the 2017 call for proposals from the European Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) and will provide the opportunity to start building consortia and finding new project partners.

The London event is suitable for anyone with an interest in participating in European projects in the forthcoming 2017 call topics under the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. The workshop will present a range of experience in European projects from newcomers to people who have coordinated EU projects on a regular basis.

Representatives from industry (small and large), academia, RTOs and other types of organisations with appropriate skills and expertise to address the forthcoming 2017 call topics in BBI should attend and delegates from all European Member States are encouraged to be there – in fact one-third of the spaces available are reserved for non-UK participants.

By attending the workshop delegates will have the opportunity to:
  • Identify and link with new partners across Europe
  • Join consortia forming around forthcoming 2017 call topics
  • Discuss and refine your projects ideas with potential partners
  • Gather information on forthcoming 2017 call topics
  • Take advantage of the NCP, BBI JU, KTN and EEN support available on the day
BBI calls for 2017 and 2018
The strategic orientations for the BBI JU’s calls in 2017 and 2018 are:
  1. Fostering a sustainable biomass-feedstock supply to feed both existing and new value chains;
  2. Optimising efficient processing for integrated biorefineries;
  3. Developing innovative bio-based products for specific market applications; 
  4. Creating and accelerating the market uptake of bio-based products and applications.
The calls that will be reviewed at the workshop are:
  • Feedstock: BBI 2017.R1, BBI 2017.D1, BBI 2017.D2
  • Process: BBI 2017.R2, BBI 2017.R3, BBI 2017.F1
  • Products: BBI 2017.R4, BBI 2017.R5, BBI 2017.R6, BBI 2017.R7, BBI 2017.D3, BBI 2017.D4, BBI 2017.D5, BBI 2017.F2
  • Market Uptake: BBI 2017. S1, BBI 2017.S2
You can find more details on these topics and a full list of BBI JU call topics here. The BBI JU 2017 call programme was also described in SusChem News in January.

The event will take place at the Ambassadors Bloomsbury Hotel in central London. More information is available here. Registration is free, but all participants must register by 13 April. Please contact Susanne Coles with any further queries.