UPM-Biofore-Magazine-1-2016-EN

“This initiative is financing major demonstration and flagship projects in Europe to create new bio-based products from biomass coming from various waste streams. This will lead to more environmentally friendly growth by reducing Europe’s dependency on fossil-based products. It also helps the EU to meet climate change targets.” regulatory environment and access to capital in order to encourage more investment in Europe. The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) has been launched jointly by the EIB Group and the European Commission to help overcome the current investment gap in the EU by mobilising private financing for strategic investments. “The projects funded by the EFSI will cover a much broader range than those fromHorizon 2020, and will have an immediate impact on job creation and growth. The first round of EFSI investments included large bioeconomy projects.” Another initiative launched by the European Investment Bank Group in cooperation with the European Commission under Horizon 2020 is InnovFin. It consists of a series of integrated and complementary financing tools and advisory services designed to support investments from the smallest to the largest enterprises. “Building the bioeconomy is a joint endeavour, involving public authorities at all levels, andmost importantly entrepreneurs, primary producers, scientists and civil society at large. If we canmaintain our technological leadership, Europe will continue to produce innovative, sustainable and high-added value products that can reach global markets,” concludes Bell. Investing in Europe’s future Bell sees a need to improve the

are very promising fields. We are also supporting new demonstration and flagship biorefineries and enabling bio-based products to reach the marketplace,” says Bell. “In particular we have to boost breakthrough technologies by small and innovative companies,” he adds. As an example Bell names a small Finnish company that recently won a national biorefinery contest with a new technology producing yarn from cellulose made fromwood residues. “Such a ‘treeshirt’ is likely to have a much lower footprint than current products made from cotton or plastic. This shows that breakthrough technologies can emerge even from classical sectors, such as forestry.” Where’s the money going? In 2012, the European Commission launched its bioeconomy strategy to promote innovation and sustainable growth in Europe. The strategy aims

to increase the sustainable use and production of renewable biological resources including bio-waste. “Since then, we have made progress both at EU and national levels. The strategy focuses on boosting investments and developing new value chains andmarkets in the coming years.” One example is the EU’s new Horizon 2020 framework programme for research and innovation, which pledges close to EUR 4 billion in support to bioeconomic research and innovation for the 2014–2020 period. On the R&D side, the EU has created the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking, which is a new EUR 3.7 billion Public-Private Partnership between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium. The target is to develop new bio-based products andmarkets based on smart and efficient use of resources, including waste.

>>

1/2016  | 13