Leading companies and policy makers are collaborating to fuel the growth of the bioeconomy in Europe. The partnership of Biobased and Renewable Industries for Development and Growth in Europe (BRIDGE) is industries vision for building stronger more sustainable value chains, based on renewable raw materials, across Europe. It is the result extensive dialogue between a broad range of sectors, SMEs, Research Institutes and policy makers and, if adopted, will form part of the EU’s new Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020.Finding a route to a sustainable and competitive Europe has been high on the agenda in Brussels for some time. The Bioeconomy is well positioned to enable both these goals. Industrial biotechnology offers a route moving to a post petroleum society that creates not just sustainable products but also jobs, investment and a road back to prosperity for Europe. BRIDGE is the latest and largest project in on going collaboration between stakeholders to make the vision of a sustainable and competitive Europe a reality.
The resulting Public Private Partnership will form a fundamental part of the Horizon 2020 policy framework and will focus on building a new biobased value chain from improved utilisation of biomass feedstock to new added value products and flagship biorefineries.
The scale and scope of the project secures funding for research and innovation across the value chain and sends the right signals for investment in Europe.
BRIDGE will be discussed at length in a dedicated programme session as part of EFIB (European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and Bio-based economy) on 2 October at the Square, Brussels. Head of the Unit Biotechnology of DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission, Barend Verachtert, and speaker within EFIB’s BRIDGE focus session sees BRIDGE as a real challenge, characterised by many parties involved and many interests at stake but something that fits perfectly in the new European Horizon 2020 strategy to link research to innovation, and to focus on social challenges.
The route to a sustainable and competitive Europe will be a challenging one, but this BRIDGE just made the route quicker and more efficient.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 