The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has announced £5 million of funding for a pipeline of energy efficiency projects at a number of Scottish distilleries. Half of this will come from GIB, with matched funding from the private sector. Aberfeldy distillery in Perthshire will be taking advantage of the new funding available. This follows GIB’s announcement last year of an investment at the Tomatin distillery, near Inverness. Tomatin is on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by c. 80%.
From Thursday to Sunday we European Union citizens will be called to elect a new parliament. These elections are important, not only because for the first time will decide who will lead the European Commission. But mostly because the next 5 years represent a crucial point to understand whether the European Union will remain nothing more than a geographical expression (as Metternich called Italy in the Nineteenth century, before its Unification), or will be able to achieve a common economic and monetary policy, and with it a tax policy, a labor policy, etc. In one word: Policies.
Hungary relies on the bioeconomy to grow. Its capital region has vast untapped biomass resources and R&D competencies, states a recent study on the future landscapes of bioeconomy. The paper was accomplished within the framework of the Bioeconomy platform of Climate-KIC, Europe’s largest public-private innovation partnership focused on mitigating and adapting to climate change.
The Bioeconomy platform aims to support the transition to a bio-based economy by developing an integrated, holistic approach across entire value chains from feedstock production to efficient processing and conversion, and ultimately the production and marketing of bio-based products. Along these lines the Hungarian study delivers an insight into the emerging field of bioeconomy with emphasis on the opportunities in Hungary by means of assessing natural endowments, key stakeholders and R&D infrastructure from the perspective of relevant Climate-KIC projects. The main European and global drivers as well as the basic technological knowledge are also presented.
“At the moment focus in European policies is to endorse biomass utilization for the energy applications. This is short-sighted, as on those applications biomass does not bring the best added value. Also there is not enough biomass in Europe to meet up all energy and climate target in EU-level. Biomass is more valuable on chemical and material applications”. To say it, in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista, is Jukka Kantola, CEO of NISCluster, a Finnish private bioeconomy company with a focus on the woody biomass. With Kantola we talk about the bioeconomy in Finland, the EU policies and the different uses of biomass.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
The biopolymers market growing at a compound annual growth rate of 14.5% is expected to generate global revenue of 3,668.6 million US dollars by 2018. It’s what emerges from the new Report on “Biopolymers/Bioplastics Market by Type (Bio PET, Bio PE, PLA, PHA, Bio PBS, Starch Blends, and Regenerated Cellulose), by Application (Packaging, Bottles, Fibers, Agriculture, Automotive, and Others) & by Geography – Trends & Forecasts to 2018” published by Research and Markets, the Irish company which is the leading source for international market research and market data.
A new innovation centre for industrial biotechnology is forecast to increase industrial biotechnology-related turnover to up to £3 billion by 2030, create 1500 jobs within five years and put Scotland at the forefront of a global transformation. Funded by the Scottish Funding Council and supported by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise, the new Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) – hosted at the University of Strathclyde – is a key element of the National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology – Towards a Greener, Cleaner 2025. It brings together academic and private sector partners to play a leading role in the potential £360 billion global industrial biotechnology market. Industrial biotechnology is the use of biological substances, systems and processes to produce intermediate and final products such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, materials and energy – both cost-effectively and with minimal adverse environmental impact.
Rising demand for energy, from biofuels to shale gas, is a threat to freshwater supplies that are already under strain from climate change, the United Nations said in a report last Friday. March 22 was World Water Day in the UN calendar. It urged energy companies to do more to limit use of water in everything from cooling coal-fired power plants to irrigation for crops grown to produce biofuels.
“The bioeconomy is challenged by the fact that bio-products have to be anyway competitive vs traditional ones, but it can also open new opportunities if we set our minds not (only) to make copies of petroleum products but also to take completely new approaches to the material world”. To say it in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista is Barbara Secchi, Senior expert Bio-materials and EU network at Bridgestone (the world’s largest tire and rubber company) Technical Center Europe based in Rome. With Mrs Secchi we talk about bioeconomy and the bio-based future of the tire’s industry, “possibly using biomass that is not competing with food (2nd generation biomass)”.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Novozymes – the Danish biotech company which is world leader in industrial enzymes – announced yesterday the launch of a new enzyme solution (LpHera) that helps make starch conversion more efficient. The starch industry is one of the longest-standing markets for enzymes, and within the food industry helps to produce a wide range of sweeteners and ingredients used in products ranging from soft drinks to sauces.
Korean automaker Kia has revealed that the company’s new Soul EV (electric vehicle), which will have its world premiere at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show starting later this week (February 8-17), has achieved UL (Underwriter Laboratoires) Environment validation for bio-based organic carbon content for ten per cent of its interior materials. UL Environment describes itself as a global independent safety science company.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 