Bio-based and circular economy on an international stage
11 July 2018
On the 22nd of May the Smart CHEM summit 2018 attracted over 200 participants into the new Visitor and Innovation Centre Joki in Turku, Finland. The participants from over 100 organizations active in bioeconomy and located in eight different European countries took the chance to discuss and develop new possibilities of the bio-based and circular industry. Important topics like plastic recycling, wood-based feedstocks for renewable products and bio-based business building were addressed in presentations held by start-ups, multinational companies and service providers. A very informative talk on the development of bio- and circular economy was given by Sirpa Pietikäinen, a member of the European Parliament. The audience enriched the presentations with inspiring questions and discussions.
The event was also attended by seven partners from the BBI JU project BiOPEN, who used the summit and the unique set of stakeholders active in the bio-based industry to validate one out of five perspective studies conducted in the framework of the project. Patrizia Circelli, the project coordinator and senior innovation manager at PNO, Italy, presented the project and the recently published BiOPEN (Open-innovation Platform) platform to the audience. Anthanassios Nikolakopulos, a BiOPEN partner, from the National Technical University of Athens moderated a BiOPEN workshop at the IBC Finland HACKATON on the perspective study on biochemicals from wood based feedstocks. In short discussion rounds the participants rotated through different questions and talked about which feedstocks are available, how to gain and produce intermediate and end-products and which conditions and requirements – chemically, economically and politically – are needed for a sustainable usage of wood-based feedstocks.
The Smart CHEM summit 2018 and IBC Finland HACKATON/ BiOpen WORKSHOP were finished by an amazing closing event in the old Aboa Vetus Ars Nova museum of Turku, where a diner with finish specialities was given between the exhibits. The project team of BiOPEN spent their evening together, networking and refining project ideas for Europe’s bioeconomy.
