Chemistry Innovation News

Chemistry Innovation Newsletter October 2012

... The Technology Strategy Board launch a national group to stimulate innovation within

the formulation industry

KnowledgeTransferNetwork

Chemistry Innovation

News...

How can we improve the transfer from academic research to industry application and drive innovation in Industrial Biotechnology?The Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is engaging with the Industrial Biotechnology Special Interest Group (IBSIG) to support Industrial Biotechnology, Dr Amy Tayler explains how.

Innovation in bioscience technology and application will be central to solving some of the world’s major challenges over the coming years. There is a growing need to develop renewable sources of energy and chemical applications to replace diminishing feedstock reserves that currently underpin industrial processes across all sectors.

BBSRC has a unique and central place in supporting the UK’s world-leading position in bioscience. With an annual budget of around £500 million (2012/2013) BBSRC supports research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. Our investments underpin important UK business sectors such as farming, food, Industrial Biotechnology (IB) and pharmaceuticals and we work in partnership with key stakeholders to ensure that scientific discoveries are translated effectively to deliver maximum benefits both for the economy and society.

The BBSRC business interaction unit manages a range of programmes to facilitate the interaction between researchers and industry users to encourage knowledge transfer from the laboratory to production line. These schemes support BBSRC’s strategic priorities – food security, Industrial Biotechnology and bioenergy, and basic Bioscience underpinning health.

AkzoNobel, the group will bring together organisations working in this area to provide leadership and become the focal point for the UK formulation innovation agenda. This will include delivering a business plan for a UK national formulation centre. Designed to foster collaboration in the formulation community, the proposed centre will provide open access to novel research capability as well as providing a hub to stimulate collaborations across industry and the broader research base.

Darren Ragheb, Product Design and Collaborative Projects Manager says:

“The formulated products market currently generates £180bn annual sales within the UK, and represents approximately one third of the GVA generated by the chemistry-using industries as a whole. Chemistry Innovation believes that industry collaboration through the proposed centre will secure the UK’s position as the leading environment for formulation activity, ensuring that the successful design, development and manufacture of formulated products by companies large and small remains in the UK.”

Chemistry Innovation is inviting organisations working in formulation to join the group which will be delivered by partners including Intelligent Formulation, HVM Catapult/CPI, RSC, IChemE and Cogent. A broad programme of activities, including partnership-building workshops will be organised to support the group in developing a business plan for the centre.

The Formulation Special Interest online group can be found here: https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/formulation1/overview

For more information on how to get involved contact: Darren.Ragheb@ciktn.co.uk

Industry collaboration – driving innovation in the formulation sectorThe Technology Strategy Board has launched a national group to stimulate innovation within the formulation industry, helping UK businesses to better exploit the growing global market estimated to be worth $1000 bn.

Consumer demand for novel, more sustainable products and the need for faster differentiation for growing global markets are future opportunities for many formulating sectors, including, coatings, personal care, agrichemicals and medicines. To meet this demand, a significant shift to a more science-based approach to formulation is needed. This step-change ability will inevitably occur, however, recent work suggests there is an opportunity to make this change faster through collaboration across sectors and disciplines.

“The formulated products market currently generates £180bn annual sales in the UK”To facilitate greater access to cross-sector collaboration and knowledge transfer, the Technology Strategy Board launched the Formulation Special Interest Group (SIG) in July 2012 – an initiative that will be managed by Chemistry Innovation.

Chaired by Dr Graeme Armstrong, Head of Research, Development and Innovation at

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I work as a Business Interaction Manager within the Integrated Biorefining Research and Technology (IBTI) Club, which facilitates and supports collaborations between industry and academic researchers in order to develop biorefining technologies. To date, IBTI Club has invested £6.25 million in innovative biological, chemical and engineering research into relevant technologies as well as providing a number of grants to train skilled researchers at PhD level. This work has been supported by BBSRC, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and 10 industry members.

BBSRC and IBTI Club support the Biosciences KTN’s wider activities in IB and we are always interested in new ways to collaborate with partners and help industry access research facilities to enable bioscience innovation. I recently started a six-month secondment with the IBSIG to further integrate our activities, including linking our networks of researchers and members from industry.

Initially, I will be working with the IBSIG to advise companies on academic partners to collaborate with as part of the Technology Strategy Board’s current £2.75 million funding call Sustainable High Value Chemical Manufacture Through IB. My role will also involve analysing funding opportunities as part of the IBLF roadmapping exercise and looking for areas where BBSRC and the Research Councils can provide added value through industry engagement or additional funding.

BBSRC will be involved in the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum’s (IBLF) event Leading IB: A UK Showcase, taking place in January 2013. In order to demonstrate UK progress in IB and provide opportunities for new collaborations, we will be encouraging academics to present their capabilities and research at the event. BBSRC and EPSRC will also be offering information on relevant funding opportunities for attendees.

My secondment is the first of its kind between BBSRC and the IBSIG and highlights the role of the Research Councils and the Knowledge Transfer Networks in supporting the UK’s engagement with the £12 billion IB opportunity*. This can only be achieved by linking ground-breaking academic research with industries that wish to harness innovative technologies for commercial application.

Dr Amy Tayler, Business Interaction Manager at BBSRC amy.tayler@bbsrc.ac.uk

*In 2009, the IB-IGT report “Maximising UK Opportunities from Industrial Biotechnology in a Low Carbon Economy” estimated an opportunity of up to £12bn sales for the UK by 2025.

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The government’s industrial strategy will address these issues by supporting the scientific journey from pure academic research to commercial applications. Director-General of the CBI John Cridland advised that the Technology Strategy Board is central to this element of the strategy. In addition, Cable announced that the Technology Strategy Board, along with the research councils and other partners, will be establishing an Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for Synthetic Biology.

The Centre will apply the successful knowledge transfer model to synthetic biology. This will enable great science to be turned into commercial opportunity; something which Chemistry Innovation and the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum will continue to facilitate. This includes our January 2013 event, Leading IB: A UK Showcase – an opportunity to demonstrate the products and processes made possible through Industrial Biotechnology. Government calls for science that can add value to UK industry follows our Annual Stakeholder event that took place in June. This provided an opportunity to celebrate those companies that have realised the value that chemistry can add to their processes and inspire other organisations to replicate their innovative approaches to manufacturing.

The event involved a number of presentations demonstrating the alignment of industry and academia through the Technology Strategy Board and Chemistry Innovation. Unilever shared details of a project jointly funded with the Technology Strategy Board that allowed changes in the manufacture of their formulated products to create sustainable health and personal care products.

The National Graphene Institute, due to open in 2015, described ongoing support from the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry to address the key issues facing the commercialisation of scientific breakthroughs.

Now is the time for our community to align and raise awareness of the added value that chemistry can bring to securing future UK competitiveness and economic growth.

Carol Boyer-Spooner, CEO Chemistry Innovation KTN

The recent announcement from Business Secretary, Vince Cable outlining the government’s vision for British industry included a commitment to building strategic partnerships with key sectors and backing for core emerging

technologies to secure competitive advantage for UK businesses.

The strategy revealed plans for sustained investment in R&D for specific sectors that offer significant growth opportunities for the UK economy, including automotive and aerospace – of which Britain currently has the world’s second largest industry. This should be seen as a call to action for our community to unite further behind industry, allowing businesses to realise the value creation of chemistry and build on innovations we are already enabling.

Chemistry is revolutionising efficiency in the aerospace industry by providing novel materials to be used in plane manufacture. Victrex is using chemical processes to provide new lightweight materials for planes, replacing steel components that are currently widely used. This will increase the manufacture and fuel efficiency in aeroplane production and flight, adding to low carbon emission goals.

Government also plans to create strategies that will support technologies offering economic value to the UK, with Industrial Biotechnology (IB) being listed as one potential sector. IB is typical of a technology that has huge potential (up to £12 billion by 2025 according the report, IB 2025) and working together across the value chain will be critical in maximising the opportunity.

Croda’s innovation in marine biology to produce components for leading anti-aging products is a great example of the role IB can play in advancing a product to the next logical, sustainable level. Value can be created for industry and retailers through innovative approaches to chemistry at the manufacture stage. Too often, however, there is little understanding of what biotechnology can offer. And many working in biotechnology don’t understand the needs of downstream industries.

Vision for the future of British industry: the time for chemistry has arrived

of access we offer for companies to create multi-disciplinary research partnerships. As a result, we launched the KCMC National Incentive Scheme in 2011 and have continued to engage actively with chemistry-using companies across the UK – with some impressive results.

Between 2011- 2012, the KCMC made first-time introductions between academic research partners and 82 companies – half of which are SMEs – which resulted in 50 projects being formally contracted. Academic and industry collaboration took place across sectors; many chemicals and materials companies involved work across a broad range of end application areas in energy, health and electronics.

Following UK success, an increasing focus for the KCMC’s new project generation will be to support European funded projects. In the past year, we have been awarded projects including Phast-ID, CommonSense and InnoMatNet – jointly awarded with Chemistry Innovation. This signals a new era for KCMC as we move towards a sustainable business model from 2013 and build upon our reputation as the national point of contact for materials chemistry partnership and collaborative project opportunities – at home and abroad.

Dr John Conti-Ramsden is Director of the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry www.materialschemistry.org

Innovations in materials chemistry can develop replacements for scarce raw materials and underpin key technologies across sectors that deliver sustainable solutions for society. By 2007, industry and academia had recognised a gap between scientific research developed in materials chemistry and these innovations being brought to market. To address this problem, the KCMC was designed to deliver a world class centre of science and knowledge transfer in materials chemistry.

In 2008, the KCMC was founded with £15 million funding from the North West Development Agency and leading research partners: The Science & Technology Facilities Council, University of Liverpool, Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network, The University of Manchester and University of Bolton.

The original remit of the Centre focused on improving the engagement of industry in the North West of England with the cutting-edge science of our research institution partners. Almost immediately, the KCMC delivered and contributed ahead of our expectations – since the launch we achieved projected GVA benefits of ten times original investment and this trajectory has continued following the closure of the Regional Development Agency.

The KCMC team soon realised that there was a nation-wide demand for the single point

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How can industry access innovative materials chemistry research to create sustainable solutions for global society?The Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry (KCMC) is the UK’s leading centre linking industry need to academic capability in materials chemistry – the next stop is Europe. Dr John Conti-Ramsden, KCMC Director explains their plans.

Sustainable manufacturing mission to ChinaBuilding international business links through innovative UK technologies

Chinese industry is investing heavily in cutting-edge manufacturing technology to deliver higher value, sustainable manufacturing. The Chinese government has committed to invest £1 trillion over the next five years across key high-tech sectors - including high value manufacturing. UK advances in these technologies means domestic businesses are well positioned to become key technology providers and partners for Chinese innovations in manufacturing – a move that will expand technical excellence and deliver value to the UK.

The Technology Strategy Board, in partnership with the UK’s Science and Technology Innovation Network in Beijing, are looking to invite the UK’s leading high technology SMEs specialising in high-value manufacturing, and larger companies with comparable offerings, to join a Sustainable Manufacturing Mission to China in autumn 2013.

The primary aim of the mission is to facilitate collaborative innovation between the UK and Chinese participants. Discussions are underway to secure joint UK/Chinese public funding support to enable the best of these opportunities to be funded and progressed. Chemistry Innovation is currently accepting “Expressions of Interest” applications from interested organisations that detail the technology offering from their business. The strength and focus of these applications will shape the mission.

Project scope is deliberately broad, encompassing process industries and discrete manufacturing, to present a wide range of technologies for partnering opportunities. Technologies should deliver resource efficiency across the manufacturing supply chain or create sustainable solutions for the process industries.

‘This mission provides an opportunity for UK businesses to export their expertise abroad to form collaborative R&D relationships with Chinese industry and create strong international business links in sustainable high value manufacturing. We welcome interest from organisations specialising in a range of manufacturing approaches that can offer sustainability at their core’ Dr Stephen Hillier, Technology Manager and mission-lead, CIKTN.

Contact: Stephen Hillier (Stephen.hillier@ciktn.co.uk) or visit https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/sustainable-maufacturing-mission-to-china

Funding...

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Support from Chemistry Innovation leads to 90% success rate in Sustainable Manufacturing for the Process Industry funding callSustainable manufacturing is of critical importance across the process industries, including bulk and fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Streamlining design and manufacture to encourage sustainable product development is vital to the continued growth and success of the sector. In response to these growing pressures and to ensure the UK process industry remains globally competitive, the Technology Strategy Board ran a funding call, which opened in February 2012.

The scope for Sustainable Manufacturing for the Process Industry was developed in collaboration with Chemistry Innovation and provided an opportunity for the chemistry-using industries to develop and commercialise innovative approaches to sustainable manufacturing. Funding was awarded to collaborative, businesses-led projects for both small scale feasibility studies and large scale Collaborative R&D (CR&D) projects.

The Technology Strategy Board originally anticipated funding up to nine proposals as part of the CR&D call, but was ultimately able to fund 17 projects. The increase in the number of successful projects is partly

explained by the integral role Chemistry Innovation played. In addition to developing the scope of the funding call and promoting the opportunity across its network, Chemistry Innovation provided support to projects throughout the application stages of the funding call. This involved identifying suitable projects, bringing the right organisations together and supporting partnerships during the application process.

At the critical second stage of the CR&D proposals, support from Chemistry Innovation resulted in a 90% success rate, with nine out of ten organisations receiving a combined total of £7 million funding – over half the available public funding. Projects included partners from: Johnson Matthey, Syrris Limited, Scionix Limited, Dynamic Extractions, Imperial Chemical Industries Limited (Akzo), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), PhosphonicS, Perceptive Engineering Limited, Yorkshire Process Technology Limited.

‘As part of our role as a Knowledge Transfer Network, we have the expertise and contacts to identify relevant funding opportunities for organisations and help them bring the right partners on board. We are delighted that through our support, funding was successfully secured by a range of projects to create innovation in manufacturing and help to transform the process industry’ says Stephen Hillier, Technology Manager, Chemistry Innovation and project-lead for Sustainable Manufacturing for the Process Industry funding support.

Companies interested in finding out more about funding currently available and support that Chemistry Innovation can offer should contact: stepher.hillier@ciktn.co.uk

Details of Sustainable Manufacturing for the Process Industry funding can be found here: https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/sustainable-process-manufacturing/overview

Business Support for InnovationThe following schemes provide opportunities for businesses to engage with on-going projects, access new sources of funding and help influence industrial policy across the UK and Europe. Chemistry Innovation offers free assistance to businesses at any stage of innovation, from initial briefing to market success.

European Opportunities

BIO-TICRemoving the barriers for Industrial Biotechnology to create a European success story

Industrial Biotechnology (IB) holds the key to solving some of the major global challenges we face today. By using biological organisms and process to produce chemicals and energy, IB can be used to tackle climate change, dwindling fossil fuel resources and create a more sustainable economy. Despite its potential, major barriers exist to the innovation and deployment of IB across Europe, including weak market-entry points and access to funding.

In September 2012, the European Commission launched BIO-TIC - a collaborative project designed to highlight the barriers for IB innovation and provide clear directives for overcoming these hurdles in future.

The three-year project brings together European partners – including Chemistry Innovation – to develop three roadmaps that will identify the barriers for IB in the following areas:

• Market assessments and projections • Research and innovation • Non-technological barriers, including feedstock.

At the end of the project, the roadmaps will be integrated to develop a comprehensive set of recommendations for policy makers to overcome identified innovation hurdles

Stephen Hillier, Smart Chemistry Manager at CI

Collaborative research and development is funded through the Cooperation work programme, which is itself broken down into a number of themes corresponding to the main areas of EU research policy. Details for each of the themes can be accessed through the following portal: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/cooperation

A summary of the topics most relevant to Sustainable Chemistry across each of the themes can be downloaded from Chemistry Innovation’s funding group on _Connect here.

Chemistry Innovation provides support to UK organisations wishing to participate in FP7 by using their networks to help find partners, provide assistance with preparing project proposals, acting as a dissemination partner or in certain strategic projects providing independent project management. Chemistry Innovation’s links with the

within a selection of European business opportunities.

Chemistry Innovation will make a key contribution to the roadmapping activity for ‘research and innovation’ and ‘non-technical barriers’. In partnership with the Biosciences KTN, they will be running a UK stakeholder workshop to identify the hurdles to IB innovation on a national level and gain insight into solutions BIO-TIC can offer to accelerate market uptake of IB.

For more information about the project, contact: Colin Tattam, colin.tattam@ciktn.co.uk

InnoMatNetRaise the profile of your innovation in new materials amongst an international audience

The Innovation Materials Network, InnoMatNet, is a project funded by the European Commission to advance innovation in the design and development of new processes and products using environmentally sustainable materials. The project will encourage innovation across Europe by creating networking opportunities between materials researchers, laboratories and designers.

The project will identify the key stakeholders in the area of materials research in Europe and, the gap between their needs and the existing offer of initiatives and tools that support their product or process innovation. Best practice case studies of collaboration between materials researchers and industrial entrepreneurs will be developed to identify best-performing business models to bring “communities” together.

Engaging with InnoMatNet allows businesses to raise the profile of their innovation to an international audience and help influence the direction of future EU research programmes. Chemistry Innovation is encouraging interested stakeholders to share views on the tools and support systems currently in place to encourage innovation in materials design and process. This insight will guide areas of stakeholder interest and inform the content of future InnoMatNet networking events.

http://www.innomatnet.eu/questionnaire

For more information, contact: John Conti-Ramsden,John.Conti-Ramsden@materialschemistry.org

European Commission launches FP7 2013

Framework programmes (FPs) are the main financial tools used by the European Union to support research and development activities across all scientific disciplines. Funding calls have now been launched for the last year of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) before the new programme - Horizon 2020 - starts in 2014.

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European sustainable chemistry platform ‘SusChem’ are particularly valuable as a route to finding potential partners. If you are considering submitting a proposal and would like to discuss in more detail, please contact: Claire Claessen, claire.claessen@ciktn.co.uk.

UK Opportunities

Sustainable High Value Chemical Manufacture Through IBCompetition for feasibility and collaborative R&D funding open October 2012

In their High Value Manufacturing Strategy (2012), the Technology Strategy Board committed to funding projects with the potential to deliver high value economic impact across global market sectors. This competition in Industrial Biotechnology concentrates on three key competencies which are eligible for funding, including the potential to build new business models to support high value manufacturing processes.

Sustainable High Value Chemical Manufacture Through IB will direct up to £2.75 million worth of funding towards projects that competitively apply sustainable bio based feedstocks and/or biocatalytic processes in the production of chemicals.

Projects may include aspects of one or more of the following areas:

• Extraction of high value chemicals from biomass• Identification and optimisation of biocatalysts for the production of chemicals• Optimisation and development of biotransformation processes• Novel bioreactors and downstream processing• Extending biocatalyst lifetime• Use of green solvents and/or recycling solvent (including water)• Valorisation of lignocellulosic biomass (e.g. from crops, marine or waste source) to chemical products such as platform chemicals; surfactants, solvents, lubricants and polymers; and fine and speciality chemicals.

This competition aims to stimulate collaboration between the chemical sector, industrial biotechnology developers and higher education institutions. All projects should show consideration for impact on the broader bioeconomy, for example: the use of non-food sources of biomass; increased energy and water efficiency and socio-economic aspects of large scale uses of biomass.

Key datesCompetition opens: 1st October Briefing day: 4th OctoberRegistration deadline: 7th November (noon)Application deadline: 14th November (noon)Applicants informed: 18th December

Next steps: To receive full details of the competition contact Jean Phillips: jean.phillips@biosciencektn.com or see www.IBLF-UK.com

For free assistance in building successful projects and advice on proposal writing contact Yvonne Armitage (yvonne.armitage@biosciencektn.com) or Rebecca Farnell (Rebecca.farnell@ciktn.co.uk) at the Biosciences and Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Networks.

Claire Claessen, Head of Projects, Chemistry Innovation

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Resource Efficiency: New Designs for a Circular Economy

The Technology Strategy Board has announced up to £1.25m funding for feasibility studies into the re-design of products, components and systems to retain material within the economy over several cycles of use – ‘closing the loop’. The new designs should lead to products with a lower environmental impact and/or that are less dependent on the use of strategic materials.

This competition is open to all UK companies and has two rounds. Key datesDesign Workshop:Wednesday 31 Oct 2012 – Closed Loop – DagenhamCompetition Briefing Webinar: 7th NovemberBrokerage Event(s): Dates and locations tbcRound 1: Registration deadline: 5th December (noon)Round 1: Application deadline 12th December (noon)

Next StepsTo download official details go to: https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/new-design-for-a-circular-economy-competition/overview

To keep up to date with event details or to register, join the Members’ Group on _Connect where you can also raise awareness of your skills and interests, seek collaborative opportunities, and engage informally with those involved in the Competition using our interactive notice boards:

https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/new-design-for-a-circular-economy-competition/overview.

For free assistance in building successful projects and advice on proposal writing contact Ben Peace (Ben.Peace@esktn.org) or Claire Claessen (Claire.Claessen@ciktn.co.uk) at the Environmental Sustainability and Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Networks.

Opportunities for SMEs Innovation in Manufacturing Competencies£2 million available for manufacturing feasibility studies for small and micro companies

In line with their High Value Manufacturing Strategy (2012), the Technology Strategy Board is to invest up to £2 million to stimulate innovation from small businesses across a broad range of manufacturing competences including: Understanding, designing and manufacturing formulated products; Process engineering capability across food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals; and design and manufacture for sustainability and through-life.

Grants are available for feasibility studies and project applications are sought across the whole manufacturing lifecycle. This includes design through to process development, manufacture, service delivery and re-manufacture/re-use, including innovation in supply/distribution chains, risk management and business models.

The competition is open to small and micro companies only, either working alone or in collaboration with one partner. The feasibility studies can last up to four months and are eligible for grants of up to £25,000. Total costs must not exceed £33,000.

Chemistry Innovation can support businesses throughout the funding process: identifying whether their technology complies with project scope, finding potential

partners and providing independent review of proposals. For more information, contact: Claire Claessen (Claire.claessen@ciktn.co.uk)

Key datesRegistration deadline: 31st October 2012Application deadline: 7th November 2012

Follow the below link:http://www.innovateuk.org/content/competition/innovation-in-manufacturing-competences.ashx

Technology Strategy Board launches support for SMEsThe following funding opportunities are currently available from the Technology Strategy Board:

SMART – SMART offers funding to UK SMEs from all sectors to engage in science, engineering and technology R&D projects. Funding will be awarded to research which could create new products, processes and services that will help to stimulate UK economic growth.Follow the below link:http://www.innovateuk.org/content/competition/smart.ashx

Innovation Vouchers – A new initiative that provides funding for SMEs to engage with external experts to develop business ideas and projects. Vouchers worth up to £5,000 will be awarded to start-up, micro and small to medium sized businesses in one of the following priority sectors: agri-food, built environment and space.Follow the below link:http://www.innovateuk.org/content/competition/innovation-vouchers.ashx

Event round-up: maximising opportunities in Industrial BiotechnologyThe Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum (IBLF) creates networking opportunities to provide practical funding support

Industrial biotechnology (IB) enables the sustainable use of biomass – including plants, micro-organisms, algae and marine organisms – to produce materials, chemicals and energy. The estimated global market for IB by 2025 is in the range of £150 billion to £360 billion; whilst estimates for the UK are between £4 and £12 billion spread across a wide range of industrial sectors, from pharmaceuticals, personal care, food/drink, biofuels and other chemical sectors. IB can play a critical role in maintaining UK competitiveness in global markets and in the creation of a low-carbon knowledge-based economy in the UK.

Launched on 1st October, the Technology Strategy Board’s Sustainable High Value Chemical Manufacture Through IB funding call will provide up to £2.75 million for collaborative R&D projects in Industrial Biotechnology. The call aims to stimulate collaboration between the chemical sector, industrial biotechnology developers and higher education institutions.

On behalf of Chemistry Innovation and Biosciences Knowledge Transfer Networks, the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum (IBLF) coordinated a series of partnering events during September 2012 to raise awareness of the funding opportunity and help organisations identify collaboration partners.

Each event invited businesses and academia to come together to find out more about the UK’s strategy for Industrial Biotechnology

Networking at an IBLF event

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Sustainable Design WorkshopThu 11 Oct 2012, Royal Society of Chemistry, London

As pressures from consumers and legislation continue to intensify, sustainability has become a key market driver for innovation, and a genuine opportunity for all kinds of businesses. Organised by Chemistry Innovation and C-Tech Innovation, this workshop is designed for businesses seeking to implement sustainability to develop new products. A series of interactive sessions will include:

• The drivers, opportunities and benefits of sustainable design• How sustainable design can be applied to your business through a clear staged process• Key tools such as “CCaLC”, a free-to-use Life Cycle Analysis tool

Discount of £100 for CIKTN and RSC Members: Only £250 (normal price £350)

https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/sustainable-design-workshop2

EFIB 2012Tue 16 Oct – Thu 18 Oct 2012, Dusseldorf, Germany

Now in its fifth year and following record attendance in 2011, this year’s European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and Bio-based Economy takes place on 16–18 October in Dusseldorf, Germany. Gathering together the foremost representatives of Europe’s industrial biotechnology community, EFIB 2012 will provide networking and business exchange opportunities, alongside an extensive exhibition from some of the sector’s market leading organisations.

http://www.efibforum.com/home.aspx

Project building workshop - Improving product stability Tue 16 Oct 2012, Holiday Inn London, Camden Lock, London

The Formulation Special Interest Group (SIG) will work with relevant stakeholders to secure the UK’s leading position for innovation and collaborative activity in formulation. This event will be a first in a series of workshops that are designed to facilitate and enable the creation of industry-led collaborative R&D projects. The Formulation SIG is inviting industrialists, academics and other supply chain partners to the workshop with the aim to explore cross-sector needs and begin to develop innovative project proposals and associated consortia.

To register your interest in this event, please contact Maureen.laughton@ciktn.co.uk or call 01928 515662. For any discussions on scope/technical focus, please contact hilda.coulsey@ciktn.co.uk

https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/project-building-workshop-improving-product-stability

4th Nordic Wood Biorefinery Conference Tue 23 Oct 2012 – Thu 25 Oct 2012, Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland

The Nordic Wood Biorefinery Conference (NWBC) is the leading meeting forum for wood biorefinery professionals.

Organised by VTT and Innventia, the programme will cover the following:• Industrial wood biorefining projects, including pulp mill modifications• Emerging new wood biorefineries and biorefinery products• Policy issues relevant to biorefining

http://www.vtt.fi/sites/nwbc2012/index.jsp?lang=en

Leading IB: A UK Showcase Tue 22 – Wed 23 Jan 2013, Church House Conference Centre, Westminster, London

A 2-day event showcasing new UK products and processes made possible through industrial biotechnology.

The global bioeconomy is gaining pace and the UK is positioning itself at the forefront. Illustrating the progress made in exploiting industrial biotechnology in the UK, the event will provide delegates with the opportunity to see recent examples of success, meet new collaborators, gain understanding of available facilities and find routes to access public and private finance. This event will be attended by senior industrialists, leading academics, technology providers and policy makers. Setting out the IB strategy and agenda for the UK to realise the £12bn opportunity*, this is an event not to be missed.

More information and registration details can be found here: https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/8486676/overview

*In 2009, the IB-IGT report “Maximising UK Opportunities from Industrial Biotechnology in a Low Carbon Economy” estimated an opportunity of up to £12bn sales for the UK by 2025.

Events and the ways in which the technology can develop their products or research. The IBLF designed an interactive programme to enable attendees to find relevant partners that could collaborate on projects. Each event included ‘Partnering Pitches’, allowing organisations to present details of their expertise as a way of sourcing partners. Presentations included:

• ETDE Contracting shared details of engineering support they can offer for organisations looking scale-up IB applications from laboratory scale to an early stage pilot. • Northumbria University and Bath University presented their expertise in advanced industrial chromatography and membrane processing. These technologies are key to developing sustainable separation processes used in biotechnology and can be utilised by industry to generate multi-stream high value products using a range of feed materials, including by products and waste streams. • CoEBio3 – The Centre of Excellence for Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacture was looking to discuss molecular biology research and development opportunities with industrial partners. They shared details of support that could be offered to businesses looking to access pilot plant facilities to realise commercial viability of products.

“These series of partnering events allowed the Knowledge Transfer Networks to use our expertise to bring the right project partners together and support proposals from development through to securing funding.”“As well as giving delegates the chance to pitch their expertise to a room full of potential partners, we also shared our knowledge of what makes a good proposal and provided a system of one-to-one meetings where delegates could meet to discuss project ideas and collaborative needs in more detail,” says Katie Nickson, Technology Manager, Chemistry Innovation. “These series of partnering events allowed the Knowledge Transfer Networks to use our expertise to bring the right project partners together and support proposals from development through to securing funding.”

For more information, contact:Katie Nickson (katie.nickson@ciktn.co.uk) or Rebecca Farnell (Rebecca.farnell@ciktn.co.uk)