On 17th September 2020, the BalticBiomass4Value project consortium kindly invites business enterprises and other bio-based economy stakeholders to attend an International Conference and Business Networking Event “Bio-based Industries Fast Forward” that will be held virtually. The main aim of this event is to present opportunities for the development of sustainable bio-based industries in the Baltic Sea Region and beyond, as well as to enable business enterprises to establish useful contacts for the initiation of green business development projects.

Plenary session

Participants of the event will have an opportunity to get acquainted with the activities of the Bio-Based Industries Consortium that represents private sector in the public-private partnership with the European Commission for investing in bio-based innovations (Nelo Emerencia, Programming Director of the Bio-Based Industries Consortium, Belgium), as well as with the trends in the European biogas sector (Susanna Pflüger, Secretary General of the European Biogas Association, Belgium). The achievements and future directions of the Policy Area “Bioeconomy” of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will be also introduced to the participants (Torfi Jóhannesson, Senior Adviser of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Denmark).

Insights on the current state and future perspectives of the bio-tech and bioenergy industries in the Baltic Sea Region will be shared by leaders of business associations (Tomas Andrejauskas, President of the Lithuanian Biotechnology Association, and Henriette Vivestad, Managing Director of the Norwegian Bioenergy Association). Furthermore, the BalticBiomass4Value project experts will present their in-depth analyses on the biomass potential and its deployment opportunities in countries of the Baltic Sea Region (Mariusz Stolarski, Professor of the Centre for Bioeconomy and Renewable Energies at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland), as well as on the prospects of the bioenergy sector in the Baltic Sea Region during times of increased competition for biological resources and low prices of fossil fuels (Erik Trømborg, Professor of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences).

Presentations will also encompass relevant funding instruments aimed at supporting the green growth, such as the European Economic Area and Norway Grants (Konrad Konieczny, Programme Officer of the European Economic Area and Norway Grants at the Innovation Norway Warsaw Office, Poland).

Parallel sessions

To enable discussions and networking between business enterprises, the following Lithuanian – Norwegian – German B2B sessions will be held:

• Parallel session 1: Innovative uses of various biomass resources for the production of high-value sustainable bio-based products (moderator – Inga Matijošytė, Head of the Sector of Applied Biocatalysis at Vilnius University Life Sciences Centre Institute of Biotechnology and Vice President of the Lithuanian Biotechnology Association, with guest speaker – Ilaria Re, EU Project Office Director at the Consorzio Italbiotec, the Italian leading consortium in the biotechnology sector);
• Parallel session 2: Innovative uses of agricultural and aquatic biomass for the production of sustainable bioenergy and other bio-based products (moderator – Kęstutis Navickas, Professor of the Institute of Energy and Biotechnology Engineering at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, Lithuania, with guest speaker – Jessica Hudde, Biogas Advisory Service at the Agency for Renewable Resources – FNR, the central coordinating agency in the area of renewable resources in Germany);
• Parallel session 3: Innovative uses of forest biomass and municipal waste for the production of sustainable bioenergy and other bio-based products (moderator – Mindaugas Šilininkas, Director of Euromediena Ltd. and Vice Chairman of the Board of the Forest and Land Owners Association of Lithuania, with guest speaker – Gudbrand Rødsrud, Technology Director at Borregaard AS, the operator of advanced biorefinery that produces environmentally friendly biochemicals and biomaterials replacing oil-based products, Norway).

Participants of these parallel sessions will have an opportunity to exchange their experience and interests, as well as to establish useful contacts in discussed fields.

Full agenda, updates and active registration form can be found here.