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Forests_of_North_AS711_066Can't Eat This. Bio4Energy will use no edible feedstock. Photo by Anna Strom©.The European Commission last month gave the go-ahead to seven voluntary schemes that biofuel makers or importers across the EU member states may use to assess whether their products have a sufficiently low environmental impact and, more specifically, meet sustainability criteria set out under the EU’s renewable energy directive. 

Manufacturers applying to receive government support or to have the production or consumption of their biofuels count towards mandatory national renewable energy targets should meet the RED criteria from 2009, a statement from the EU executive said.

Attachments:
Download this file (Bio4Energy_on_Horizon_2020_Framework_for_Research_and_Innovation_European_Commis)Bio4Energy on an EU Framework for Research and Innovation from 2014[ ]77 kB

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00443_FP7_big_logo_5811The European Commission recently published its second-to-last round of calls for proposals of projects under its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for research, setting aside some €7billion to “kick-start innovation through research”, the European Commission said 19 July.

In terms of so-called “cooperation” projects, which are to include stakeholders from industry, academia and research organisations, €235 million has been set aside for energy projects, while €313 will go into transport ones and a hefty €488 into nanotechnologies.
Attachments:
Download this file (Vinnova_Singleimage_Seminar_on_FP7_Finance_13_October_2011_STH.pdf)VINNOVA-Singleimage Seminar on FP7 Finance, 13 October in Stockholm[ ]21 kB

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GordonDriver2-3511Gordon Driver is on a "journey for lignin", he said in May. Photo by Anna Strom©.

Bio4Energy has been expanding at a rapid pace and counts more than 50 researchers. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.were among those phasing in their activities this spring.

As part of the B4E platform that does research on catalysis and separation of forest-sourced biomass, Kordás specialises in the synthesis and application of photocatalytic nanomaterials. Some of his recent research has potential applications for water purification, abatement of volatile organic compounds or conversion and reduction of carbon dioxide, he said when B4E researchers met in Lövånger in May.

“Materials of photocatalysis find use also in conventional catalysis, chemical sensors and nanoelectronics”, according to Kordás.

Kordás is an assistant professor at Umeå University. In addition he is affiliated with the University of Oulu, Finland, where he holds a senior lectureship in nanotechnology and is a chief assistant at the Microelectronics and Materials Physics Laboratories, at the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering.

Attachments:
Download this file (Feedstock_for_bioenergy_Urs_Fischer_May_2011.pdf)Feedstock for bioenergy, Urs Fischer, May 2011[ ]869 kB
Download this file (Photocatalytic_nanomaterials_Krisztián_Kordás_May_2011.pdf)Photocatalytic nanomaterials, Krisztián Kordás, May 2011[ ]4206 kB
Download this file (Solvents_for_biomass_Gordon_Driver_May_2011.pdf)Acidic ionic liquids for biomass solvents, Gordon Driver, May 2011[ ]978 kB

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Geoghegan_Quinn_5711Centre: Máire Geoghegan Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science. Photo by courtesy of the European Commission. Energy, environment and biotechnology are three chief themes of the Seventh Framework Programme for research of European Union, which is about to launch fresh round of calls for funding proposals this month.

A month later, Umeå University and local and national partners are sponsoring a week of workshops, 22-26 August, across the ten FP7 thematic areas. Biotechnology, energy, transport and environment figure promptly among these.

Given at the on-campus premises of the university’s Grants Office, the week kicks off 22 August with funding experts explaining the design of calls for EU research proposals in the agriculture and biotechnology sector. Tuesday 23 August is slated for a discussion on calls that concern nanotechnology and materials research and development, followed by such that pertain to energy and the environment 24 August. Finally calls for proposals in the area of transportation are dealt with Thursday 25 August.

Attachments:
Download this file (Funding_Workshops_August22-26_Umeå_University.pdf)Umeå University Funding Workshops August 22-26[ ]146 kB

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BiogasifierWebTraditional biogasifier. Source: Google Images 27/6/2011.The focus of the Swedish Gasification Centre that opened this year will be to develop fundamental science to underpin forest-sourced biomass gasification technology, a group of ten scientists heard as they met this month at Solander Science Park, at Piteå, Sweden, to outline the centre’s work programme for the next two years.

However, said centre director Rikard Gebart, researchers would also cooperate with SFC industrial partners, notably on problems or “weak links” in industrial gasification processes identified by Sweden-based technology development or forestry companies such as Chemrec, Holmen Skog or SCA.

“We are a scientific and not a [consultancy-based] research programme. We want to be [doing] more fundamental [science] than applied”, Gebart told core group of ten scientists, a handful of whom participate in SFC as Bio4Gasification. B4G is an extension of Bio4Energy that specialises in research and development (R&D) of biogasification technology.

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about_f3Joakim Lundgren has been appointed Bio4Energy's coordinator in f3.Sweden's uniting force for research on fossil-free fuels since February 2011, f3, has launched its first call for proposals for small-scale research projects between its partner organisations. Research to advise political decision making or to provide a systems’ perspective to an ongoing project is most in demand. So too are projects which will deliver results by the end of next year.

This first-ever round of funding from Swedish Knowledge Centre For Renewable Transportation Fuels—which acronym f3 stands for “fossil-free fuels”—is set to go towards projects that bridge two or more of its five core areas and cost “less than” SEK1 million to implement, according to the text of the call, forwarded to f3 partners.

Attachments:
Download this file (f3_calls_for_projects_call_110815_110527.pdf)f3 call text[f3 Call for research proposals]150 kB
Download this file (Form_for_project_proposal_f3_110527.doc)f3 response form[f3 response form]183 kB

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Photo courtesy of the European Commission.Antonio de Guilio said a strategy on the bio-based economy would be proposed in November. Photo by courtesy of the European Commission.EU focus. Stakeholders to a future European Union strategy on the “bio-based” economy appear to have given the thumbs up to the Europen Union bid to encourage resource efficiency and job creation in the €2 trillion-strong sectors that derive their products from biomass, a European Commission official has suggested.

This carries relevance for organisations such as Bio4Energy, since acceptance by society for the development of tailor-made products say, by genetic modification or using nanotechnology, is seen as being key to the success of organisations involved in research and development in these fields, especially if they depend on large-scale use of natural resources.  

Speaking in Brussels at the Commission’s annual Green Week conference, Dr Antonio Di Guilio, of the European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, outlined the EU executive’s plans for a forthcoming communication on a ‘European Strategy and Action plan towards a sustainable bio-based economy by 2020’ expected for release in November.

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Bio4Engery programme director Stellan Marklund has welcomed the appointment of B4E scientist Rikard Gebart at the helm of a new Swedish Gasification Centre (SFC), calling it an “obvious choice”. Apart from heading B4E’s work on thermochemical issues, Gebart is an adjunct professor at Luleå University of Technology and the managing director of the Energy Technology Centre, at Piteå in northern Sweden.

“ETC’s research spans the whole spectrum of issues related to gasification. So it is only natural that ECT should lead the new research centre”, said Professor Marklund.

The appointment of Gebart at its helm produced a win-win situation for B4E and those involved in developing the new centre, Marklund said:

“It will strengthen Bio4Energy”. By cooperating, the new gasification centre and B4E would have “greater resources, greater opportunities for exchange and a greater network. It will be beneficial for everybody”.

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In the Press

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