8th Annual EFIB 2015 – The European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Biobased Economy

Promoters:
Smithers Rapra
Audience:
Policy makers, a broad range of stakeholders connected with the existing biobased value chain and new interlocutors
Place:
Brussels, Belgium
Summary:
Industrial Biotechnology is currently worth €23 billion representing just 6% in sales of the overall worldwide chemicals market. However, it is significantly out-performing the overall chemicals market at an impressive 20% annual growth rate and has the potential to become the dominant technology of tomorrow’s chemicals industry, representing a huge future opportunity. Delivering on this opportunity will require significant investment, innovation and value chain development and most importantly new collaborations across the sector. Additionally we are faced with important challenges posed by high energy prices, the impact of the shale gas boom on the development of biobased chemicals markets and the ongoing need for predictable, coherent and supportive policy in the EU. In order to understand and overcome these challenges and prosper in the industrial biotechnology market, industry experts throughout the vibrant and innovative biobased community come together to one central location every year to discuss the key issues and gain a snapshot of the most significant developments on scale up of commercial biorefineries around the world.