WHITE BIOTECH TP - A European Technology Platform on Industrial Biotechnology for Sustainable Development

In a number of industry sectors companies are becoming aware of the huge potential of biotechnological processes for sustainable production and use of raw materials. Industrial or White Biotechnology (WB) can help improve the environmental friendliness of industrial activities, lower both capital and operating costs, while at the same time reducing raw material use, energy input as well as waste production. However many of the new technologies that are already available are not fully exploited due to non-technological barriers such a regulatory constraints, inconsistent policies across the Europe, scarce availability of investment partners, poor technology transfer or even lack of awareness.

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Recently a Vision Paper has been developed by the main stakeholders, the Member States and the Commission how to change this and use the leading scientific edge of Europe in this field and turn it into socio-economic sustainable growth. This SSA is to establish an European Technology Platform for WB, involving the key stakeholders from academia, industry, the Commission and the European Parliament, Member States and citizens' representatives. This will be essential to unleash this exploitation potential, while removing barriers, setting out coherent policies and creating broad public awareness of the potential benefits to society at large. <P>
This project will contribute to strenghten the European Research Area and to achieve the Lisbon objectives by countering the current fragmention, by agreeing on a coherent Strategic Research Agenda and by delivering an Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the Vision Paper.