Industrial biotechnology holds the key to solving major global challenges today, including climate change, dwindling fossil fuel resources and the need to develop a more sustainable and resource-efficient economy. However to date, major hurdles continue to hamper the full exploitation of its potential in Europe.<\/b><\/p>\n
These hurdles include technological bottlenecks, market entry and institutional barriers as well as funding challenges. An integrated approach is needed to overcome these hurdles, with a clear perception of their nature and the way they interrelate. This is where BIO-TIC, a new EU-funded project, comes in.<\/p>\n
Roadmapping for accelerated take-up<\/b>
Launched in September 2012, BIO-TIC aims to establish an overview of the barriers to biotech innovation and design a clear action plan to overcome them. <\/p>\n
The three-year project is “a solutions approach\u201d centered on a solid roadmapping exercise that will involve a broad stakeholder base from industry, knowledge organisations, governments and civil society. Three intermediary roadmaps will focus on market assessments and projections, research and innovation as well as non-technological barriers such as feedstock.<\/p>\n
A series of stakeholder workshops will take place at national and European level to reach a comprehensive view on solutions BIO-TIC can offer to accelerate market uptake of industrial biotechnology. <\/p>\n
The final aim of the project will be to draw up a blueprint document with a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for overcoming the identified innovation hurdles within a selection of European business and societal opportunities. <\/p>\n
In addition, the project will develop and market test a methodology to measure the growth of biomass use and industrial biotechnology in the market as metric to evaluate the impact of the project.<\/p>\n
Getting involved with BIO-TIC<\/b>
BIO-TIC will engage with all the relevant value-chain partners, promoting and facilitating active discussion groups across all industrial biotechnology sectors. <\/p>\n
A website and a partnering platform will be launched later in the year, but join us right now in the BIO-TIC Linked In group \u2013 open to anyone interested in the transformative potential of industrial biotechnology.
BIO-TIC Linked In group <\/p>\n
About BIO-TIC <\/i><\/b>
The BIO-TIC project is funded via the European Commission\u2019s FP7 research programme under the title \u2018The Industrial Biotech Research and Innovation Platforms Centre \u2013 towards Technological Innovation and solid foundations for a growing industrial biotech sector in Europe\u2019. The project is coordinated by EuropaBio.<\/p>\n
BIO-TIC partners:<\/b><\/p>\n\n