EVENT PREVIEW
The Baltic for biotechs
EFIB , Europe ’ s key industrial biotech event , will take place in a completely new venue in October
The European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology & the Bioeconomy ( EFIB ) for 2022 takes place in Vilnius , Lithuania , on 25-27 October under the theme ‘ Next Generation Economies : Industrial Biotechnology for a Sustainable Society ’. Once again , Speciality Chemicals Magazine is among the media partners . EFIB is described as “ Europe ’ s primary conference dedicated to the economic and green contribution to Europe from innovation and manufacture within industrial biotechnology and the bioeconomy ”. It is organised by EuropaBio , the association which represents the industry at European level and constantly engages in dialogue with the EU authorities to influence legislation on biotechnology . Although Lithuania is a small country , Vilnius is internationally recognised as one of the most knowledge-intensive cities , with scientific achievements in biotech , lasers , ICT and fintech to its name . The biotechnology industry there quadrupled in size between 2010 and 2020 to reach over € 1 billion in value , with industrial and healthcare biotech each accounting for about 40 % of the total . Among the major players present in Lithuania are Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics , Roquette Amilina Mestilla , Rapsoila , Kurana , Bioenergy LT and Biorro . There is also a network of SMEs developing new industrial biotechnology products , while seven universities , not including independent research organisations , carry out biotechnology science activities and studies .
The local hosts for EFIB 2022 are the Lithuanian Biotechnology Association ( LBTA ), which brings together companies , universities and individual researchers actively participating in the field ; and Innovation Agency Lithuania , a non-profit agency under the Ministry of Economy and Innovation , which seeks to connect local partners with inward investors . Ahead of the event , the Partnering Platform opens for one-to-one meeting on 26 September , enabling participants to plan individual meetings with each other . The event itself is preceded on 25 October by the LBTA Pre-Conference Workshop , which is entitled ‘ Gene editing – From research to industry ’. The small show floor is then open on 26 and 27 October . Features include the Start-up Village , a central meeting point in the exhibition area , bringing together investors and industrial corporations with young businesses in the areas of food , feed and nutrition ; bioprocesses and technologies ; and sustainable biomaterials . Also on the show floor is the Innovation Campus , which will showcase scientific approaches in the areas of industrial biotechnology and the bioeconomy through a dedicated poster presentation . The heart of EFIB is the conference sessions . After an opening plenary on the morning of 26 October entitled ‘ Next generation economies :
Industrial biotechnology for a sustainable society ’, the conference splits into two sets of parallel sessions on :
• Food , Feed & Nutrition : Biobased innovation for food system transformation , OR an executive roundtable , details to be confirmed
• Flavours & Fragrances : Innovation & market for biotechnology alternatives , OR Bioprocesses & Technologies : Showcasing advances in manufacturing This is followed by the ‘ start-up pitch hour ’ in which selected Startup Village participants will also have a slot to market themselves , and an evening networking reception . On the morning of 27 October , the parallel sessions are :
• Sustainable Biomaterials : Perspectives on a circular plastics economy , OR Sustainable Finance : Investing in innovation
• Building Blocks of the Circular Economy : Focus on feedstocks for the future , OR EuropaBio SME Bioforum : Needs and opportunities for small industrial biotechnology companies EFIB 2022 then closes with another plenary . •
EFIB Forum 2022
k + 49 30 24603 387 J registration @ efibforum . com j www . efibforum . com
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