AGENDA 4 OCTOBER: conference on Innovation in the Bioeconomy in the Basque Country

The Basque Bioeconomy Innovation Day is an event that will offer a combination of forward-looking keynote lectures, short, high-impact presentations of concrete innovative solutions, and networking time.

Forests cover more than 54% of the surface area of the Basque Country, they are vital green infrastructures. Sustainable forest management can help to adapt forests to climate change, balancing the production of timber, non-timber products and ecosystem services.

On 4 October 2023, we invite you to attend the Bioeconomy Innovation Day 2023 to learn about the latest scientific advances and innovative solutions in bioeconomy.

PROGRAMME

8:15 | Registration

9:00 | Welcome. Bittor Oroz, Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Policy of the Basque Government.

9:10 | Regenerative forestry: Boosting economic growth and natural assets hand in hand. Timo Lehesvirta, nature expert, Metsä Group.

9:40 | Why invest in the European bioeconomy? Ananya Manna, Investment Manager, European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF).

10:10 | Session 1. Sustainable and multifunctional forestry. Moderator: Ander Arias, Head of the Forestry Science Department at NEIKER.

‘Challenges and opportunities for European forestry’. Bart Muys, Forestry, Nature and Landscape Division, KU Leuven, Belgium.

10:40 | Practical cases of session 1:

• ZertiCarbon: ‘Forest carbon monetisation within everyone’s reach’. Paco Conde, Co-founder of  ZertiCarbon.
• HAZI: ‘Decision-making tools based on remote sensing technologies’. Iñaki Gerenabarrena, Head of Forestry, HAZI.
• Fortra: ‘Traceability of forest products by Xunta de Galicia’. Mercedes Rois Díaz, Director of Forestry Innovation Area, XERA Axencia Galega da Industria Forestal.
• ArboFIRM: ‘Forest fire risk management using digital twins by Arbonaut’. Tuomo Kauranne, President, Arbonaut.
• VigilanTree: ‘Artificial intelligence and image classification for understanding our ecosystems by Cesefor’. Rodrigo Gómez Cornejo, CTO / Head of Digital Technologies and Applications, Cesefor.
• Question and answer session

11:40 | Networking and coffee break

12:10 | Session 2. All-purpose Biomaterials. Moderator: Olatz Unamunzaga, Innovation and Technology responsible of NEIKER.

‘Macro trends that are shaping the development of Biomaterials’. Michael Carus, Managing Director of nova-Institute GmbH.

12:40 | Practical cases of session 2:

• Evolgene: ‘Cellulose nanocrystals for industrial and biomedical applications’. Raul Pérez, Research Professor at CIC bioGUNE and Xabier García Roldán, Founder, Myruns.
• Axalko: ‘High-end bicycle frames made from natural fibres’. Aitzol Fernández, General Manager of Axalko.
• Bioreformed: ‘Mediterranean biorefinery for the production of high-value molecules’. Anna Cuadrench, Researcher, Forestry Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC).
• Gelzhäuser Forst: ‘Individual modular houses made of regional wood’. Timo Gelzhäuser, Managing Director, Gelzhäuser GmbH.
• Question and answer session

13:35 | Conclusions of the morning sessions. Leire Barañano, general director of NEIKER.

13:50 | Lunch and networking

15:20 | Session 3. Initiatives to boost innovation in the bioeconomy. Examples from European regions. Moderator: Inazio Martínez de Arano, Bioregions Facility.

Presentation of the best cases of acceleration and support to the bioeconomy in European regions:

Presentations:

• Irish Bioeconomy Foundation: ‘Unlocking the potential of the Irish bioeconomy’. Filippo Giancarlo Martinelli, Director and owner of Magfi Ltd, Ambassador of Irish Bioeconomy Foundation.
• Bioeconomy Austria: ‘The Austrian Bioeconomy Pathway’. Fabian Huber, Junior Project Manager of the Platform for Green Transformation and Bioeconomy, Ecoplus and Gottfried Hebenstreit, Energy and economic policy expert, Ecosocial Forum Austria & Europe.

• Enkarterri: ‘New acceleration service for the bioeconomy in the Basque Country’. Peli Manterola, Managing Director of HAZI.
• BioBoost: ‘Accelerating the bioeconomy in Catalonia’. Verónica Kuchinow, Co-founder of SÍMBIOSY.
• Business Joensuu: ‘Bioeconomy innovation in the forest capital of Europe’. Jarno Hämäläinen, Account Manager, Green Transition at Business Joensuu.
• Smart Wood Centre: ‘Shaping the future of the wood industry in a sustainable way in Ostwestfalen-Lippe’. Martin Hackel, research associate, Ostwestfalen-Lippe Technical University.
• Question and answer session

Networking with local beer and wine. 

18:00 | End of the Bioeconomy Innovation Day.