The initiative Bio Base Europe is making progress in the development of sustainable biofuels, after recently harvested its first crop of genetically-modified poplars from the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology. The trees will be used to produce bioethanol in a Flemish-Dutch pilot installation.
Bio Base Europe, a joint initiative of Biopark Terneuzen and Ghent Bio-Energy Valley, is a successful collaboration between The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) within the framework of a European Interreg project, which is taking the lead in the development of a sustainable bio-based economy in Europe.
The €21 million Bio Base Europe initiative involves a pilot plant in Ghent for bio-based products and processes on the one hand, and a training centre for bio-process operators in Terneuzen on the other hand.
First crop harvested
Professor Wout Boerjan at the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology has developed genetically-modified poplars that produce less lignin, facilitating the bioethanol production process.
On 6 May 2009 the first crop of genetically-modified poplars was planted in an open air field trial in Ghent. This crop has now been harvested and will be converted into second-generation bioethanol at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.
In the pilot plant, scientists develop industrial processes to convert agricultural co-products such as wheat straw, corn cobs and wood into so-called second-generation biofuels, bioplastics and other biobased products.
“I am very happy with this new development on the long road towards second-generation biofuels. It is not coincidentally the result of a Flemish-Dutch collaboration,” said Professor Wim Soetaert, Director of the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.
The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant in Ghent, Belgium, is a flexible and diversified pilot plant that operates at ton scale. It is a one-stop-shop that performs the entire value chain in a single plant, from the biomass green resource up to the final product. The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant operates as an open innovation centre as it is open to companies and research institutions throughout the world looking to develop bio-based products and processes, scale-up and optimise bioprocesses and custom-manufacture bio-based products at ton scale.
Meanwhle, the Bio Base Europe Training Centre is an education, network, and exhibition center to promote the development of a sustainable bio-based economy in Europe. Companies and schools can use the process facilities at the centre for tailor-made training programs, while the centre encourages network activities, technological innovation and entrepreneurship and conducts a public information and communication program.
For additional information:
Bio Base Europe
