BioDemo – Demonstrating the Value Chains of a New Field of Industry
Duration: 1.8.2022 – 31.7.2025
Project partners: Turku University of Applied Sciences, Åbo Akademi University, Business Turku Ltd.
Funding: European regional development fund (ERDF), 60 % of financing, 40 % self-funded. Funded as a part of the EU regional and structural policy funds for the 2021-2027 program period. Business Turku Ltd.’s share of the total group project budget is EUR 452 086.
Project in a nutshell: The BioDemo project contributes to the development of bio and circular economy business operations on an industrial scale in the Turku region. Bio- and circular economy companies are brought together in functional value chains that include biomass harvesting and acquisition, as well as refining and processing of raw materials into final products. The functionality of 2-3 bio- and/or circular economy value chains will be demonstrated on a pilot scale. In the project, investigation, facilitation, stakeholder engagement and research work are carried out. Raw materials compatible with the bio and circular economy can be used for example as raw materials in the textile and cosmetics industries.
As a result of the project, companies in the Turku region will have demonstrated the functionality of circular economy value chains based on local raw materials, such as straw, common reed and recycled textile fibers, and potential end products have been identified. The project also collects information on the availability of bio-based raw materials in the Turku region, such as straw and common reed, and how the availability meets the industrial raw material needs. The companies participating in the demonstrations gain valuable information and insights for further developing and growing bio and circular economy business.
The project strengthens the innovation activities of the entire Turku Business Region and in the long term supports the development of a new bio- and circular economy industry in the Turku region.
Duties of Business Turku Ltd.: Business Turku Ltd. is the project coordinator and main developer of the group project. The development company cooperates seamlessly with Åbo Akademi and Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS). In addition to the coordination of the group project, the company is responsible for:
- Work package 1 together with TUAS: Mapping and developing supply chains of raw materials according to the bio and circular economy
- Work package 3: Demonstration of the functionality of the value chains formed by companies
- Work package 4: Communication
Åbo Akademi is primarily responsible for work package 2: The development and productization of sustainable products with a high degree of processing from raw materials according to the bio and circular economy.
Results
The global population growth, the growing size of the global middle class and consumption by wealthy households, drives the climate crisis. As earth’s resources are limited, the availability of needs to be reformed to be in line with the planet’s raw material capacities, for example by expanding the supply of industrial raw materials to renewable and recycled materials. It will be furthermore crucial to develop business models to meet up with the principles of a circular economy. We live in a time of transition, where concerns about climate change, biodiversity loss, and overconsumption of virgin resources, are in the focus of an intense societal debate. These concerns are also considered in the development of corporate business practices.
There are several Finnish companies developing scalable technologies for processing various biomasses and recycled materials into new raw materials for industry use. These companies play a key role in the realization of an industrial bioeconomy and a circular economy. They are also critical when establishing a new, sustainable industrial sector in Finland. To support the development of this new field of industrial activity, it is important to form functional value chains by bringing together companies with different roles in the value chain; i.e. companies delivering raw materials, companies refining the raw-materials, and companies that develop new sustainable and recyclable end-products from the refined raw-material. For example, in the Nordic countries, common reed is currently an under-exploited cellulosic renewable raw material that can be used in production of similar end-products as of forest biomass. Introduction of such a new material in large-scale to be used as an industrial raw material, is an opportunity for Finland when aiming at internationally competitive industrial business.
The BioDemo project strengthens the business and innovation activities Turku region’s bio and circular economies. Activities carried out within the project framework include, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and research, as well as building up a common understanding of the possibilities to industrialize within bio- and circular economy activities in the region. The target is to bring together companies into value chains and demonstrate the functionality of the value chains on pilot scale. As a result, companies in the Turku region have demonstrated the viability of bio and/or circular economy value chains, based on local raw materials such as straw, common reed, and recycled textile fibres. The companies that participate in the demonstrations, will gain valuable knowledge on how to develop their business towards bio and circular economies. Another important outcome of the project will be a better shared understanding of the availability of bio-based raw materials, such as straw and common reed, in the Turku region. Also, a better understanding of how these raw materials meet the needs of businesses and industry, will be acquired.
The EU’s horizontal principles are sustainable development, equality, and non-discrimination. The goal of sustainable development is to ensure that future generations have equal or better opportunities than current generations. Specifically, the BioDemo project supports sustainable and resource-wise bio and circular economy-based business activities in the Turku region and assists the region in achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. The BioDemo project is carried out as a group project between Turku Science Park, Åbo Akademi and Turku University of Applied Sciences.
Contact person in Business Turku Ltd.: Ida Forssell-Martikainen and Reeta Huhtinen