Bioeconomy investments on hold
Bioeconomy has become a buzzword – a mantra that will solve any problem. In this day and age, every organization with self-respect has a strategy for realizing the bioeconomy. However, investments in commercial facilities have been put on hold in Sweden.
The role the government can play to speed up development and discussion regarding innovation procurements is an extremely legitimate question.
Two years ago, the EU formulated its Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe strategy and, this winter, saw the introduction of the major EU research initiative, Fast Track to Innovation under the Horizon 2020 Work Programme which, naturally, includes bioeconomy. The Horizon 2020 Work Programme showcases the major differences between Europe, China and the US vis-à-vis the allocation of government funding between research and scaling up to full-scale production. In Europe, only 6 percent goes to scaling up and 94 percent to research. In the US, the ratio is 52 percent to scaling up and 48 percent to research. In China, the ratio is 42 to 58.
Green growth is also one of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ prioritized areas. This includes the NordBio program, which is an initiative specifically aimed at the bioeconomy area. The major forestry companies collaborate with universities and research institutes all over the world. At the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, which is linked to both the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Chalmers, researchers have been given free reign with the aim of Sweden becoming a global leader in materials research for wood-based raw material.
In parallel, research is ongoing in the service sector linked to industry. The Knowledge Foundation, the Service Research Center at Karlstad University and a large number of leading companies, primarily in the forestry industry, in Sweden and Finland have started the industrial graduate school VIPP (Values created in fibre-based Processes and Products). The aim is conduct research into the value created in fiber-based processes in partnership with various companies.
The will to invest is key to progressing beyond praiseworthy pilot facilities. We have experience and know-how that has been built up over centuries.
The climate threat as a driver for change is as real as changing consumption patterns. What are we waiting for?
Per Kristensson, Professor at the Service Research Center at Karlstad University, says that we need to look at what we deliver from an entirely new perspective. The effect has a greater significance for the value of what we are selling than the product itself. He mentions Spotify, which made the music industry change business model. Basically, a combination of new technology and an interpretation of consumer needs resulted in a service innovation. Many in our industry are already thinking along those lines, but we need more knowledge about service innovation to gather real development momentum and make the transition to a full-scale, bio-based economy. The closer we get to the customer and the consumer, the better we become at adding value to the forest's green gold.