Innovation News

The EU’s multiannual programme for environment and climate, LIFE, has launched its 2018 Call for proposals.  The LIFE programme is structured around two sub-programmes: environment and climate action. Each holds specific thematic priorities with major relevance for forest management. With investments up to € 400 million, LIFE will co-finance pilot and demonstration projects to develop, […]

The European Commission has now tabled its proposal for the next EU seven-year budget, the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). It includes a €97.9 billion budget for the next research and innovation funding programme, branded Horizon Europe. The increase compared to Horizon 2020 is 30 percent, even in the context of Brexit, which is the […]

On 17 April 2018, the final conference of the VERAM project marked the release of a Research and Innovation Roadmap 2050, jointly developed by the European raw materials sectors. With close to 180 concrete activities, cross-cutting the minerals, metals and biotic raw materials value chains, it is the only European research and innovation roadmap for […]

On 11 April 2018, the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) opened a new Call for proposals. The Call, worth € 115 million, encourages applicants to apply for grants from four strategic themes: feedstock, processes, products, and market uptake. New to the 2018 Call is the decreased focus on traditional value chains such as forestry […]

At the end of January, the transnational ERA-NET ForestValue reached its first deadline for joint Calls that support research and innovation within the European forest-based sector.  Despite the successful implementation of WoodWisdom-Net, FORESTERRA and Sumforest, it still took some effort to convince the EU Member States and the Commission to open a Call for a […]

As of 1 April 2018, Jean-Eric Paquet replaced Robert-Jan Smits as the new Director-General of DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD). Mr. Paquet is a French national who has served as one of the three Deputy Secretaries-General of the Juncker Commission since 2015. With 23 years of experience in the European Commission, Paquet has most […]

In the first meeting of 2018, the FTP Advisory Committee (FTP AC) shifted its chairmanship. Torgny Persson, Chair of the Swedish NSG and R&I Director of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation, was unanimously elected by the FTP National Support Groups (NSGs) to take up the role as vice-Chair. At the same time, the Director of the […]

As of 17 October 2017, a new transnational ERA-NET Cofund Call ‘ForestValue– Innovating forest-based bioeconomy‘, has been launched for joint European research, development and innovation proposals in the field of the forest bioeconomy.  With a total available budget of over € 40 million, the joint European Call contributes to transforming the current resource-intensive economy to a sustainable biobased […]

Johan Elvnert, Managing Director of the Forest-based Sector Technology Platform (FTP) has been leading the VERAM activities related to the establishment and consolidation of the Research and Innovation Roadmap 2050. The final conference of the EU-funded VERAM, held in Brussels, on 17 April 2018, will disseminate the vision and roadmap that lay out key research and […]

EU Raw Materials 2050: Roadmap to Success Registration for the final conference of the project VERAM – Vision and Roadmap 2050 for European Raw Materials, is now open. The EU Raw Materials 2050: Roadmap to Success conference will take place on 17 April 2018, at Palais des Académies/Paleis der Academiën, in Brussels. Research and innovation […]