European Biomass Gets €1.7M Boost

The total budget for the project is approximately €1.7 million, which is funded by the EU's 7th Framework Programme.

 The regions involved are Baden-Württemberg in Germany, Aquitaine in France, Basque country in Spain, Catalonia in Spain, North Karelia in Finland, as well as Croatia and Serbia. The three-year project is based on each region's current strengths in the forest sector.

The project also aims to strengthen and promote competitiveness within the forest sectors without jeopardizing sustainability. After the agreed upon research agendas and action plans are completed, the project will begin the implementation process. During implementation, the regional public administrations involved will play a crucial role as funding organizations.

Each participating region is represented by a cluster consisting of enterprises, regional policy makers and researchers. Altogether, there are 20 partners fulfilling the roles and requirements of the project.

The sectors covered by the project (bioenergy, biobased products and wooden construction) are based on the Lead Market Initiative being instituted by the European Commission. The market demand is thus the decisive factor to which the activities are targeted. All of the sectors covered by the project are significant for the future bio-based economy and for adaptation to climate change.