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BIO2009
USA: CLIB2021 takes off!
Picture: Signing MoU CLIB-Drayton Valley (l. to r.) Dr. Kircher (chairman of the board CLIB2021), Prof. Pinkwart (Minister for Innovation, Higher Education,. Research and Technology of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia), Doug Horner (Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, Alberta, Canada), Moe Hamdon (Mayor of Drayton Valley)
Source: BIO.NRW
CLIB2021, the Cluster Industrial Biotechnology, uses world's biggest biotechnology convention, the BIO2009 in Atlanta, GA to strengthen its international collaborations in the field of research and education. Innovation Minister Prof. Andreas Pinkwart: "Biotechnology is one of the future technologies for our country. Now, the BIO is an opportunity to promote R&D in North Rhine-Westphalia in front of an international audience and to leave an excellent mark." Thus, the success story of CLIB2021, which has started in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in 2007, continues.
Intelligent saving of raw materials
Witnessed by Prof. Andreas Pinkwart (Innovation Minister of NRW) and Doug Horner (Minister of Advanced Education and Technology of Alberta, Canada), a Memorandum of Understanding for developing jointly wood and plant based biotechnological raw materials was signed on May 19th at the BIO2009 in Atlanta by CLIB2021 and the city of Drayton Valley. Today, biotechnological manufacturing processes for bulk and special chemistry products employ plants also applied for food and feed. In order to avoid this competition, the exploitation of alternative renewable products is being investigated all over the world. Especially nowadays unexploitable wood and straw, but also syngas from biomass, offer vast resources for industrial applications. The cooperation between Germany and Canada signed at the BIO2009 wants to unlock this potential: while enterprises of CLIB2021 rely on a solid raw material base for biotechnological processes, Alberta offers huge amounts of today unused renewable resources. Furthermore, German and Canadian scientists join their scientific and technological know-how for the exploitation of renewable resources. Dr. Manfred Kircher, chairman of the board CLIB2021 highlights that, only two years after its establishment, the cluster is on the leap to export research and technology to the global market and to leverage the exploitation of renewable resources.
International promotion of young scientists
At the same day, also witnessed by Prof. Andreas Pinkwart (Innovation Minister of NRW), a Memorandum of Understanding between CLIB2021 and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta) about promoting young academics was signed at the BIO2009. On the German side the universities of Bielefeld, Duesseldorf with the research centre Juelich and TU Dortmund are going to participate initially. Through this collaboration, the CLIB Graduate Cluster recently promoted by the Ministry of Innovation of NRW (MIWFT) at theses universities receives an international component. It is envisaged to exchange students and to integrate them in joint research projects. The planned collaboration of scientists from Georgia and NRW targets the development of innovative production processes for the chemical industry based on renewable resources. Both, the Georgia Tech and the German Institutes have done application-oriented collaborations with industrial enterprises for a long time. "This international scientific cooperation gives new input and will accelerate the development of biotechnological polymers and specialty chemicals", explained Manfred Kircher, chairman of the board CLIB2021 and added: "Our globally successful industry needs excellent and internationally trained junior employees. Our cooperation will make a significant contribution to this."
Background:
CLIB2021 is an association with more than 60 members from Academia, SME and chemical industry - amongst them Altana, Bayer MaterialScience, Bayer Technology Services, Cognis, Evonik Industries, Henkel and Lanxess - founded in Duesseldorf, Germany in 2007. The cluster was awarded the first price and a public sponsorship for the promotion of biotechnological science worth EUR 20 millions in a competition of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in 2007. Since 2008, R&D-Projects in the field of industrial biotechnology with a volume of EUR 60 million were initiated. CLIB2021 is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMLUV) and the Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MIWFT).
Alberta (Canada) possesses rich sources of crude oil , natural gas as well as strong timber and agricultural industries. Alberta persues the establishment of a raw material platform for industrial biotechnology based on renewable resources. Furthermore the construction of production facilities and a development centre is envisioned.
The Georgia Institute of Technology with a total of 19,000 students ranks among the ten most respected universities in the United States. Its focus in science and education is laid on chemical and biotechnological production processes. The excellent education at Georgia Tech is demonstrated by the many price-awarded graduates.
contact: Cluster Industrielle Biotechnologie e.V. CLIB2021
e-Mail. info@CLIB2021.de / web: www.CLIB2021.com / Tel.: +49 211 – 67 931 41