Press release: ERA-IB 3rd Call

Brussels, 1 March, 2012

ERA-IB launches third joint call for Industrial Biotechnology research proposals

Brussels the 1st of March 2012 – Today, a third call for multilateral research projects using Industrial Biotechnology (IB) is launched by ERA-IB, a mechanisms supported by the European Commission. The title is ‘Industrial biotechnology for Europe: an integrated approach’. Its main goal is to encourage academics and industrial researchers with expertise in IB to work together across the whole value chain. By co-funding this call, the organizations will contribute to less fragmentation of resources and an increase in transnational networking. Cross-border partnerships are important objectives to achieve sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products.
The joint call’s main objective is to establish joint research and development activities in the field of Industrial Biotechnology, as part of the KBBE theme of the Seventh European Framework Programme (FP7). These shared projects must be composed of a minimum of three and a maximum of eight participants from at least three ERA-IB partner countries. Pre-proposals have to be submitted  by 30 April 2012.
The following ERA-IB partner organizations will participate in the call and will fund one or more projects: IWT (Flanders Belgium), DASTI (Denmark), ADEME (France), FNR (Germany), BMBF (Germany), SMUL (Germany), MOARD (Israel), RCN (Norway), NCBiR (Poland), FCT (Portugal), UEFISCDI (Romania), FASIE (Russia), MINECO formerly MICINN  (Spain), TUBITAK (Turkey), TSB (UK) and BBSRC (UK).
The projects must deal with one or more of the following topics:

• Improved enzyme systems for new and more efficient bioprocesses
• Improvement of micro-organisms by metabolic engineering and synthetic and systems biology approaches
• Innovative down-stream processing
• Innovative fermentation and bio-catalytic processes, e.g. for platform chemicals, including  bio-monomers, oligomers and polymers
• Biological processing (including separation and conversion) of biomass, including from side streams, and other renewable carbon sources into value added products
• New valuable products by plant and animal cell cultures

Previous calls
ERA-IB has already launched two joint calls. The first call was launched in 2008 and resulted in eight financed projects, for a total budget of 9.7 million EUR. The second call (2010) resulted in ten projects for a total budget of 11.1 million EUR. IB leads to innovation in greener processes and biobased products such as materials, pharmaceuticals and energy.

FNR contact for applicants:

Tina Hausmann
Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR)
OT Gülzow
Hofplatz 1
18276 Gülzow-Prüzen
Tel.: 03843/69 30-172
Telefax: 03843/69 30-102
e-Mail: t.hausmann(bei)fnr.de