SuperBIO Workshop: a great success

In the frame of SuperBIO, TWB* hosted its first thematic workshop entitled “Use of Microorganisms and their products for biopesticide, biostimulation and bioremediation applications”, on 13 January 2017 (Toulouse, France).

The chemical global market of plant protection products was estimated in 2016 to USD 55 billion but the one of global bioprotection products represents only 10%, but tends to grow 15-20% until 2020.

The workshop aimed to stimulate the creation of new innovative value chains in this biobased economy, in a top-down approach.

55 people from 5 countries attended this creative event. The SuperBIO project was presented and the services offered by this European Horizon 2020 program were promoted.

An overview of technological & market status and unmet needs was done by the intervention of Frédéric FAVROT, Vice-president of IBMA (International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association) & Managing Director of Koppert France, who focalized on the EU market strategy & politics for biocontrol products. Magali CASTAN, Biocontrol Regulatory Expert at A.S.C. Staphyt, gave an overview on the EU Microbial biopesticide & biostimulants regulatory issues, strong bottleneck for the development of these products in agriculture. Julie PAUME, from Germe SA, presented the different types of formulation of microorganisms and their products for biocontrol products.

Success stories by European SMEs working in these thematics were presented by José Antonio MATEO, Managing Director of Newbiotechnik SA and Guillaume WEGRIA, Managing Director of Fyteko.

An academic conference about the use of solid state fermentation to produce biopesticide was performed by Sevastianos ROUSSOS (IMBE), and another one about the use of biopiles for bioremediation and metal recovery was done by Oulfat AMIN ALI (CEA).

At the end of the workshop, a pleasant networking cocktail led the participants to meet, exchange and generate new value chain ideas.

The next SuperBIO workshop held on 4 April 2017 (Ghent, Belgium) by Flanders Biobased Valley will concern Biosurfactants.

TWB will organize a further SuperBIO workshop in 2017: “Bioproduction of high value compounds for the cosmetics and fragrances industry”.

*TWB is one of the four European clusters partners of the SuperBIO project.

Read more: www.h2020-superbio.eu
Contact: Marie Tranier – Manager SuperBIO project for TWB – marie.tranier@inra.fr