生物经济在欧洲(2)
生物经济在欧洲（2）
The bio-economy - clean, clever and competitive ...
By EuropaBio,http://www.bio-economy.net/
Edited by Deng Xinan，
This website is for everyone interested in the potential of biotechnology to transform our economy.
In the 18th and 19th Centuries, European society was transformed by the Industrial Revolution and the steam engine.
This was the Age of Engineering. In the 20th Century, the developed world reaped the benefits of chemistry, which provided the materials, productive agriculture and medicines which make our lives so comfortable and safe. The whole world is now in transition from the Age of Chemistry to the Age of Biotechnology.
Biotechnology will drive expansion of the global economy, increasing wealth while reducing Humankind’s environmental footprint. We have the potential to be world leaders in innovation; the most dynamic region in the developing bio-based economy. But we will not achieve this without effort.
1、什么是生物经济?(What is the Bio-based Economy)
The bio-based economy is a term which encapsulates our vision of a future society no longer wholly dependent on fossil fuels for energy and industrial raw materials.
Currently, most of our power comes from burning coal, oil or gas: once extracted and used, we have to find and exploit new resources. We don’t know when they will begin to run out, but as demand increases rising prices will focus attention on alternatives. Bio-fuels (like ethanol and diesel) made directly from agricultural crops, will become increasingly competitive with conventional fuels, and provide at minimum a sustainable fuel supply until hydrogen generated using non-fossil fuels becomes a viable alternative.
But a lot of fossil fuels are actually used as industrial feedstocks, to produce chemicals, plastics etc. Most of this use could, over time, be replaced by biomass ? starch, straw etc ? fermented and converted to a vast range of materials using enzymes or micro-organisms developed specially for the task.
2、生物经济为什么重要? (Why is the Bio-based Economy important)
Recent economic growth has been driven increasingly by
the rapid development of information technology and other knowledge-based sectors. This has contributed to a steady decrease in the energy intensiveness of our economy (the amount of energy needed for a given economic output). Nevertheless, the world’s population continues to increase, major countries in the developing world (
Continued development and application of biotechnology will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Oil, gas and coal will be replaced by biomass. Chemical catalysts(催化剂) will increasingly give way to enzymes and micro-organisms. Our continued prosperity will be assured in a way which is truly sustainable.
3、欧洲生物经济技术平台(European Technology Platform)
The European Commission has established a helpful new
mechanism for fostering important areas where research, technology and development are key to addressing major economic, technological or societal challenges: the Technology Platform (TP). These can enable the formation of strategic alliances to foster public-private partnerships between the research community, industry and policy makers. The intention is to stimulate effective investment in R&D, accelerate innovation and remove barriers to growth. At the same time, they provide an important output to national and EU policy makers.
Participation in a Technology Platform should include the research community, industry (including small- and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, and private research and technology transfer firms), public authorities (e.g., policy makers, regulators, purchasers), the financial community, consumers, civil society groups, and other relevant stakeholders.
The expectation is that each Technology Platform should:
- provide a common vision that contributes to coherent policy making
- overcome obstacles at all levels to accelerate market penetration of new technologies
- stimulate knowledge and innovation, thereby increasing productivity and competitiveness and making the investment climate more attractive.
- encourage public debate on risks and benefits to facilitate technology acceptance
Several Technology Platforms, important to develop the bio-based economy, have been developed in
Sustainable Chemistry Technology Platform (SusChem)
In June 2004, the European chemical and biotechnology sector organizations CEFIC and EuropaBIO, with the support of the European Commission, launched the European Technology Platform on Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem TP) for establishing a long-standing public-private partnership to increase investment on research and innovation and to boost European competitiveness in the different sectors. It will set a strategic research agenda (SRA) for future EU chemical and biotechnological research in three prioritized technology areas: Industrial Biotechnology, Materials Technology, and Reaction and Process Design. It also includes an area for cross-cutting issues including the environment, health and safety, education and skills, research infrastructures, and access to risk capital.
The SusChem Technology Platform will create conditions to:
- Maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of chemical and related industries in
- Meet society’s needs in close cooperation with all stakeholders
- Boost and sustain chemistry and biotechnology research in
- Improve the European framework economic and regulatory conditions to inspire chemical and biotech innovation
- Contribute to Sustainable Development in
The Technology Platform will produce:
- Engagement with the wider stakeholder community in an open dialogue
- An integrated, shared vision of a more sustainable future EU chemical industry
- European Strategic Research Agendas (SRA) for innovation in the prioritized (bio)chemical technologies
- An Implementation Action Plan for the Strategic Research Agendas that will include mobilization of resources for collaborative R&D and sustain a strong European chemical science base, align relevant EU policies and initiatives and provide recommendations on improvements for European innovation framework conditions.
Within this framework, the Industrial Biotechnology section will ensure a coherent policy framework and the most effective use of R&D resources. Being part of the broader Sustainable Chemistry Platform will guarantee that biotechnology will be properly integrated in the chemical industry. Importantly, the Technology Platform goes beyond merely fostering cooperation at the research stage, but also encourages downstream collaboration to bring technology to full commercialization.
Plants for the Future (未来植物)
The European Technology Platform "Plants for the Future" is a stakeholder forum on plant genomics and biotechnology that was initiated by the European Commission on the request of the Brussels European Council of March 2003. It is coordinated by EPSO and EuropaBio
A wide group of stakeholders jointly published the Vision and the strategic research agenda on how Europe can improve the safe exploitation of the genetic diversity in plants using plant genomics and biotechnology. Input has been collected from research institutions, industry, farmers, politics, financial world, regulatory authorities, as well as consumer and environmental organizations.
The agenda defines the strategic research priorities for the two coming decades. The joint research platform “Plants for the future” focus on EU aspects in agriculture, raw materials, feed and food. Responding to climate change, and the growing awareness towards environmental responsibility, plant science will be a key technology in delivering the bio-based economy where energy, raw materials and renewables are increasingly produced by the agricultural sector.
The Biofuels Technology Platform
The transport sector accounts for more than 30% of the total energy consumption in the EU. It is 98% dependent on fossil fuels with a high share of imports and thus extremely vulnerable to any market disturbance. Furthermore, this energy sector is envisaged as the main reason for the EU failing to meet the
The current combined EU-15 production of liquid biofuels is around 1.5 Mtoe/year, which represents less than 1% of the total fuel transport market. Although biofuels production in the last years has grown by more than 25% per year, projections for 2010 are far from EU policy target.
EU has a significant potential for the production of biofuels. It is estimated that between 4 and 13% of the total agricultural land in the EU would be needed to produce the amount of biofuels complying with the 5.75% objective set in the Directive 2003/30/EC. Creating an EU market for biofuels will also offer an opportunity for the new Member States that have more agricultural land and will facilitate the absorption of the agricultural sector in the Common Agricultural Policy.
In 2003, European texts appeared that reinforced the conditions of development of the biofuel sector. Directive 2003/30/EC is a key EU text in the promotion of carbon-neutral fuels. It aims at raising the share of biofuels sold in the EU market to 5.75% in 2010. Along the same line, Directive 2003/96/EC allows member states to apply differential tax rates in favour of biofuels.
A major barrier for the deployment of biofuels is their higher price. To achieve a substantial cost reduction of biofuels, research and technological development is crucial in both the feedstock and the conversion technologies:
- (1) Utilisation of lignocellulosic (木质纤维素)biomass which can be grown in the wide range of climatic conditions existing in Europe is vital for the expansion of the biofuels industry. Land available for sugar, grain (bioethanol production) and oil-based crops (biodiesel production) is not sufficient to fully support a large biofuel industry.
- (2) Development of advanced conversion technologies such as (i) biological conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol, (ii) improvement of biodiesel technologies with better catalytic conversion approaches (iii) efficient processes based on biological or thermochemical pathways for the production of "next generation" biofuels such as methanol, dimethyl ether (DME,二甲醚), Fischer-Tropsch diesel, biofuels based on biomass pyrolysis (热解) and others.
- (3) A third strategic research area is the development of biorefineries for the integrated production of energy (heat, power and fuels) and added-value products. Aiming at the integral use of the biomass resources, biorefineries improve the cost-effectiveness of the products and maximise their sustainability.
The European Biofuels Technology Platform is intended to provide and implement a common European vision and strategy for the production of biofuels, in particular for transport applications, and compatible with the present-day infrastructure. By developing/making use of EU knowledge and scientific excellence, the technology platform will contribute to the development of a world-class cost-competitive European industry, while at the same time contributing to the fulfilment of energy policy objectives. The Biofuels Technology Platform should address all issues that are relevant to the large scale implementation of biofuels in the EU transport sector while enhancing competitiveness of the EU industry worldwide. Main emphasis will be devoted to RTD and demonstration, non-technical barriers and support measures, regulation, legislation, etc. In particular the platform will tackle co-operation between EU and national programmes in the European Research Area, as well as international collaboration with other regions in the world having high quality RTD activities. The platform should also have a role in monitoring the progress of the actions taken to implement the strategy
Research Framework Programme 7(欧盟第七框架研究计划,FP7)
Proposals for the 7th Framework Programme were put forward by the European Commission in April 2005. After a period of consultation, the Programme in its final form will go to the European Parliament and Council for approval and adoption via the co-decision process. It will then form the main instrument for funding European R&D for the period 2007-2013. It is vital that FP7 is properly funded and implemented if we are to achieve the innovation goals necessary to fulfil the aspirations of the
The proposal for FP7 groups research under 9 themed sub-programmes. Of these the key one which directly encompasses White Biotechnology is Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology. In the words of the Commission “The Food, agriculture and biotechnology priority aims at building a European "knowledge based bio-economy"（以知识为基础的生物经济） to answer the growing demand for safer and healthier food as well as for sustainable use and production of renewable bio-resources.”
The Commission also wants to encourage multi-disciplinary research cutting across themes. Industrial Biotechnology might also be expected to play a significant role in both the Energy and Environment themes.
4、2025年愿景(Vision 2025)
The stakeholders’ Vision for industrial or white biotechnology in 2025 is one where:
- An increasing number of chemicals and materials will be produced using biotechnology in one of its processing steps. Biotechnological processes are used for producing chemicals and materials, otherwise not accessible by conventional means, or existing products in a more efficient way.
- Biotechnology allows for an increasing eco-efficient use of renewable resources as raw materials for the industry
- Industrial biotechnology will enable a range of industries to manufacture products in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.
- Biomass derived energy, based on biotechnology, is expected to cover an increasing amount of our energy consumption.
- Rural bio-refineries will replace port-based oil refineries where it is economically feasible.
- European industry will be innovative and competitive, with sustained cooperation and support between the research community, industry, agriculture and civil society.
- Green biotechnology could make a substantial contribution in the efficient production of raw materials.
The action plan necessary to achieve this vision would:
- Develop a strategic research agenda and road map.
- Remove technical, economic, regulatory and implementation barriers.
- Involve the whole of society in decision making via stakeholder dialogue.