Ence Participates in Bioeconomy Alliance Investing EUR 3,800 Million in Bioeconomy
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Ence Energía y Celulosa, Spain, is participating in the alliance between the Biobased Industries Consortium (BIC)—cross-sector group made up of 48 large and small enterprises—and the European Commission to establish an unprecedented public-private partnership. With an investment of EUR 3,800 million, the purpose of this alliance is to expedite the development of biological-based products in Europe until 2020.
Through this public-private partnership (PPP) between the European Commission and the BIC of industries based on bioeconomy, the partnership aims to drive growth and employment in Europe, especially in rural areas, thanks to the investment in new sustainable forms of economic development.
As Ence explains, bioeconomy most notably offers new concepts such as biorefineries, which are the core of the biological-based economy. In this regard, unlike conventional fossil refineries that use raw materials, a finite fossil resource such as oil, biofineries use renewable and sustainable biomass and waste with possibilities of producing numerous everyday products, such as cellulose, foodstuff, animal feed, chemical products, and fuel.
In addition to replacing oil-based products for their biological-based equivalents, thanks to the intense R&D efforts that are being made, bioeconomy has a high potential for developing new products prepared with renewable raw materials, which take care of the environment and offer functionalities and potential.
To turn this potential into a reality, this PPP will capitalize on the innovation and technological leadership in Europe to offer biological-based solutions on a commercial scale. The sectors will meet to optimize and create new value chains by putting agriculture and the forestry sector in direct contact with consumers. Demonstration and expansion projects will be initiated through the EU member states, which will benefit from the new growth and employment opportunities.
Ence is a producer of eucalyptus pulp and the second largest in terms of sales. The company has more than 1,000 employees and generates more than 11,000 jobs in Spain, of which around 60% are related to forest management and are located in rural areas. Ence has a production capacity of more than 1,300,000 metric tpy of high quality eucalyptus pulp through its plants in Navia (Asturias), Pontevedra, and Huelva.
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