Today's Bioeconomy is the largest economic sector and employer in Europe – employing over 22 million people with an annual turnover of more than 1.8 trillion Euros. It is estimated that from 1960 – 2050 the world population will double to 9.1 billion people. In the next 50 years, we have to produce better and more food than ever before, on less land per capita. At the same time, we have to reduce the amount of water usage and the amount of energy we use. The importance of all platforms working together is real, defining the concept of Bioeconomy as a complex web of interactions: where one platform ‘ends’ another carries on. To get closer to implementing the Bioeconomy of the future we must go beyond our respective sectors, we must address the challenges and find solutions bridging across the sectors in chains which eventually cycle again back through the complex chains in a dynamic and synergistic flow.

The overall objective of BECOTEPS is to contribute to the creation of a strong Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) in Europe.

This objective will be achieved by building a closer and more coordinated collaboration between the KBBE European Technology Platforms (ETPs); developing recommendations for better interaction between the KBBE ETP stakeholders along the product chains and the sustainability issue regarding multidisciplinary research, innovation and policy issues to enhance implementation of the ETPs’ Strategic Research Agendas (SRAs); and encouraging discussions between European and national, public and private, research and innovation initiatives to foster implementation of the SRAs based on the recommendations developed between the ETPs.

One of the project’s main outputs is the BECOTEPS WHITE PAPER containing:
„« Recommendations on how to improve the interaction between KBBE stakeholders and jointly address the grand challenges that lie ahead 
„« Recommendations on the product chains and sustainability issues
„« Recommendations on multidisciplinary research – innovation – policy – cross cutting issues

Coordinator: Dr. Silvia Travella
EPSO (The European Plant Science Organisation), Belgium
Email: silvia.travella@plantetp.org

To learn more about BECOTEPS visit the website: www.becoteps.org