The BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre was launched on the Bioeconomy Ireland Day

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Type of post: NEWS.

“The bioeconomy will play a crucial role in supporting future economic development and employment, as well as providing a path towards reducing carbon emissions and our dependence on fossil resources”. These words were pronounced by Michael Creed (Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine) on the inaugural Bioeconomy Ireland Day, which aims to engage industry, the farming community, Government and wider society in the bioeconomy.

The event happened in Tipperary (County Lisheen, Ireland) last week and it was the opportunity to officially launch an investment of 22.2 M€ in the BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre and 5.75 M€ in the National Bioeconomy Campus. The occasion also saw the announcement of the inception of the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (IBF) and the Bioeconomy Public-Private Network. This is a proof of the Irish commitment to develop a cohesive national approach for the sustainable and circular use of renewable biological resources.
Press release: “Minister Creed launches €28 million investment in BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre and National Bioeconomy Campus on Bioeconomy Ireland Day”, 19/10/2018.

Figure 1. Launching of the BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre during the Bioeconomy Ireland Day

A brief description of these new tools of the Irish Bioeconomy:
(1) The BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre (funded by Science Foundation Ireland through the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Industry) includes partnerships with five research institutions and an initial 10 industry partners. It will connect Ireland’s key bioeconomy sectors with fundamental and applied research excellence and innovation infrastructure, using a multi-disciplinary perspective.
(2) The IBF sets an infrastructure to enable potential collaborators to interact in order to establish new value chains. Enterprise Ireland funded pilot-scale processing facility in Lisheen provides an ecosystem to accelerate ideas to the market, help to de-risk new technologies, attract further investment and build international links.
(3) The Bioeconomy Public-Private Network, part of the national bioeconomy policy statement implementation, will establish a network of representatives from industry, research, society and relevant public bodies to inform the future development of the Irish Bioeconomy.

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