INTERDISCIPLINARY AND CROSS-SECTORAL COLLABORATION TO FOSTER EUROPE'S SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
The GRETE initiative offers an interdisciplinary collaboration platform that involves actively different professional profiles and roles, connecting all relevant stakeholders for a sustainable economic growth in Europe.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION OF EXCELLENCE CONNECTING EUROPE’S NORTH AND SOUTH
The GRETE project is implemented by a consortium of a total of eight partners, connecting five countries from Europe’s North to the South: Finland, Austria, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The consortium is characterised by a mixture of institutions with different profiles, capacities and complementary competences, being anchored in different fields of activity such as Research, Consultancy and Industry.
Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd is a state owned and controlled non-profit limited liability company established by law and operating under the ownership steering of the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy. VTT is an RTO whose activities are focused on three areas: knowledge intensive products and services, smart industry and energy systems, and solutions for natural resources and environment. VTT is coordinator of project GRETE.
University of Helsinki (UH), established in 1640, is the largest and most versatile university in Finland. The university has around 38000 students working on degrees and 7700 employees. The Department of Chemistry is the leading hub of chemistry teaching and research in Finland. The research carried out at the department is highly valued internationally, and it is divided into three research programs: Materials Chemistry, Molecular Science, and Synthesis and Analysis
The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, the Alma Mater Viridis, perceives itself as a teaching and research center for renewable resources, which are necessary for human life. It is BOKU’s objective to help make a considerable contribution to the conservation and protection of resources for future generations by providing diversity in its fields of study. Connecting natural sciences, engineering and economic sciences, we wish to increase knowledge of the ecologically and economically sustainable use of natural resources to provide a harmoniously cultivated landscape.
The University of Aveiro was founded in 1973 and is widely recognized today as one of the most innovative universities in Portugal, the quality of its teaching and research and for its cooperation with regional and national business. Its organization and matrix structure, encompassing University and Polytechnic subsystems, stimulates knowledge exchange and cross-contamination between knowledge fields, promoting a useful proximity between teaching and research, which results a very appealing for national and international students.
Metsä Spring is a Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) company wholly owned by Metsä Group – a leading bioeconomy company based in Finland. Metsä Group is active in several value chains that begin from sustainable Northern wood. Metsä Group’s current products include plywood, sawn timber, pulp, biochemicals like crude tall oil and crude turpentine, paperboard, tissue paper and bioenergy in various forms. Metsä Spring, the CVC arm of Metsä Group, invests in early-stage companies with business ideas that, in the long run, can somehow strengthen the ‘Metsä Group ecosystem’.
Formed in 1965, Celulose Beira Industrial (Celbi) SA, based in Leirosa, 15km south of Figueira da Foz, is primarily engaged in the production and trade of short fibre paper pulp of high quality, from eucalyptus, and in the production of electricity (cogeneration). Belonging to Altri Group since August 2006, Celbi is one of the most efficient global producers of eucalyptus pulp, having an installed production capacity superior to 800 thousand tons. With more 50 years of existence, Celbi is recognized worldwide for the high quality of its product together with an excellent customer service, which makes the company a reference producer in the European scene.
Materially S.r.l. Impresa Sociale is an independent Italian SME that helps companies in the development and dissemination of sustainable innovation starting from materials. Materially operates with a design-oriented approach and attention to the issues of Circular Economy and intelligent innovation thanks to a broad background of international projects and experiences. In particular, Materially acts as a generator of links and contacts between producers of innovative and sustainable materials, as well as emerging material and processing technologies, and their potential users, be they companies or freelance professionals.
The BETA Technological Centre, at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), aims to be a relevant actor for the technological development, the improvement of competitiveness and the quality of life of rural societies. The Sustainability Accounting and Optimisation Area of CT BETA works to quantify the environmental, economic and social dimension of sustainability, developing and applying tools and methodologies to evaluate complex systems and help the decision-making process of industries, governments and public bodies.
For research enquiries contact the project coordinator:
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd
P.O. Box 1000 – FI-02044 VTT
Contact Person: D.Sc (Tech.) Stina Grönqvist
Tel: +358 40 820 7508
E-mail: stina.gronqvist@vtt.fi
CREATION OF A DEDICATED NETWORK FOR THE WOOD-TO-TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN
GRETE intends to radically improve the wood-to-textile value chain in order to enable sustainable, techno-economically viable production of high-quality cellulose-based textile fibres through green chemicals and technologies. The novel solutions to be created in GRETE will be disseminated and exploited for the benefit of the bio-based industries – especially the European forest-based industries – as well as for strengthening academic research and technical development in these fields. The international and transdisciplinary nature of this collaborative initiative will generate a dedicated network, exploring and connecting new channels for bio-based industry players in the wood-to-textile value chain.
For media enquiries contact the communication manager:
Materially srl
Viale Sarca 336, Ed. 16
IT-20126 Milano
Contact Person: Veronica Sarbach
Tel: +39 0286891727
E-mail: vsarbach@materially.eu
DIRECT CONTACT WITH POTENTIAL END-USERS AND STAKEHOLDERS OF THE WOOD-TO-TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN
The actions of GRETE project focus on the first steps of the wood-to-textile value chain. In order to guarantee that the interests of the stakeholders representing the end of the value chain are taken into account, a Stakeholder Group (SHG) has been established at the launch of the initiative. The role of the SHG is to identify new ideas and strengthen communication between the project partners and the potential end-users. The GRETE Stakeholder Group will meet once a year in the conjunction with consortium meeting.
If you belong to the potential end-users of the wood-to-textile value chain and are interested in GRETE technical innovations for industrial exploitation, don’t hesitate to get in touch and discover the business opportunities that are generated in the upcoming months and before the project end in May 2023.
For stakeholder enquiries contact the liaison manager:
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd
Tietotie 2
FI-02150 Espoo
Contact Person: Jenni Rahikainen
Tel: +358 40 356 8646
E-mail: jenni.rahikainen@vtt.fi
RELATED INITIATIVES
The objective of the EFFECTIVE project is to demonstrate innovative and economically viable routes for the production of bio-based polyamides and polyesters from renewable feedstocks to obtain fibres and films with enhanced properties, market competitiveness and increased sustainability for different application sectors.
In common with GRETE: renewable feedstock, advanced chemical processes and bio-based fibres.
The overarching objective of the FRACTION project is to increase the performance of second-generation biorefineries, improving their economics and flexibility in dealing with lignocellulose feedstocks, maximising the purity and quality of lignin and hemicellulose and keeping high quality cellulose as main targeted product.
In common with GRETE: lignocellulose feedstocks and advanced chemical processes
The GLAUKOS project aims to develop bio-based textile fibres and textile coatings that offer the required performance but avoid the current environmental persistence. It aims to develop polymers mainly consisting of bio-based building blocks and to redesign the lifecycle of the textile and fishing gear sector, enhancing their biodegradability and bio-recyclability while minimising microplastic leakage into the environment.
In common with GRETE: renewable feedstock, bio-based textile fibres, European sourced feedstock, tackling environmental challenges.