Developing industrial biotechnology and industrial scale bio-process design for competitive industrial products and sustainable processes (e.g. chemical, health, mining, energy, pulp and paper, fibre-based products and wood, textile, starch, food processing) and its environmental and health dimensions, including clean-up operations.

food security, sustainable agriculture, forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and bioeconomy (i.e. the sustainable production of renewable resources from land, fisheries and aquaculture environments and their conversion into food, feed, fibre bio-based products and bio-energy, as well as the related public goods);

The objective is twofold: on the one hand, enabling the European industry (e.g. chemical, health, mining, energy, pulp and paper, fibre-based products and wood, textile, starch, and food processing industries) to develop new products and processes meeting industrial and societal demands using preferably environmentally friendly and sustainable production methods and competitive and enhanced biotechnology-based alternatives to replace established ones; on the other hand, harnessing the potential of biotechnology for detecting, monitoring, preventing and removing pollution.

Senator Milne: This is a multidisciplinary network that brings together Canada's top researchers, industry and producers to help create additional profitable natural fibre-based industrial value chains by improving varieties, technologies and processes and by improving products made out of natural fibres.

Over the next three to five years, we will I think see more and more companies that have been in the traditional commodity pulp business in partnerships with energy companies or other bio-product companies — chemical companies, for example, and materials production companies — looking at a different and new suite of bio-based products based on forest fibre.

In addition, a number of emerging technologies in the forest sector open up the possibility of creating new markets for wood fibre-based products ranging from petrochemical substitutes to green power and cellulosic ethanol.