How do you succeed to build such a successful bioeconomy cluster ?

That was the main question which was raised by all players and the myriad of foreign delegations I received at the French IAR competitveness cluster during the first part of the 2005 – 2008 period. At this time, we were focusing essentially on second generation biofuel and the non food used of crops, launching the main R&D projects on biobased chemicals and biomaterials, but all the “ingredients”, today main services were drawing.

“Illuminated” farmers and agricultural cooperatives, from the two main agricultural French Regions, had appealed for french competitiveness cluster call, and were granted, from a “labor” which began in the 1980’s with the launch of research and transfer centers dedicated to extraction and non-food uses of crops, and I were the first employee of the cluster, with Dr Thierry STADLER, in order to put the pillars of the organization. With a double skill in biochemistry and marketing, and a professional career in food company and food associations and clusters, I were a serious passionate and convinced senior candidate…

Each decision and contribution to the pillar of the French IAR cluster, which counted in 2005 no more than 80 fellows, was the results of the environment analysIs and the experience. Even if there were already European paper on how to build a cluster (thinking especially on the netwin step paper), there were no real recipe, but some logical steps I had to set to music. Let us tackle some pages of sheet of music.

The first pillar relies on the business intelligence… My previous experience in a cluster dedicated to the information and communication technology, helps me to draw the specifications of the 2nd version of the knowledge management tools TREMPLIN, produced by the ADIT, to share every day all market, and research datas on biobased products, but also all the main cluster activities (working groups deliverables and player presentations) through a dedicated extranet. I define the objective, the scopes, the editorials, select articles produced by the mobilized members and launch newsletters on main outlets on biorefineries … what has been called later “bioeconomy” field…In the first activity report I lead the way to the internalization of the business intelligence…A dedicated employee pick up the burden. I then draw or co-draw with new recruits thanks to regional collective actions technical and economical analysis on biobased ingredients (biobased solvent, biosurfactants, biolubricants, biopolymers...) and new biobased alternatives to very high concerned substances (phthalates, biocides, coloring substances, BPA alternatives…) and high value added molecules (UV stabilizer, preservative agents, polyphenols, texturing agents, microencapsulation, peptides…), and support then main studies on bioeconomy markets with the consolidated business intelligence team.

Bioeconomy Network - The 2nd pilar was to mobilize and recruit a global community of academia , universities, large companies and start up in food, bioenergy, biotechnology, chemical, process… covering all the value chain from the biomass mobilization to the end markets. I drawn inspiration from the French north model PRI (North Regional Program on Innovation, i used to belong in my previous job), to launch a complete bi regional program, with the support of the two new regional innovation agency, and all innovation stakeholders, prospecting more than 200 companies, with a dedicated team. I created an educational innovation tool on plant chemicals (CD rom) which were included in the first French press formul verte dedicated to non food uses of crops. I launched also a dedicated service to SME “put biomass in your company” which bring together strategic analysis, project emergence and R&D project selection and management…this entail the first PME product results (like the MOLYDAl new range of biolubricants), but also a good vision of the research, innovation, regulatory and social bottlenecks to compile and include in our future biooecnomy roadmaps ….which were copy / cut at the european level...

Project coordination and Project management and quality label – If the first year, was dedicated to establish the label quality procedure (as formerly quality manager) and development of strategic committee to asses the R&D project, rapidly with a growing team, specialized by strategics area, I put in place a complete project tool kit, inspired from the best consulting firm and other competitiveness cluster and innovation agency, with different model (research partner, framework of the project, previous knowledge tables, draw project framework examples…) to help companies and universities from the emergence to the drawing of a collaborative R&D&I project answering to French then European calls. I have accompanied and provide recommendations for more than 350 bioeconomy R&D&I project from EIC accelerator to flagship calls. I have then been contacted by many group to private meeting for the emergence of cross-border projects …

Shared Rodmap and action plans for each startegic bioeconomy area. With a 5S steps proposed by a consulting firm (Sharing PESTEL trends, stakeholder position into the value chain of the bioeconomy, the market evolution, identifying the needs and Scope opportunities and main scientific, technical, regulatory , social bottlenecks and hurdles to Select the main innovation area, until the structure action plan with players), we define jointly with our members the main strategic area of each strategic bioeconomy area. In the biobased chemistry and industrial biotechnology, this was sum up in 4 main single points

• Development of chemical intermediates and High value and functional biomolecules
• Building a cascade of process: pretreatment, functionalization, purification adapted to a wide range of biomass
• Promotion of biobased chemical and formulation biobased products
• Scale up and proof of the economical and environmental interest of biobased product…

Communities development - Bioeconomy working groups and events…Multiplying the different format size (training , working group, tech day full session, laboratory and companies visit) for the animation of the communitee (tackling state of the art and project analysis, presenting and discussing on markets and technical reviews or IP studies and synthesis, making tour de France laboratories, projects… I have animated many working groups (on biocatalysis, High value added chemical , or recently blue bioeconomy, on algae )…that is around 20 events / year covering economical and technical and industrial challenges : tech say on scale up - peptide opportunities, Intelligence artificial applied to chemistry and biotechnology....

IAR –ACV : “demonstrating the environmental, social and economical advantages of biobased products and local biorefineries”

The Green house gas and non renewable energy reduction with health benefits was the mains promises of the biobased product… And at the beginning of the Life cycle analysis implementation in industry and in the project task R&D program financed, I rapidly take in charge the question through a collective action, in order to not only compile the Biobased product LCA , and put in place pedagogic events on promote LCA steps on bioproducts, but also participate to the guideline on how to make a LCA on biobased product. We go a step further with the main players in LCA and Canadian Ciraig and risk and agricultural center, in order to put a place a sustainability guideline on bioproducts.

Agrobiobase – show case of the bioproducts - After a first event on Strasbourg European parliament were we collected a lot of bioproducts samples (and completely improvised speech on biorefinery) and a request from a bank player willing to take into contact to biomaterials suppliers in order to develop a bank building, after a complete study on purchase and sales platform, I decided to draw and launch a new collective actions which allow us to launch and recruit in my team a new colleague for the show case of the bioproducts Agrobiobase, which was improved every year.

CRM to ERP management tool for fellow services assessment– If we started first with an access data base to follow the project steps and main outcomes to answer the french state requests on project impacts : IP, new products, I have handled the development of the CRM / ERP in order to follow all the cluster fellow service consumptions. This was a crucial tool for the coordination of an increasing team and members…

Network and partnership – every day we put into contact start up, large companies, biomass suppliers, process ingeneireries, players in chemistry and biotechnology, universities ...in the different sectors: cosmetic, coating, material, food, energy, building, detergency, electronic, environment, furniture/decoration, hygiene, leisure /sport, maintenance, metallurgy, packaging plastic, textile, transport, wood / paper ….We did not dare to call it IAR meetic or IAR tender...but making connections and decomparmentalise is certainly one of the most important cluster mission to accelerate open innovation. A cluster were you like to be contaminated. .

Platform ad research and transfer – The development and the promotion of dedicated platform and research center on bioeconomy was paramount (realcat, twb, codem, ozonia, pivert...) to insure the scale up of bioproducts and bioprocess I have had the chance to be implicated to the architecture of different platform and structure like PIVERT and the genesys program on oil biorefineries...

International exploratory mission and hosting foreign delegations – Bioeconomy is a world market. International delegations and exploratory missions were settled aournd the world in US, Canada, Finland, Thailand...“Hunting by packs”, in the main international bio Events, promoting the french delegations, to extend market or identifying technologies or analysis competitors. I went in brazil through an exploratory mission and organized then the first and biggest french IAR cluster missions in brazilia with more than 50 fellows on 2G biofuel and biorefineries...convinced that coooperation need time ...I have also deposited the first biorefinery euroview european CSA project which has been entrusted to new colleague opening the door to new biorefinery european support action project and collaboration between european clusters.

Wide range of Services - Many other services has been developed by colleague around the years - IAR academy (adapting the trainee to the job biomarket and set up of dedicated biooecnomy campus) , IAr invest (for start up found leverages - first round tables)... and many other will be created in the next periods with the Circular Bio-based Europe and the french bioeconomy acceleration strategy through a new identity Bioeconomy for change.

In figures – more than 350 project R&D&I on bioeconomy – the first chemical intermediate (succinic acid) first insect flagship, the first algae biorefinery…..,

Bioeconomy has been identified as company and state priorities at each oil crisis… the covid crisis which reveal again our dependency to oil, to drug medecine... has again shown the paramount need to change, to re set up new plants, new local factories based on renewable ressources and a slight switch to bioeconomy, and bioproduction answering to foods security, targetting carbon neutrality...

The bioeconomy is circular, not only because of the carbon circularity but also the circular trends (biocontrole, protein, algae valorisation, aromatic lignin...) coming back every ten years, at each oil crisis...I have, during 16 years contribute, through roadmap, working groups, R&D&I projects management, handling the development of the bioeconomy value chains...many of my first organism contacts are now retired,...the biooeconomyforchange count 30 new colleague, wich will launch a new cycle a new bioeconomy wave, pushing again the boundaries and will be still astonished...

I have been one of the architect, the conductor the first “cell”, the first “crop”, the first “figure” and now the dinosaure of the French IAR bioeconomy and I am proud to have contributed to the cluster and defend the values – excellence, confidentiality, competitiveness...

One of the success key factor for cluster development are charismatic president. We get the chance to have, each 3 years, inspirational president which impulse sucessively the way to industrilization (with the first biofuel plants and chemical intermediate platform), the R&D bioeconomy university of excellence with the oil biorefinery program genesys from Pivert platform and the world bioeconomy forum of chantilly, the regional extension, the private services developments and the regulatory framework...handle by an unlikely ouststanding plurality skills and heterogenetity sound team ...the cluster has muted ...Welcome BIOECONOMY FOR CHANGE.

Where will I be recycled ! Looking for new challenges and opportunities

TO BE CONTINUED?