17th BioSC Lecture: The forest- and plant-based bioeconomy – opportunities for cooperation

On 12th May 2017, the 17th BioSC Lecture took place at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Dr. Andreas Kleinschmit von Lengefeld, Director of Research and Innovation at the FCBA in Champs-sur-Marne, France, presented Europe's largest institute for forestry and wood processing.

Photos: FCBA (1,4), FZ Jülich (2,3)

The French Institute of Technology for Forest-based and Furniture Sectors (FCBA) is a technology centre dealing with forestry, cellulose extraction and processing, wood construction and furniture. Due to its diversity in research and development it is unique in Europe. It is the only actor in the wood sector starting with the biotechnological improvement of forest biomass production, working from nano to macro structure, as well as integrating socio-economic and environmental aspects into its activities.

Following Sweden, Finland and Spain, France has the fourth largest forest area in Europe. The hardwood area of French woods with more than 10 million ha corresponds to the whole forest area of Germany. Since the territorial reform in 2016, the new region Aquitaine belongs to the leading regions in Europe concerning value creation in the forest-based sector. French politics has taken up this sector as trendsetting in the group of 16 most important industries in France and has set up programmes for research and innovation. About 500 international partners of the FCBA are distributed worldwide but the focus lies in Europe. The aims of the FCBA research projects are technology transfer and transfer of research results into industry.

In addition to a basic funding by the French state the FCBA is founded by third-party projects. About 150 such projects make up nearly half of the annual budget. The funds are evenly distributed among national, European and international projects. About 100 employees with various backgrounds bring a wide spectrum of knowledge into the projects. The FCBA emphasizes certified education and offers a PhD candidates programme in cooperation with universities.

One research focus of the FCBA is the adaptation of forestry to the climate change. Here, the institute takes advantage of decades of breeding experience e.g. to shorten life cycles of trees or to raise their adaptability to drought. Moreover, alternative wood management models are developed. The work is complemented by economic analyses of competitiveness and sustainability.