More than ten eligible applications were submitted to the international design competition for a biorefinery being organised by the Finland's Ministry of Employment and the Economy. The combined value of the applications was about 1.5 billion euros. The aim of the competition is to expedite the commercialisation of bioeconomy innovations and the emergence of new biorefineries in Finland.

A considerable variety of applicants from different bioeconomy sectors are taking part in the competition. The proposals vary in size from demonstration plants of less than 1 million euro to investments in demanding biorefineries worth hundreds of millions of euros.

"We were very pleased with the interest shown in the competition. The winners that conform with the purpose of the competition will certainly be found among this group. In addition to the applicants, discussions were held with several other groups on participating in the competition, but their projects were not yet at the level required by the competition", notes Jussi Manninen, Development Manager at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy
"Our unique competition also raised interest abroad, and we received many related enquiries. The ministries of other countries were also very interested in the idea of the competition.  We have proposed that similar models should also be utilised in the EU's public financing".

Applications received for the competition will now be evaluated by an expert panel, which includes Finnish and international experts on the financial sector and on bioeconomy-related research, development and industry.
The winners of the competition will be announced at the end of February 2015. In the selection criteria for the winners, the focus will be on suitability for investment (50%), innovativeness (25%) and impact on the national economy (25%).

The Ministry of Employment and the Economy is compiling a funding group representing public entities to coordinate and assist in the acquisition of public funding for the investment phase of the three best proposals submitted to the competition. In addition, the winner will receive a prize of 100,000.

The competition is part of a new way for public administration to spur investments. With its help, proposals are to be sought for a next-generation biorefinery to be set up in Finland. It should be a commercial scale installation, which includes new technology that is not yet in commercial use. The refinery can also be a demonstration plant, whose technology or products have significant business potential.  The aim of the competition is to lead to implementation planning and to investment that takes place in Finland in the coming years.

Source: Finland’s Ministry of Employment and the Economy
Photo: VisitFinland.com