News

21 August, 2012 - 10:49

Forestcluster Ltd, the Strategic Centre for the forest sector, is expanding its activities from research focused on the forest industry also towards other areas of the bio-based economy. As a result of the metamorphosis it is now Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster FIBIC Oy.

Our new name and identity strengthen last years’ strategic development. Our activity expands from a purely the forest based focus towards the future bioeconomy focus.

The role of FIBIC is to strengthen the links between different bioeconomy related industries and to catalyze active research cooperation.  This will enable creation of even radically new materials, products, processes and services.

AttachmentSize
Press release185.7 KB
22 May, 2012 - 12:12

The poster highlighted FuBio results on using hemicelluloses as basis for the production of free, transparent and flexible films.

The breakthrough is a result of broad national cooperation. The FuBio research on hemicellulose extraction, up-grading and application is performed at several Finnish universities (Aalto University, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology, University of Helsinki, University of Oulu and Åbo Akademi University), research organizations (Metla and VTT), as well as a leading company in the packaging sector (Stora Enso).

Poster

Pictures from SHOK Summit 2012

27 April, 2012 - 07:43
SHOK summit demonstrated concrete results of the Finnish government’s investments into the open innovation projects
 
Helsinki, Finland – April 26, 2012 – Held in Helsinki yesterday, the second SHOK summit showcased Finland as the prominent leader in supporting cooperation between academia and industry for the benefit of the digital economy. The Finnish Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation (SHOK) presented over 60 concrete results from academia and companies in the fields of cleantech, healthcase, ICT, metals and engineering, construction and forestry. 

Press release

26 April, 2012 - 09:58

Results from Forestcluster Ltd's programs were widely present at SHOK Summit 2012. Heikki Hassi from Avilon had interesting presentation in the morning seminar session. Jaakko Kangasjärvi, University of Helsinki and Risto Kallio, Stora Enso Oyj gave excellent short Hyde Park presentations. In addition, Forestcluster results were presented in 5 posters and 4 short videos. The complete material can be found on SHOK.fi.

<--break->

Seminar (Forestcluster Ltd's presentation)

Hyde Park (Forestcluster Ltd's presentations)

SHOK results (Forestcluster Ltd's posters)

SHOKTUBE (Forestcluster Ltd's videos)

Picture gallery

23 April, 2012 - 15:03
The RAMI Programme of Forestcluster Ltd focused on generating novel and radical ideas for products and services for the future. The trend towards a bio-based economy can be seen in innovations, and it is also reflected in the development of regenerated cellulose fibres and their market prospects.

Press release

23 April, 2012 - 10:51

Scientific research has confirmed the health-promoting effects of wood-based compounds. Ground-breaking multidisciplinary studies launched by Forestcluster Ltd. have already yielded promising clues to new wood-based compounds that will promote wellbeing and health.



Press release

 

AttachmentSize
brunch_release.doc229 KB
16 April, 2012 - 12:05
Petrus Kautto from Centre for Environmental Policy, Finnish Environment Institute received Postdoctoral Researcher funding from Academy of Finland for the research on Nanosafety on trial(s): Understanding politics and potentials of product oriented environmental policies. The research is linked to Forestclusters EffNet research topics on nanocellulose applications in fiber based products.
 
Rapidly evolving technological systems and products pose a significant challenge to product safety and environmental policies. Nanotechnology is a case in point: research and product development are closely connected and the total number of products and applications is rapidly increasing. The overall aim is to study how responsibilities and regulatory strategies related to safety and product sustainability of nanofibrillated cellulose are negotiated in practical application of environmental management tools developed in public-private collaboration and in the consultations related to the preparation of regulations. Depending on the particular research task, the study will make use of long-term participant observation, semi-structured and informal interviews, and document analysis. The ad-hoc collaboration for environmental testing that will provide the initial platform for participatory observation focuses on environmental management of nanotechnology in the chemical pulp industry. The funding period is 1.9.2012-31.8.2015.
 
Petrus Kautto obtained his PhD in 2009 from Helsinki School of Economics (Aalto University) in organization and management studies, and is today based at the Finnish Environment Institute as a senior researcher. For more information please contact Petrus Kautto,  Petrus.Kautto@ymparisto.fi.
23 March, 2012 - 14:47

EffFibre stakeholder workshop "Biodiversity Indicators for the Finnish Forest Industry" was held at Finnish Environment Institute on 14.3.2012. Stakeholders from Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Metsähallitus, forest industry, VTT and SYKE gave valuable ideas and comments on biodiversity indicator development work. In the workshop, the stakeholders chose 8 suitable forest biodiversity indicators to be developed further for the use of Finnish forest industry.

 

For details see presentations: Biodiversity indicators in lifecycle evaluation and Evergreen Biodiversity.

 

16 March, 2012 - 10:48
INNOVATIVE BIOENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR TOMORROW
 
The boards of Forestcluster and CLEEN Ltd have decided to proceed in the preparation of the bioenergy research program “Innovative bioenergy solutions for tomorrow” with the aim to launch the program in fall 2012. The program has so far been developed together with the industry. This planning phase has secured good industrial commitment to the program and to the next planning steps. The planned annual volume of the five-year program is 3-4 M€. The program targets, focus areas and structure are described in the following two documents:
 
 

A call is launched to find qualified and innovative research teams and research contributions for the program. The call is open from March 16 and the deadline is April 27, 2012.
 
Please, use the enclosed word- template for your proposal. The proposals are submitted by e-mail to both Markku Leskelä at Forestcluster (markku.leskela@forestcluster.fi) and Jatta Jussila-Suokas at CLEEN (jatta.jussila@cleen.fi). Enclose also short CVs of your main researchers. No other attachments are needed.
 
The proposals will be evaluated by the WP teams, which will be established by the end of April. WP teams will consist of those industrial representatives who have shown interest to the WP. The representatives of Forestcluster and CLEEN will participate in all WP teams and will secure that the program becomes ambitious and coherent.
 
The evaluation of the proposals and the selection of the research partners will be done by the end of May. The main criteria for the selection are strategic fit, value proposition and novelty, excellence and networks. CLEEN and Forestcluster expect novel ideas and high-quality scientific contributions which can lead to breakthrough innovations.
 
The program planning process will be completed by the end of August, and the target is to present the finalized research plan for the boards of Forestcluster and CLEEN in early September 2012.
 
 
Markku Leskelä                          &                          Jatta Jussila-Suokas
Forestcluster Ltd.                                                  CLEEN Ltd.
13 March, 2012 - 10:37
The workshop was held on March 12, 2012 at VTT, Otaniemi. Altogether 77 participants attended the workshop representing virtually all the Finnish Universities and major research institutes.
 
The workshop material can be accessed from the links:
-       Presentation of the Academy of Finland call, including instructions how to prepare the application for the Academy, Jan Bäckman
-       Relevance to Forestcluster Ltd, the procedure and schedule on how to apply for the SHOK statement, Markku Leskelä
-       The form which should be filled in in order to request for the SHOK statement. 
 
Please note that the deadline for requesting the SHOK statement is March 31, 2012. Send your request to markku.leskela@forestcluster.fi.
 

For information please contact: Markku Leskelä, +358 50 5987665, markku.leskela@forestcluster.fi

Pages