European Commission select Scotland as demonstrator region for sustainable chemicals production
Scotland, represented by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), has been selected by the European Commission as one of six model demonstrator regions that the EU will support in developing sustainable chemicals production in Europe.
The model demonstrator label, which Scotland competed against 27 other regional bids to win, allows Scotland to access strategic advice and support from the European Commission to maximise investments in sustainable chemistry, circular economy and the bioeconomy over the next 2 years.
The accolade puts Scotland firmly on the EU map for chemical manufacturing and will greatly assist Scotland in meeting its ambitious target to lever €40m of funding from EU programmes to develop the sustainable chemical manufacturing sector by 2025. It offers Scottish businesses a huge opportunity for much deeper engagement with EU programmes to further their innovation and manufacturing ambitions.
In its application, SE and HIE, supported by Scotland Europa, presented Scotland’s impressive progress to date in delivering our industry strategies, including: Platform for Growth – A strategic plan for the Chemical Sciences in Scotland; Scotland’s National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology; and the Life & Chemical Sciences Manufacturing Strategy. These strategies have given the EU confidence in Scotland’s ambitions in these areas.
The application put forward two transformational projects that the advice will focus on: industrial biotechnology and Grangemouth. This opportunity gives Scotland access to expert advice on chemical industry strategy development, and the cooperation with the other model demonstrator regions will help chemical science companies and SE/HIE extend international networks and thus navigate the EU funding landscape.
The opportunity to develop our sustainable manufacturing capability will require non-traditional collaborations across industrial, technology and national boundaries, allowing great opportunities for Scotland to share good practice with other leading European regions.
Commenting on the success, Caroline Strain, National Manager of Chemicals, Scottish Enterprise, said: “This is excellent news for Scotland’s chemicals sector, as it opens additional routes for us to collaborate with like-minded European regions with high ambitions for sustainable chemical manufacturing. We look forward to working with the European Commission on this important project.”
Read more about the project on the European Commission website