2014
SusChem-España
PRESS RELEASE
June 2014
Plataforma Tecnológica Española de Química Sostenible – www.suschem-es.org
Hermosilla, 31 - 28001 Madrid – Tel.:+34 91 431 79 64 – Fax: +34 91 576 33 81 –[email protected]
Press Release
‘Enabling Circular Economy’, the essential role of
Chemistry in the new economy model

Held on 28 and 29 May 2014 in Tarragona (Spain), III Forum SusChem - Sustainable Chemistry,
innovative and competitive companies (3SCICC) has been a meeting event for the presentation
of industry trends and advances showing the essential role of chemistry as driving force for
Circular Economy.

Circular Economy is an economy model based on eco-efficient product design, meaning to
facilitate component separation and ulterior reutilization in order to generate minimum waste.

Organized by SusChem España, the Spanish Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry,
3SCICC has been part of European Green Week 2014, also focused on Circular Economy.
Madrid, 5 June, 2014  On 28 and 29 May was held in Tarragona (Spain), home to the largest chemical cluster
in the Mediterranean and Southern Europe, the III Forum SusChem - Sustainable Chemistry, innovative and
competitive companies (3SCICC), organized by the Spanish Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry,
SusChem – España, under the motto ‘Enabling Circular Economy’. Gold sponsors for 3SCICC were FEIQUE,
SUSCHEM, EXPOQUIMIA, DOW and FERTIBERIA, being silver sponsors CEFIC, AEQT, PLASTICSEUROPE, BAYER,
EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT, ENDRESS+HAUSER, REPSOL, RTDI, SOLUTEX, CTQ-URV and ICIQ. III Forum
SusChem - Sustainable Chemistry, innovative and competitive companies was satellite event of Green Week
2014, the event that takes place this week in Brussels and brings together representatives of European
Governments, companies, and academic and industrial NGOs under the motto ‘Circular economy: saving
resources, creating jobs’.
Circular Economy promotes changing from a take-make-dispose lineal economy to a circular model as it occurs
in nature, where it took its inspiration. Circular Economy has an increasing number of supporters as the model
needed to face the needs and challenges of the 21st century, with constraints on the availability of resources in
a context of an increasingly growing population.
Sustainable Chemistry innovation provides the fundamentals of circular economy (new materials, new
production systems, sustainable water management…); therefore, this restorative economic system has been
the focus of the 3SCICC.
La Industria Química genera en España el 11% del Producto Industrial Bruto y 500.000 empleos directos, indirectos e inducidos.
Es asimismo el segundo mayor exportador de la economía española y el primer inversor en protección del medio ambiente e I+D+I
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Participating in III Forum SusChem opening session were the Mayor of Tarragona, Josep Fèlix Ballesteros; the
newly elected Chancellor of the Rovira i Virgili University, Josep Antón Ferré; the President of the Spanish
Chemical Industry Federation (FEIQUE), Luis Serrano; the Public-Private Collaboration Deputy Director of the
Spanish Ministry of Economy & Competitiveness, Mª Ángeles Ferre; and SusChem España president, Javier
Brañas.
Gernot Klotz, Executive Director of Research & Innovation at the European Council for Chemical Industry
(CEFIC) and J. Lorenzo Vallés, Head of Unit at the Research & Innovation Area of the European Commission,
participated at 3SCICC plenary session, respectively presenting the role of chemical industry as basis for a
sustainable growth and the role that the SusChem inspired SPIRE PPP (Public Private Partnership) will be
playing to deliver increased energy efficiency and sustainable resources.
Chemistry Enabling Circular Economy
Forum 3SCICC was structured in 4 areas representing the different approaches from which chemistry can
contribute to the new economy model and largely coincide with the working groups that make up the Spanish
Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry - SusChem España, 3SCICC Forum organizer: EFFICIENCY AND
DESIGN; RESOURCE EFFICIENCY; ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND PROCESS INTENSIFICATION; and BYPRODUCTS
VALORIZATION. The latest developments and solutions were presented and discussed in each area, as well as
the main lines of research currently being addressed in the area of expertise.
EFFICIENCY AND DESIGN included presentations by Ignasi Cubiñá, co-founder & CEO of Eco Intelligence
Growth; Juan Miguel Moreno, Director of Chemicals Technology at Repsol; Rinske van Hainingen, Senior
Manager for European Affairs at Akzo Nobel; and Juan Ruiz, Energy Efficiency Manager at PlasticsEurope. The
speakers addressed issues such as the significance of acquiring a global vision of the whole life cycle when
designing a product, the use of biotechnology and nanotechnology in the development of more eco-efficient
and sustainable products, or the use of plastics, which production accounts for 3% of oil consumption, in
housing rehabilitation and progress towards smart cities (Smart Cities). Chairing was Martí Saballs, Deputy
Director of the newspaper Expansión.
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY area included participation of Vincent Jamblin, Project Manager for Eco Designed
Industry at Tractebel Engineering; Claudia Niewersch, Research Associate at the University of Applied Sciences
and Arts Northwestern Switzerland; Veronica Garcia, Applied R&D Water Tech Center Leader at Dow Chemical
Ibérica; and Frank Hollmann, Assistant Professor at TU Delft. In this subject area, chaired by the Vice President
of Open Innovation at DSM Rob Kirschbaum, aspects such as the development of processes and recent
progress in implementing phosphorus recovery were addressed, for the global phosphorus consumption in
different applications far exceeds its rate geological renewal; possible uses of water in chemical reactions, the
various options open to close the water cycle; and the promotion and support of resource efficiency for
industrial development, were also approached.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND PROCESS INTENSIFICATION included presentations by David Velázquez, Managing
Director of DVA Global Energy Services; Peter Cox, Director Global Petrochemical Industry Solutions at Emerson
Process Management; and Amalio Garrido, President of the Federation of High Energy Products Industries
(FIPAE). The way automation can enable new ways of operating chemical plants that will prove very valuable in
the future markets with limited resources, higher energy costs and limited available expertise; advanced
energy management; or the use of Chemical reactions for Clean Energy generation & storage, were addressed.
The area was chaired by Miquel A. Pericàs, Director of ICIQ.
BYPRODUCTS VALORIZATION on the other side, addressed aspects such as value creative combination
application to end of life PVC recycling value chain; CO2 based polymer production; reduction of carbon dioxide
to methanol and methanol-derived products; or obtaining glycerol from biodiesel. Chairing was Maria Mas,
Engineering and Development Director at Repsol Tarragona Center and President of the Board of Trustees for
the Center for Chemical Technology CTQ, a technology center specializing in sustainable chemistry.
La Industria Química genera en España el 11% del Producto Industrial Bruto y 500.000 empleos directos, indirectos e inducidos.
Es asimismo el segundo mayor exportador de la economía española y el primer inversor en protección del medio ambiente e I+D+I
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Participating in the Byproducts valorization area was Christoph Gürtler, Head of New Catalytic Processes at
Bayer MaterialScience. The company is currently investing in the construction of a production line that will use
CO2 as raw material for producing polyurethane foams. Also participating were José Ramón Ochoa-Gómez,
Principal Researcher at the Biorefinery Department of Tecnalia who presented, through several examples of
either proven or developing processes, the great possibilities of glycerol as platform molecule for obtaining
commercially valuable compounds; Atsushi Urakawa, worldwide known researcher and Group Leader at ICIQ,
presented the state of the art in carbon dioxide reduction to methanol and methanol-derived products; and
Joan Martí, Innovation and operations Manager at Sita SPE Ibérica, who spoke on value creation from plastics
recycling.
“SusChem España and the 300 companies and organizations that participate in the Sustainable Chemistry
Technology Platform, as well as this SusChem Forum, prove that the chemical sector is convinced that in a
situation as intensively competitive as the present one, its future depends on being ever more efficient and
sustainable, on keeping to provide solutions to all productive activities” remarked FEIQUE president Luis
Serrano at 3SCICC opening. “Our commitment is not only on ever improving, but on contributing to global
improvement”.
“Circular Economy is an economy model based on eco-design and by products valorization, making use of them
and creating auto-regenerative systems that allow for obtaining high added-value products” said SusChem
España president Javier Brañas. “Circular Economy also aims to improve energy and resource efficiency, these
changes having an impact on all industrial sectors, so the real achievement is the multiplier effect generated.
Chemical industry is the main supplier of many industrial sectors, so its embracing circular economy will favor
change in other sectors as well.”
Networking sessions and expert assessment
3SCICC also held several networking sessions: pre-arranged 15 minute meetings managed through software
provided by Meeting MOJO®, where any registered participant could participate. These sessions offered
businesspersons, entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators the possibility to find technology partners.
Bilateral meetings could also be applied for during the event itself.
III Forum SusChem also offered an Expert Assessment session on R+D+I Project Building and Strategies for
Funding by Eva García Muntión, Managing Partner RTDI, and the possibility of private visits to Repsol Mobile
Classroom ‘The world of energy’ both afternoons. ‘The world of energy’ is an initiative of Repsol Foundation to
raise awareness about the activities of refineries and petrochemical plants, and the use of oil and its
derivatives, and their commitment to energy efficiency.
Closing remarks for the III Forum SusChem were given by Juan Iranzo, President of Madrid Association of
Economists; Jesus Loma-Ossorio, President of the Tarragona Chemical Industry Association (AEQT) and Klaus
Sommer, President of SusChem, the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry. Sommer praised
the work done by SusChem España in its nearly 10 years of operation and stressed that the areas addressed in
the 3SCICC underlie SusChem approach and the Horizon 2020 strategy of the European Union.
Contact/ Information
PRESS: Concepció Roca – SITUA Estrategias
Tel: +34 933 962 016 – Email: [email protected]
MORE INFORMATION: Cristina González – Secretaria Técnica de SusChem España
Tel: +34 914 317 964 - Email: [email protected]
La Industria Química genera en España el 11% del Producto Industrial Bruto y 500.000 empleos directos, indirectos e inducidos.
Es asimismo el segundo mayor exportador de la economía española y el primer inversor en protección del medio ambiente e I+D+I
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