Supporting industrial biotechnology
In February 2011, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Innovation Norway and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) in the UK. This agreement intends to foster transnational collaboration between industries and research institutions in the area of industrial biotechnology and biorefining.
In order to engage in the bilateral discussion, please visit the TSB's Connect website which has established a dedicated group for UK-Norwegian collaboration.
The agreement follows the bilateral and global partnership signed on 19th January 2011 by Prime Minister David Cameron and Prime Minister Stoltenberg of Norway, which included an agreement to strengthen our trade and investment relationship in a number of areas, including biotech.
The ground-breaking, three-year, agreement is the first such bilateral agreement signed by the Technology Strategy Board. Explaining the purpose of the agreement Merlin Goldman, Lead Technologist at the Technology Strategy Board, who signed the agreement on behalf of the UK, said:
“This partnership will support knowledge exchange and research & development projects based on industrial biotechnology and bio-refining. These technologies underpin the bio-economy, which in Europe has a market size of €2 trillion and employs 21.5 million people. Investment in these technologies can help to meet the increasing demand for a sustainable supply of food, industrial products and fuels.
Find a partner
Activities that will be supported through the agreement include networking events, facilitated by the Biosciences KTN – a Technology Strategy Board funded organization and the Norwegian Industrial Biotech Network. See schedule of events.
In order to identify areas of complementarity and the most promising business opportunities, a scoping study has been carried out by the National Non-Food Crops Centre. Joint activities will be guided by this work. See the scoping study report published June 2011.
Funding opportunities
Collaborative R&D projects identified as a result of the networking activities may apply for funding through the TSB and Innovation Norway grant programs. Interested organizations should join the Norway-UK group on "Connect" or send an e-mail to marit.valseth[at]innovationnorway[dot]no.
