"Chemistry for a Better Life"

Proceedings of the STOA workshop

A STOA workshop, co‐organised with the European Association for Molecular Science (EuCheMS) and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC)

Held on the 9 November 2011, 15:00‐18:30, in the European Parliament Chaired by Teresa Riera Madurell, Member of the European Parliament

Table of contents

1. Foreword p.2 2. Introduction p.4 3. Programme of the workshop p.5 4. Contents of the discussions p.6 5. Conclusions of the discussions p.25 6. Biographies of the speakers p.26 7. "Everything is chemistry" exhibition p.35 8. Organisations represented in the Workshop p.39

PE 482.691

Foreword

Under the theme "Chemistry ‐ our life our future", the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) is an international celebration of the achievements of this science and its contribution to the well‐ being of humankind. On behalf of the European Parliament, we did not want to miss the opportunity both to collaborate in this celebration, and contribute towards increasing public awareness about the importance of this science.

Chemistry is a central science not only due to its significant connections with other sciences but also owing to its impact upon almost every aspect of our lives. Chemistry is responsible for everything, from modern food and drugs to plastics and computers.

The knowledge derived from this scientific discipline allows us to better understand the current world as well as how to change and improve it. Chemistry is involved in everything, without Chemistry we would not exist. It is present in our bodies, in our clothes but also in the air we breathe everyday.

Chemistry contributes significantly towards finding solutions to Europe’s current and future challenges. It strives to consolidate resource efficiency, as well as develop alternative energy sources in order to tackle climate change and reduce our dependence on external imports, thus maintaining our quality of life on a path to sustainable development. This is the reason why we decided to give this STOA Workshop the title "Chemistry for a Better Life".

Furthermore, we should not forget that the Chemical Industry is a strategic sector in Europe with more than 25,000 related businesses which employ, directly or indirectly, around 5 million citizens. In a context of financial and economic crisis, the contribution of Chemistry to our economy must not be disregarded.

For all these reasons, research into Chemistry must not only be maintained but also increased in Europe. As Marie Curie once said: "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less". I strongly believe we still need to better understand our world and Chemistry has a lot to say.

Ms Teresa Riera Madurell

Ms Teresa Riera Madurell MEP (Spain, S&D)

 University full Professor , graduate in mathematics, University of Barcelona (1974);  Doctorate in mathematics (cum laude) (1981), Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC);  Director of the Business and Computer Sciences School University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) (1986‐1990);Associate Vice‐Chancellor, (UIB) (1991‐1994); Visiting Researcher, Carnegie Mellon University (1989);Research Associate, University of California (Berkeley, 1981 ‐1982);  Published many research articles in specialized scientific journals and proceedings of national and international conferences; Author of books and articles on didactics and scientific outreach of mathematics. Co‐director of the UIB‐Gender Studies Summer University;  Fields of research: Multiple valued logics, approximate reasoning, possibility theory and its applications to artificial intelligence;  Joined the PSC‐PSOE in 1978, the FETE‐UGT union in 1980 and the PSIB‐PSOE in 1997; Press Secretary (1988‐1991) and Secretary of women rights (1991‐1994) in the PSIB‐PSOE Executive Committee;  President of the PSIB‐PSOE (1994‐1997);  Member of the Federal Executive Committee of the PSOE (1996‐2000);  Member of the Federal Guarantees Committee of the PSOE (2000‐2004);  Member of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands and Member of Mallorca Island Council (1989‐ 1996);  Member of the Congress of Deputies (1996‐2004), spokesperson of the Women’s Rights Congress‐ Senate Committee and the Science and Technology Committee, and Member of the Defence and the Foreign Affairs Committee;  Member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2000‐2004), being Vice‐chair of the Science and Technology Committee and later General Reporter;  Member of the Spanish Congress of Deputies (1996‐2004)  Member of PES Women Standing Committee (2004‐2009). Since 2002 General Secretary of the Iberoamerican Union of Science, Technology and Enterprise and Vice‐Chair of Mediterranean International Laboratory for Peaceful Coexistence Studies.  Member of the European Parliament (MEP) (2004‐ )  UUU2004‐2009: member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and of the Committee of Women Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) as well as substitute member on the Committee of Agriculture and Rural Development. Member of Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the ASEAN and substitute member of Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and of the delegation for relations with South Asian Association for Regional Co‐operation (SAARC);  Since 2009: socialist spokesperson of ITRE committee, substitute member on the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (Committee on Foreign Affairs), member of Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and ASEAN and member of the Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Substitute member of Delegation to the EU‐Armenia, EU Azerbaijan and EU‐Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and member of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.

Introduction

The aim of the workshop, organized by STOA in cooperation with the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) and the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), was to highlight in the framework of the International Year of Chemistry 2011 the crucial contribution of this science towards achieving a better quality of life and welfare for humankind.

Chemistry is fully committed to come up with solutions to Europe’s pressing problems, such as fostering resource efficiency, developing alternative energy portfolios, redressing the consequences of climate change, improving our health conditions and assuring food supply for a growing population. Chemistry is central to progress in many scientific and technological fields. Working with a wide range of experts, EuCheMS has published a Roadmap highlighting key areas where advances in chemistry are needed to tackle some of the ‘Grand Challenges’ underlined by the Lund Declaration of 2009.

Chemistry, both as an industry and a science, will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the European Union is able to realise its vision of an ‘Innovation Union’. A strong partnership between academic, research and industry will ensure that research is transferred to economic solutions that contribute to society welfare.

The workshop was opened by a keynote speech from Prof. Avelino Corma, Instituto de Technología Química, Valencia, followed by three Panel Sessions. Discussions between the panel members, MEPs and participants provided the opportunity to engage in an open discussion on the role and expectations of chemistry in the Common Strategic Framework.

Workshop programme

15:00 ‐ 15:15 Opening: Ms Teresa RIERA MADURELL, MEP

15:15 ‐ 16:00 Key note speech: Prof. Avelino Corma, Instituto de Technología Química, Valencia

16:00 ‐ 16:10 Introduction of the roadmap for chemical sciences “Chemistry: developing solutions in a changing world” Prof. Ulrich Schubert, EuCheMS

16:10 ‐ 17:10 Session 1: Innovation Union: Chemistry, Technologies and CSF, Panel discussion with Prof. Dr. Dieter Jahn, BASF

Panel members: ‐ Ms Maria da Graça Carvalho, MEP ‐ Dr. Nineta Majcen, Secretary General, EuCheMS ‐ Dr. Gernot Klotz,Executive Director Research and Innovation, CEFIC ‐ Dr. Gabor Mihaly Nagy, European Research Council Executive Agency ‐ Mr Chris Allen, DG Enterprise

17:10 ‐ 17:40 Session 2: Chemistry for Resource Efficiency, Panel discussion with Prof. Dr. Nicola Armaroli, CNR Bologna

Panel members: ‐ Dr. Klaus Sommer, Bayer, Chairman of SusChem ‐ Dr. Søren Bøwadt, DG Research

17:40 ‐ 18:25 Session 3: Chemistry for Smart Living, Panel discussion with Richard Allan, Scottish Water Horizons

Panel members: ‐ Ms Edit Herczog, MEP ‐ Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Maruszewski, DG JRC ‐ Ms Aurora Walsh, European Young Chemists' Network ‐ Mr Johannes Spork, Innovation Manager, CEFIC

18:25 ‐ 18:30 Closing remarks: Mr Antonio Correia de Campos, MEP

Contents of the discussions

The workshop clearly presented the strength of the chemistry community in Europe and, in particular, its ability to provide sustainable solutions to address current societal issues. The meeting discussed the central role that chemistry plays in inspiring and driving innovation across the EU manufacturing sectors. This proved timely in the context of the political debate on the next European Research and Innovation Framework Programme (Horizon 2020), and the current economic crisis. Accelerating innovation is essential for enhanced European competitiveness and growth: chemical stakeholders have a leading role to play here, and are committed to these goals.

Main points from the discussion

 There is a need to engage with the public / society to ‘show and tell’ what benefits chemistry can bring.

 There is a need for balance between the roles of academia in discovery/ increase of knowledge (basic research) and in providing solutions / support to industry (applied research) as it was highlighted in the examples given by Professor Avelino Corma from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ Valencia)

 There is a general acknowledgement that academic research is extremely important for the future of European chemical industry.

 There is a general acknowledgement that the chemical industry plays a central role in implementing technology solutions and solving European challenges.

Opening Ms Teresa Riera Madurell, MEP

Ms Riera Madurell opened by emphasising the European Parliament's willingness to partake in celebrating the International Year of Chemistry given the science's enormous contribution to improving citizen quality of life and well‐being; an objective being shared by the European Parliament. She then highlighted the role of the STOA unit, responsible for organising the event. "The main objective of STOA is to organize debates, conferences and seminars; designed to make available to members of the European Parliament all scientific information they need in their work." She also emphasised how chemistry has provided the Parliament with many solutions to some problems that needed to be solved in the political world. Taking the example of health policy, she reminded the audience that thanks to vaccinations and new forms of treatment, we have been able to prevent disease and extend human life. She insisted on the major role that chemistry plays in dealing with important current issues, such as improving food safety and quality, producing new forms of energy to reduce the effects of climate change etc. Chemistry is everywhere "there are new chemicals in the clothes we wear, the materials we use and the air we breathe, and so on and so forth." She continued to highlight the importance and strategic position of the chemical industry in the European economy, as it consists of more than 25,000 companies that employ over 5 million people. This is why chemistry needs public policy support so that it can carry on researching and make sure that research results are transferred for practical use to industry. She insisted on this support being particularly important in times of crisis, such as the one Europe is going through. Investment in chemistry must be maintained as it will contribute to a more competitive European economy. She explained there was a need for closer relations between chemistry and the European Parliament. MEPs must have solid information and input from the chemistry community for many of the decisions they have to take so they can produce the best legislation in the scientific area. She concluded by reminding the audience, that choosing 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry was not a choice taken by chance but it celebrated the fact that 100 years ago Marie Curie received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She is one of the most important scientists in history and is an example for all women, especially for those intent on pursuing a scientific career. Science is an area in which women are underrepresented compared to men. Nowadays, only 30 % of research scientists in the EU are women. She added that 2011 was a very good year to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry as it was also the International Year of Women Scientists. These 2 events were aimed at encouraging governments to implement policies that will encourage more women into science and is an opportunity to recognize the important contributions women have made to science. Ms Riera Madurell closed her message by paying homage to all women scientists and quoted Marie Curie "we have to understand what we need to understand".

Key note speech Prof. Avelino Corma, Instituto de Technología Química, Valencia

Catalysis for Sustainable Chemistry

The chemical industry of the European Union is one of our most successful, competitive and international industries. The industry is of vital importance to the EU economy, employing over 1.16 million Europeans and accounting for 1.1% of the total EU GDP in 2010. However, this figure has fallen from 1.5% of GDP in 1995 and employment has slipped by 2.2% over the last 10 years. Nonetheless, the industry continues to lead the EU manufacturing sector in terms of value‐ added per employee, although with 90% of European chemical production residing in only the following 8 countries: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Poland, and the United‐Kingdom.

The EU chemicals industry was profoundly affected by the spill‐over effects of the economic and financial crisis. However, it has shown its competitiveness and stability as it registered a solid recovery in 2010. The chemicals sector in the EU generated an extra‐EU trade surplus of €47 billion in 2010, €4 billion more than in 2009. This 2010 EU chemical trade surplus with the rest of the world reached a record level. However, even though the total value of sales in the European Union has been growing continuously, emerging economies now outpace industrial countries in chemicals production.

One must also note the substantial environmental efforts made by the chemicals industry. For many years the EU chemicals industry, including pharmaceuticals, has made strong efforts to improve energy efficiency, reducing its fuel and power energy consumption per unit of production. As a consequence, the EU chemicals industry has reduced energy intensity by 54 per cent since 1990 and its greenhouse gas intensity has fallen by 68 per cent since 1990.

Chemistry continues to be of vital importance to priority research topics worldwide such as Energy, Sustainability, Health, and Water. It had a seminal role in developing the existing process of oil transformation and petro chemistry. It also helps us to tackle difficult environmental and industrial problems directly, as developing new technological processes can allow for emerging alternative energies to be harnessed efficiently and energy efficiency measures to be increased. The catalysis process is a good illustration for instance, as it shows how chemistry can help us make better use of raw materials when developing new products, whilst at the same time minimizing the waste created.

The European chemicals sector has a strong academic research base and a solid industry. Therefore close collaboration between the two will ensure new innovative products continue to arrive on the market that help address the great challenges our societies are facing.

Discussion

Participants: Gernot Klotz, Avelino Corma

Main points from the discussion

 The challenge for the future will be for the chemical community to better communicate with society what the benefits of its activity are.  The objective of science is double: the first to increase our general knowledge and the second to assess the problems we encounter and then to try to improve the quality of life for humankind. Once upon a time this was an unpopular way of thinking in academia but it is no longer the case today. Most academics are now willing to collaborate with companies to meet the above objectives.  Academics should have their own internal fundamental research, which is the discovery part. It must keep growing the knowledge base to be able to offer things to the companies in few years. There is also a major second part where academia needs to collaborate with the companies to find solutions to either realistic or demanding problems in society.

Introduction to the roadmap for chemical sciences “Chemistry: developing solutions in a changing world” Prof. Ulrich Schubert, EuCheMS

Global change is creating enormous challenges relating to energy, food, health, climate change and other areas. In the EuCheMS Roadmap “Chemistry – Developing solutions in a changing world”1 , EuCheMS experts have identified critical knowledge gaps that are limiting technological progress and where advances in chemistry will help to provide solutions. The Roadmap reflects the combined European expertise in this field and is intended for supporting decision makers to identify thematic priorities for R&D programs. EuCheMS also hopes to trigger a broader discussion on the problem‐solving abilities of chemistry. The public awareness must associate chemistry with innovation and a better way of living – “Chemistry for a better life” – emphasising the opportunities, but not neglecting the associated problems. In the Roadmap section on Energy, one main point is that all energy issues are closely associated with new and better materials. Making or improving materials is at the heart of chemistry. The same is true for the section on Resource Efficiency. Better and more chemistry can assist in a drive towards using our existing resources more efficiently, through recycling, recovery of raw materials, reduction of quantities, substitution of scarce raw materials, and so on. Chemistry is also central to many aspects of Healthcare. In this section of the Roadmap, EuCheMS addresses amongst others, the big challenges associated with an ageing society, chronic diseases, urbanisation or personalized medicine. The final section of the Roadmap deals with issues associated to Food and Water. Chemists, together with scientists and engineers from other disciplines, can meet challenges ranging from agricultural productivity to healthy and safe food to process efficiency. Chemistry is a science that has laid the foundations for many everyday technologies. The technological advances that surround us are based on breakthroughs in science from the past. Future solutions to global problems will also require breakthroughs in science which originate from advances in understanding, new methods and techniques, as well as major and sometimes unpredictable discoveries. To maximise the capacity for breakthroughs it is crucial to adequately support curiosity‐driven research. In the Roadmap therefore, we have also identified areas where progress in the chemical sciences is needed to address global challenges in partnership with other disciplines.

1 www.euchems.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/highlights/Euchems_Roadmap_gesamt_final2.pdf

Session 1: Innovation Union: Chemistry, Technologies and CSF Panel discussion chaired by Prof. Dr. Dieter Jahn, BASF

Panel members speeches

Prof. Dr. Dieter Jahn, BASF Innovation results from the interaction between scientific discoveries, technological applications, and the market introduction of new products. It is about exploiting knowledge to produce solutions for the whole of society, and is key for the future competitiveness of Europe. Excellent basic and applied research is required, bridged by scientific‐technological cooperation between academia and industry. The chemical industry is one key sector of the European economy and is essential for smart and sustainable growth across many other industry sectors. The EU is the world’s most important producer of chemicals, accounting for approx. 30 % of the total world chemicals production. More than one third of the world’s top chemical companies have their headquarters in Europe. Around 30,000 chemical companies employ a total of about 1.2 million people in the EU. Europe, however, is not alone. We must always have an eye on the other regions of the world and be prepared for benchmarking. The whole value chain from materials producers to consumer‐near industries is to be stimulated, and the upcoming Horizon 2020 strategic framework should reflect research and application, with more focus on innovation. There is no innovation without industry. We should, therefore, pay attention to the fact that industry participation needs to be significantly increased. Simplification and acceleration of the funding process is essential. The chemical industry has the potential to support the Horizon 2020 approach by developing the following: an integrated resource efficiency strategy within the process industry, i. e. by optimizing products, raw materials, renewable feedstock and energy, water etc., as well as processes, output materials and recycling options; new concepts and materials for energy generation, storage and efficient use in sustainable construction and mobility (“Smart living”); new technologies for more efficient raw materials extraction, use and recycling, as well as substitution and alternative technologies; and finally; technologies that reduce raw materials and water consumption. Key Enabling Technologies are a technological priority for Europe and will need funding as well. Finally, raw material resources are an important topic, but human resources are even more important one. The chemical industry is ready to take a visible lead to tackle the grand societal challenges. Ms Maria da Graça Carvalho, MEP This discussion was happening at a crucial moment for the next generation of programmes. The Parliament was not only discussing the next framework programme, but also the regional development of the structural funds and all the programmes for the period 2014‐2020. The reports on the structural funds are already on their way with the appointed rapporteurs hard at work. For the next programme on research and innovation, namely "Horizon 2020" (FP8), they were awaiting the report from the Commission due at the end of November, at which time the rapporteurs will be appointed by the Parliament. However, MEPs were already doing a lot of preparatory work in working groups inside the political groups and in working groups linked with the political groups. The Parliament has already defined many ideas for "Horizon 2020". One of them has already been voted on: the substantial increase of the budget, as the budget for Horizon 2020 is double the FP7 one. Not only did the Parliament want an increase in the budget for research and innovation through horizon 2020, but also through the percentage of funds for research and innovation that is devoted inside the structural funds. The EP is trying to push in order to have 30% of the structural

11 funds devoted to research and innovation, which would then represent a larger amount than Horizon 2020 itself. The Parliament is also pushing for a simplification of the programmes so as to establish well designed rules, a more simple architecture of the new programmes etc. It is regarded to be as important as the size of the budget given that some of the funds are available but cannot be executed because they are too complex to get. Overall, a huge amount of effort, money and time is needed to access it because the rules are so complex. We need to have well designed programmes in terms of contents. The Parliament supports the three lines approach that the Commission is currently developing: one science based, one society driven and one industrially driven. Chemistry was, and needed to be present in these 3 lines. Chemistry is a very important part of the science driven pillar, seeing as it is one of the most important disciplines in science and an important subject for Europe. Chemistry therefore has to be present in the European Research Council, in the Marie Curie Fellowships. Chemistry is of great significance to the industry driven pillar, particularly in areas like nanotechnology and biotechnology, but also within information and communication technology for example. The society driven pillar is very likely to include subjects such as health, food safety, sustainable agriculture and bio‐economy, clean, efficient and secure energy, green and integrated transport, climate action and resource sufficiency. Chemistry is fundamental for all these topics. In harmony with most of my colleagues' views, a better balance should be struck between top‐ down and bottom‐up research. At the moment there is only a bottom‐up approach in the European Research Council. The Parliament would like bottom‐up research to be developed in many other fields. Dr. Nineta Majcen, Secretary general, EuCheMS One of key European documents, the Innovation Union Plan, defines knowledge transfer and international cooperation (science) as two of the five pillars on which Europe will in future ensure its inclusive growth and better competitiveness. Firstly, the pillar of knowledge transfer aims at (i) strengthening Europe's knowledge base by providing one million more researchers in the next decade, (ii) completing the European Research Area (ERA) by 2014 by improving coherence between European and national research policies and removing obstacles to researchers' mobility as well as (iii) fostering business‐academia collaborations, to develop new curricula (and in this way addressing innovation skills gaps). In this respect, it is necessary to emphasise the importance of quality researchers as opposed to their mere numbers. Furthermore, though academia and the chemical industry are complementary and should work hand‐in‐hand so as to make their contribution to society optimal, some of their respective inherent characteristics, which should be kept, should at the same time be taken into consideration and be dealt with appropriately. For example, the intellectual property rights (IPRs) are likely to be dealt with in a different manner in industry than in academia. Also, industry and academia usually have different views on basic and applied research, as well as the timeline within which the outcomes of research are expected to be delivered. Last but not least, some additional aspects concerning the mobility of businessmen and women, as well as academics, are more complicated than those relating to the mobility of students as they include in particular some basic questions linked to family. Secondly, the science pillar of the Innovation Union Plan states that (i) Europe needs to work better with its international partners, within and outside Europe, and (ii) enhance research infrastructures. The first objective is a pre‐requisite for Europe to be in a position to meet the

12 second objective, and due to this multi‐dimensional networking is essential. Identification of gaps and priorities in research are then the next steps to follow. In this regard, EuCheMS has identified in its roadmap the following priorities in the future framework programme for the area of chemistry: (i) breakthrough science, (ii) energy, (iii) resource efficiency, (iv) health and (v) food. Dr. Gernot Klotz, Executive Director R&I, CEFIC Europe has an excellent research landscape which we must maintain, but at the same time we need to radically improve our innovation performance. Increased funding alone will not necessarily solve the issue: we must make more effective use of available funding and play to Europe’s strengths. These include the relative proximity of the value chain in Europe and our ability and experience in collaborating on complex problems with academia, specialised SMEs and larger companies. The EU chemistry industry is one of the few manufacturing sectors that retains a world‐leading competitiveness and remains based in Europe. It is the driver for innovation across many other sectors and has a track record for providing sustainable solutions. The central role of chemistry allows it to lead appropriate large‐scale public‐private innovation programmes that focus on cross‐ border, cross‐sector collaboration and an integrated value chain approach to accelerate innovation. This approach can truly rejuvenate manufacturing, retain employment in the EU and contribute overall to sustainable European growth. European Institutions need to ensure that proposed policy instruments are appropriate and effective for innovation. They also need to help the public embrace innovation. Europe needs innovative technology but it also needs a change in mindset: to do things differently. Change can be difficult, but if we do not change then we will face even larger problems in the future. Dr. Gabor Mihaly Nagy, European Research Council Executive Agency (ERC) The ERC is the first pan‐European funding body set up to support the best frontier research in Europe. Created by the European Commission in 2007, it is the newest pioneering component of the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme. It has a total budget of € 7.5 billion (2007‐ 2013). The ERC aims to stimulate scientific excellence in Europe by supporting the very best scientists, scholars and engineers in any field of research. Through Europe‐wide peer‐reviewed competition ‐ with scientific excellence as the sole selection criterion‐ the brightest ideas at the frontiers of knowledge are funded. There are neither thematic priorities, nor geographical quotas. The competitions are open to top researchers from anywhere in the world, provided they are based in or are moving to Europe. Being 'investigator‐driven', or 'bottom‐up', in nature, the ERC approach allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research, including chemistry. Chemistry related projects represent approximately 10% of ERC's portfolio. The ERC has two main grant schemes: the "ERC Starting Grants" and the "ERC Advanced Grants". In 2011, two new forms of funding were introduced: the "Proof of Concept" to complement ERC grants and to cover a funding gap in the earliest stage of an innovation, and "ERC Synergy Grants" for exceptional proposals. Mr Chris Allen, DG Enterprise The Commission's Europe 2020 strategy on "An industrial policy for the globalisation era" was published in October 2010. The Commission recognised the importance of the chemicals industry and its value chain for EU competitiveness and innovation. In particular nanotechnology, biotechnology and advanced materials had been recognised as key enabling technologies that could substantially improve EU industrial competitiveness across a wide range of different

13 industries. An important element of the new policy framework is the recognition of the need to speed up the development, commercialisation and take‐up of such enabling technologies. A High‐ Level Group of industrial stakeholders and Member State Ministers had made a number of recommendations on how best to achieve this. Key recommendations included:  The need for better co‐ordination between Member State technology policies  The need for public‐private partnerships to deliver demonstration and proof‐of‐concept projects  The need for closer integration of different technologies to speed up product development  The need for early regulation and standardisation to create a timely Single Market for such technologies.

The recent Commission proposals for the Horizon 2020 Research Framework Programme for 2014‐ 2020 had taken account of the High‐level Group's recommendations, particularly in regard to the Industrial Leadership Priority. Key future challenges included:  To develop concrete public‐private partnerships with appropriate institutional arrangements for implementation, e.g. the proposed SPIRE initiative on the Sustainable Process Industries.  To ensure a similar proactive approach to innovation for key societal challenges.  To ensure the wide development of appropriate skills, including both scientific and entrepreneurial. The European Institute of Technology could play an important role in this respect.

Participants in the discussion: Maria da Graça Carvalho, Gernot Klotz, Ulrich Schubert, Dieter Jahn, Avelino Corma, Miklos Györffi

Main points from the discussion

 There is general agreement that Europe has an excellent research landscape, but there is an urgent need to radically improve our innovation performance (innovation meaning the bringing of research results to the market).  The European Parliament is in favour of increasing the budget for research and innovation (i.e. effectively double the EC proposed Horizon 2020 budget) and to commit 30% of Structural Funds to R&I. Increased funding, but also easier access through simplification should play its part in pushing forward innovation.  Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) will be a significant part of Horizon 2020. Chemistry has a significant role to play here as the key enabling technology.  Increased funding is welcome but we also need to use funds more effectively and play to Europe’s strengths: proximity of the value chains; ability to work on complex problems; and develop a synergy between SMEs, larger companies and academia.  Accelerating innovation needs both new technology and a mindset change;

such as more public‐private cooperation, more cross‐sectorial and cross‐ border collaboration.  Accelerating innovation also implies timely regulation from EU institutions to facilitate / not impede market entry. EU institutions also need to help with public acceptance of innovation. This bundling of public and private forces to address the speed and effectiveness of innovation implementation is essential to improve Europe’s competitiveness, including the related increase of manufacturing / implementation of these innovations to drive growth / employment in Europe  There is also an urgent need to ensure that the EU instruments are right for innovation (as they have been focussing more on supporting research activities) and to ensure that there is good alignment at all levels to provide the EU with the critical mass required to compete at the global level.  The announced EU action to support demo / pilot projects is essential to get technologies to market quicker; furthermore, it should also look into synthesising and cross‐fertilising different technologies into useful, desirable and necessary products. In addition, coherence between EU and national R&I programmes is necessary.  One of the bottlenecks for the future will be people. One million more researchers are required in the EU in the next decade. But quality is as important as quantity, and training must be inclusive for the whole EU as we are talking about the Single Market. How to help education? EIT needs to deliver new KICs – e.g. Advanced Manufacturing – that include newer Member States.  The European Research Council (ERC) will take care of frontier research – so often the starting point of the innovation chain.  The European chemical industry is one of few sectors that still retain a world‐ leading competitiveness. Taking into consideration the needs outlined above, it can act as a role model for industry‐academia collaboration. Chemistry is the only scientific discipline with an exact counterpart in industry and is the base of all other industries. Therefore chemistry must make its case vocally and forcibly.  The regional policy and the structural funds are very adequate for innovation because some, but not all parts of the innovation programmes are more geographically based (unlike research, which is more regionally based). However, change is needed in the approach of using structural funds, as although they derive from the EU budget, Member States always wish to have a final say on their usage.  Innovation should also be brought to the public, and not only through the regular way but by really encouraging people to change and to accept change and with a more intense discussion on benefits  The risk of fragmentation of innovation on a regional level should be avoided, e.g. with better coordination.  Problem solving is science. In chemistry there is already a long tradition of industry and science working together. But what crucially needs to be taken

into account is the problem of the budget's 1 year time frame. With universities working on research to be commercialised in 10, 20 or 30 years, there needs to be an increased collaboration between science and industry: it is not simply a matter of innovation.  Serious funding is needed for fundamental research because industry does not perform much basic research. Universities are indispensable partners in the future of innovation as industry focuses more closely on the short or medium term time frame. Excellent examples exist of major cooperation, which confirms that it can be done now and also in the future.  It was appreciated that the unit investment in research should be normally scaled up by a factor of 10 to 20 to convert the research result into a product (considering the pilot line on the innovation side and then another factor for the manufacturing).  Although Europe has 80% of the photovoltaic and solar panel market, it has less then 2% of the manufacturing. At the same time, in industrial biotechnology, Europe has more than 30% of the patents and only 1% of the manufacturing. Therefore turning knowledge into value for society is still a weak spot in Europe. Focusing the discussion only on patents will not solve the problem.

‐The workshop audience‐

Session 2: Chemistry for Resource Efficiency Panel discussion chaired by Prof. Dr. Nicola Armaroli, CNR Bologna

Panel members' speeches

Prof. Dr. Nicola Armaroli, CNR Bologna Resource efficiency is a top priority for the European Union, as testified by the 2020 Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative, a vast framework in which energy‐related issues play a key role2 . 80% of the current primary energy demand of EU‐27 is covered by fossil fuels. Since most of them are imported, our enviable prosperity is based on energy resources coming from other continents. On the other hand, EU‐27 owns only 0.4, 1.2, 6.5 % of the world’s proven reserves of oil, gas and coal and we have virtually no uranium reserves, which makes future energy supply an issue of vital importance for Europe. In the present century, an epochal transition out of the fossil fuel era must be accomplished for a number of reasons3. Along the way, two main trends can be envisaged, namely (i) a growing share of electricity in energy end use and (ii) the establishment of technologies for the manufacturing of “solar fuels”4. In affluent countries this energy transition must be accompanied by a reduction in energy consumption, to allow for the use of fossil fuels by underdeveloped countries without compromising the stability of the biosphere. An appropriate yearly per capita energy consumption should target about 2.8 toe/person. This means that by 2050, global primary energy consumption will have to approximately double compared to present levels. Renewable energy flows are immense and can supply energy to mankind many times over; however, the raw materials needed to manufacture renewable energy converters are limited. This is the main bottleneck in the phasing out of fossil fuels and calls for an enhanced effort to recycle materials, particularly precious metals5. The solutions to the tremendous challenge of energy transition require the mobilization of huge human and economic resources in all scientific and technological fields, with chemistry playing a prominent role. Chemistry in fact, is at the core of any solutions for innovative energy technologies and, more generally, for establishing a resource efficient civilization, in a planet that will be inhabited by nine billion people in 2050. Dr. Klaus Sommer, Bayer, Senior Vice President, Bayer Technology Services, Chairman, SusChem ETP Smarter and more efficient production and use of energy and resources is an imperative for future competitiveness and growth in the European Union. Chemistry is the central science and the interface between the other disciplines; therefore, it will be essential in providing solutions for these challenges. The European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem), together with other major process industry sectors representing 20% of the EU’s manufacturing base, has developed a proposal for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE). SPIRE aims to improve EU competitiveness and support a smart, sustainable and inclusive society. Some of SPIRE’s ambitions are to reduce fossil fuel intensity by 30% and raw materials intensity

2 http://ec.europa.eu/resource‐efficient‐europe/ 3 N. Armaroli, V. Balzani, Energy for a Sustainable World. From the Oil to a Sun Powered Future, Wiley‐VCH, 2011. 4 Ibid 5 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Recycling Rates of Metals – A Status Report, 2011.

(including replacement with renewable bio‐based input) by up to 20%, resulting in an efficiency improvement in CO2 equivalent footprint of ~40%. SPIRE can help to bridge the ‘gap’ between excellent EU R&D and innovation in the market. It plays to European strengths and therefore represents a significant opportunity to boost competitiveness for Europe as part of the EU2020 strategy. The chemical industry is ready to drive this initiative. However, there is need for public support both in terms of technological and non‐ technological (political, societal acceptance, funding leverage, policy framework and instruments) incentives. Dr. Søren Bøwadt, DG Research, European Commission Chemistry has a crucial role to play in achieving the goals of Europe 2020. Among the 7 flagship initiatives, Chemistry can play a strategic role in the Innovation Union, Resource‐efficient Europe and in Industrial policy. Chemistry penetrates every aspect of our daily lives, therefore in order to keep improving our quality of life, it is essential to keep developing chemistry and chemical products. However, as the traditional oil based resources are getting limited and expensive, there is a need to transform the oil based chemistry towards sustainable chemistry, using renewable resources and energy efficient production methods and facilities. We must achieve energy and emission reductions as well as safer chemicals and products. This transformation is only possible if all the major players in the process industry work together to make real and verifiable commitments. The process sector stakeholders are positioning themselves for the new Framework program 'Horizon 2020', in line with the Innovation Union flagship initiative. There is a strong potential to implement industry driven partnerships within the Key Enabling Technologies. The number of calls related to Chemistry in FP7 shows the importance of this tool for the chemical sector. As an illustration, in the areas of Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies (NMP), the EU has published over 50 call topics related to chemistry with a total Commission funding above 800 M€. These calls included 12 call topics in core chemistry areas with a total Commission Funding of around 250 M€.6 Consequently, the EC is expecting all stakeholders from the chemical sector to provide their input about the future direction and implementation of Horizon 2020 together with a firm commitment as SusChem did with its White Paper for instance7. Numerous technological challenges still have to be addressed by the chemical sector in order to achieve the objectives of Europe 2020 such as: - Efficient catalytic systems based on Nanotechnology - Faster, safer and more flexible processes using micro‐processing system - Efficient recycling systems covering the whole value‐chain - More efficient use of raw materials and integration of bio‐resources while using less energy and creating less waste - Development of platform technologies facilitating bio‐based industries - Use of CO2 as carbon source for chemicals and materials - New ultra‐light, multifunctional and structural materials - Better, more flexible and efficient energy storage systems

6 There are several running Flagship projects in Chemistry: F3 Factory, EuroBioRef, AFORE, Copiride, Synflow, INCAS, POLYCAT, CAEC, Pills. 7 SusChem sent a White Paper on “Sustainable Production” to the European Commission in March 2010 and a joint proposal for a “Resource and Energy Efficiency Partnership” with 12 platforms and associations of Energy intensive industries in September 2010 (Updated in October 2011)

In addition, some major non technical bottlenecks must also be removed in order to achieve the 2020 goals and make the EU a model for innovation. Firstly, further Public‐Private‐Partnerships are required. Furthermore, Europe should build on its strong interdisciplinary research landscape through collaborative projects between SME’s, industry and academia. More emphasis must be put on standardisation and pre‐normative research integrated in collaborative projects. Finally, we must develop access to Intellectual Property Rights, especially for SMEs and make loans and venture capital more easily accessible. Such a transformation is only possible if policy and industry work together through the PPP and ETPs and, in spite the economic crisis, keep investing in research and innovation. This assessment also applies to the chemical sector which should take action from both public and private actors in order to take a major part in improving EU competitiveness and provide a smart, sustainable and inclusive society.

Participants in the discussion: Soren Bøwadt, Nicola Armaroli, Johannes Spork

Main points from the discussion

 Energy is a very important issue for Europe that needs to change from consuming to producing, from importing to exporting.  The key is to find new (renewable) energy sources, reduce consumption, and increase recycling of scarce resources. Solutions ‐ more sustainable fossil fuels, insulation, storage, PV ‐ all strongly involve chemistry.  Chemistry is the central science for, and the interface between the other disciplines; therefore, it will be essential in providing solutions.  The proposal for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE), inspired by SusChem, looks to improve EU competitiveness and provide a smart, sustainable and inclusive society.  Some of SPIRE’s ambitions are to reduce fossil fuel intensity by 30% and primary raw materials use (biobased input) by up to 20%, resulting in an efficiency improvement in the CO2 equivalent footprint of ~40%.  SPIRE can help to bridge the ‘gap’ between excellent EU R&D and innovation in the market. It represents a significant opportunity for competitiveness for Europe and the chemical industry is ready to drive this initiative. However, there is a need for public support both in terms of technological and non‐ technological (political, societal acceptance, funding leverage, policy framework and instruments) incentives.  It was largely acknowledged that chemistry will play an essential role in achieving the goals of the EU2020 strategy. The chemical industry is well positioned on sustainable production; however there is also a need for firm commitment from both public and private to be able to move this activity forward.  Full value chain coverage – from molecule to the market – is required to

address the speed of innovation but also standardisation, facilitation of IPR and good access to venture capital.  One of the strengths Europe has in Chemistry is this close relationship between basic research, academia and industrial research. These pillars should be maintained in the future by the European Commission to ensure the success of the chemical enterprise in Europe in the future.  The chemical community faces tremendous challenges and a lot of work is being done to address them. More must be done and obviously, there is a real need for the different actors to communicate more readily with each other.

Session 3: Chemistry for Smart Living Panel discussion chaired by Richard Allan, Scottish Water Horizons

Panel members speeches

Richard Allan, Scottish Water Horizons The objective of the session was to explore how the chemical sciences can support "smart living". The panel explored how innovation, R&D and collaboration between researchers, policy makers and industry is crucial in achieving sustainability. In his keynote speech Professor Corma argued the chemical sciences fundamentally support sustainability and are critical to securing resources for the future. The panel also discussed the importance of managing resources such as food and energy and how they dovetail with the role the chemical sciences play in smart living. Our debate highlighted the concept of “smart cities” ‐ assessing cities in terms of economics, mobility, environment, people, governance and living. The debate also considered the importance of cultural facilities, health, safety, housing quality, education facilities, tourism potential and social cohesion. The smart city model is harmonious with the principle that Europe faces the challenge of uniting competitiveness and sustainability. Ms Edit Herczog, MEP The chemical industry needs to be an innovative industry, fostering innovative technologies with a view of implementation in 10 years time. Basic chemical research takes place at least 10 years before the production of other chemicals. The legislators must have this longer innovation curve in mind when they legislate on chemicals. The chemical sector is no longer the "big enemy" of the European Institutions like it was 7‐10 years ago. This big psychological change within the institutions already shows that the trend has changed, and that the industry is better recognized than it used to be. The European institutions, including not only the ITRE committee but also the Parliament, recognize that it was a mistake to think that the best thing that could happen to the chemical industry was its delocalization away from Europe and that then Europe would simply be clean. The situation is completely the opposite now as the institutions think the industry should return to Europe. The chemicals industry that intends to return to Europe, has to be different from the one that left Europe in the 20th century. It has to be a smart, efficient, environmentally friendly, and economical. These are the '3E' that have to be applied for any new chemicals we use. Regarding efficiency, it should be energy efficient and resource efficient. If there is a wish for the industry to return to Europe, that it will not happen on its own. This assessment comes from a critical observation: Europe is good at basic research and development but encounters a big problem when it gets to the innovation phase, a bigger one when it gets to the pilot phase and an even bigger one when it gets to production. The basic research is major, but the emphasis must be put on the weak parts: innovation, pilot and industry. They must be strongly developed in Europe. All actors must coordinate their efforts in order to be able to reach that goal. In addition, she explained that when we talk about smart chemistry for Europe, we have to use the following words: inspiration, innovation, implementation, industrialization, internal market rules, standards, internationalization. The aim is that in developing new smart chemicals, Europe will regain the leadership it has lost.

If Europe wants to be the leader in this field, the necessary step is the chemical industry to come back, because that's what will create growth and jobs. This is the aim of the politicians and of the people, because what we want are better and smarter working places Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Maruszewski, DG JRC Chemistry is in a sense a "central science" in the family of natural sciences. Mapping interconnections between them shows that chemistry has obvious links with physics, biology, medicine, geology, etc. This central role of chemistry is true not only for investigating basic scientific questions in the frame of curiosity‐driven, "blue sky" academic research. It is also true for more practical applied fields, such as innovation‐driven industrial "Research & Development" as well as the standards‐driven regulatory approach. This last item shows the importance of broadly understood standards, both from the point of view of voluntary industrial standards as well as from the point of view of quality control in the fields of safety and security. The second aspect is basically always underpinned by measurements and related metrological issues. The Joint Research Centre (JRC), as a scientific arm of the European Commission, is supporting the European legislative process in a variety of technical and scientific fields related to measurement and standards ‐ ranging from nuclear safety to smart electric grids to clinical standards. One of its seven institutes ‐ Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (JRC‐IRMM, Geel, Belgium) ‐ has basically its full portfolio dedicated to research underpinning standards and standardisation. Ms Aurora Walshe, European Young Chemists' Network As part of the “Chemistry for Smart Living” panel discussion and on behalf of the European Young Chemists’ Network (EYCN, the Young Members Division of EuCheMS), I will describe the work being done by young chemists to contribute to solving the environmental, scientific and technological problems facing Europe today. “Smart Living” can be defined as better managing available resources in order to improve our standard of life. Across Europe, members of EYCN are using chemistry in a variety of new and innovative projects aimed at finding alternative energy sources, and improving upon current ones; designing and creating targeted medicines with fewer side effects; synthesising biodegradable polymers with industrial and biological applications. This talk is to demonstrate the necessity of investing in the next generation of chemists, as they work towards creating a safer, healthier and cleaner future for Europe. Mr Johannes Spork, Innovation Manager, CEFIC The European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem) has a track record of encouraging collaboration and partnership between industry and academia. SusChem’s research agenda has made a valuable contribution to EU research programmes and it is augmenting its portfolio with innovation activities. Chemistry is a driver of innovation across other sectors and has a major role in providing solutions to enable ‘smart living’, including improved insulation materials and novel energy storage amongst many others. This is both a major opportunity and a responsibility for the sector. Chemistry has a large enabling role, but its contributions are often hidden due to its position in the value chain. However, chemistry provides very effective solutions and can lead the path forward for sustainability on an inclusive ‘people, profit, planet’ basis. Its solutions should not only be ‘green’, but also need to be economical sustainable and address relevant societal needs: this will drive effective sustainability over the longer term. Integrated value chain coverage is the key to improving the speed of innovation in Europe. This requires alignment and leadership to ensure solutions are brought to market quickly and are

22 embraced by consumers. The proposed Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have the task of planting innovation seeds that will come to fruition post 2020, and can deliver true sustainability through efficient manufacturing. The chemical community has a vital role to play in such PPPs in areas as diverse as process efficiency, water, raw materials, and, of course, Smart Cities. The chemical industry has been and will continue to be vital for delivering improvements for sustainable living in Europe and across the globe.

Main points from the discussion

 Chemistry is also one of the keys to smart living. A Smart City is based on six concepts: smart economy; smart mobility; smart environment; smart people; smart governance; and smart living.  For the European Institutions, a mindset change has been achieved towards chemistry as the value of this sector has been “re‐discovered” and recognized. Sustainability ‐ people, profit, planet – requires not just green technology but also outcomes that are sustainable economically and that address clear societal needs. Therefore, collaboration and partnerships are essential.  Technology platforms have helped bring industry and academia together on research – they could now take on the innovation challenge. They represent hubs around which innovation can be inspired. They can also help inspire and attract younger people into science, research and innovation activities. However, it is also important that these ETP’s work more closely together to enable full value chain coverage for the overall innovation implementation process and, as mentioned in the earlier session, to address the acceleration of the European innovation implementations.  The proposed chemistry‐led PPP, for example, is vital to stimulate the EU economy in key sectors.  Europe needs innovative industry to lead us into the future just as much as an innovative industry needs Europe.

Closing remarks Mr Antonio Correia de Campos, MEP

One of the most important points of the discussion was that we cannot live without a renovated and innovative industry in Europe. We have made enormous errors with our capacities for a long time. We have moved from manufacturing societies to service societies. We lost our capacity in manufacturing in industry, especially the innovative capacity. This trend will cause enormous problems in the future which are already being felt, particularly sustainability problems in our social model. This is becoming increasingly challenging; therefore there is a real need to recover the capacity we had in the past. STOA could not forget the international year of chemistry, due to the role played by this industry in the society. STOA's role in Parliament is to look into the future, to help our Members of Parliament look into the future, and to get a safer future. STOA is not a producer of research, nor a research evaluator; it must be regarded as a kind of knowledge facilitator for MEPs. The role of STOA members is to help their colleagues learn more about science, about knowledge, and about innovation in order to better legislate. The STOA panel is composed of 15 members of the Parliament and has a small budget to organize these kinds of meetings. The success of the "Chemistry for a better life" meeting showed the importance of such initiative.

Conclusions of the discussions ‐ Prof. Luis Oro

A successful STOA Workshop was held at the European Parliament on November 9, 2011, with the aim to highlight in the International Year of Chemistry 2011 framework, the crucial contribution of this science towards achieving a better quality of life and welfare for humankind. As a contribution to the Commission's consultation on the future of the European Union research programme, a formal presentation of the EUCheMS document entitled “Chemistry: developing solutions in a changing world” was made. The workshop was organized by STOA (Science and Technology Options Assessment) in cooperation with the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) and the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic). Chaired by Prof. Teresa Riera Madurell, MEP, it gathered MEPs, scientists and industrialists providing an open discussion on the role and expectations of chemistry in the Common Strategic Framework. After the keynote speech of Avelino Corma (ITQ, Valencia), Ulrich Schubert (EuCheMS President), introduced the mentioned EuCheMS document “Chemistry: developing solutions in a changing world”, a roadmap for chemical sciences. Both introductory presentations set up a framework for the three panels. “Innovation Union, Chemistry and Horizon”, chaired by Dieter Jahn (BASF), “Chemistry for Resource Efficiency” chaired by Nicola Armaroli (CNR Bologna), and “Chemistry for Smart Living” chaired by Richard Allan (Scottish Water Horizons). The main conclusion was that Chemistry is fully committed to come up with solutions to Europe’s pressing problems, and is central to progress in many scientific and technological fields, and the collaboration between industry and academia is at the higher level.

Biographies of the speakers

Mr Richard Allan Managing director, Scottish Water Horizons

Richard Allan is Managing Director of Scottish Water Horizons and is responsible for delivering sustainable renewable energy for Scottish Water through wind, hydro, solar and waste recycling projects along with providing a range of other services. Richard has 19 years experience in industry. Richard initially worked in the Whisky industry before moving into the environmental sector in 1996. He joined East of Scotland Water in 1998 and held a number of senior management posts before becoming Chief Scientist in 2005, finally moving to Horizons in June 2011. Graduating from Strathclyde University with a degree and master's degree, Richard is also a Chartered Chemist, Chartered Biologist, Chartered Scientist, and Member of the Society of Biology and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Mr Chris Allen DG Entreprise, European Commission

Chris Allen is Acting Head of Unit of the Industrial Competitiveness Policy unit in DG Enterprise and Industry, responsible for the Europe 2020 flagship on industrial policy. He is an economist with wide experience of EU policy making. He was responsible for the Commission Communication on Key Enabling Technologies. Earlier in his career, he worked on the impact assessment of the REACH chemicals policy and post‐Kyoto climate change policy.

Prof. Dr. Nicola Armaroli CNR Bologna

Nicola Armaroli completed his PhD in chemical sciences in 1994 from the University of Bologna. After postdoc periods in USA and Italy, in 1997 he joined the Italian National Research Council (CNR) where he became Senior Research Scientist in 2002 and Research Director in 2007. His scientific activity is concerned with the photochemistry and photophysics of coordination compounds, carbon nanostructures and supramolecular materials, with focus on luminescence, light harvesting, and photoinduced energy‐ and electron‐transfer. This basic research is related to technological applications such as solar energy conversion and novel materials for lighting. Nicola Armaroli has given lectures at international conferences, universities and research centres worldwide. He has run European projects as coordinator or CNR principal investigator in the frame of COST, FP5, FP6, FP7 programmes, funded by the European Commission. He regularly reviews articles in international journals, has published over 140 papers and has written 4 books. His current h‐index is 42 and he is among the most cited Italian scientists of all disciplines. Since 2010, he has served as chairman of the Working Party on Chemistry and Energy of EUCheMS. Nicola is also an active consultant and science communicator for the public at large on the issues of energy, natural resources and environment, as well as through interviews and contributions on mass

26 media. He was awarded the 2001 Grammaticakis‐Neumann International Prize in Photochemistry and the Premio Letterario Galileo 2009 for science communication. For an updated list of publications and the citation profile: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B‐9094‐2009

Dr. Søren Bøwadt DG Research, European Commission

Dr. Søren Bøwadt is senior Programme Officer working for the European Commissions Research Directorate in Brussels. His main educational background in organic synthetic and analytical chemistry was obtained from the University of Odense, Denmark. After completing his PhD at the European Joint Research Centre in Ispra in Italy, he spent a total of 3 years in the United States, working first at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and secondly as a Product Specialist at LECO Corporation in St. Joseph, Michigan. He moved on to a position as Principal Chemist at the Water Quality Institute in Hørsholm (Denmark) before joining the Measurement and Testing unit of the European Commissions Research Directorate as a Project Officer at the end of 1999. Since July 2003, he has been working for the Directorate for Industrial Technology in DG Research, where he is responsible for research within industrial chemistry. Søren has been responsible for over 100 scientific projects within DG Research in various areas of Natural Science, and has over the years published more than 50 papers in various areas of chemistry related research.

Ms Maria da Graça Carvalho MEP (EPP, Portugal)

Maria da Graça Carvalho is a Member of the European Parliament in the PPE group since 14 July 2009 (member of the ITRE‐Industry, Research and Energy Committee, substitute member of the Budgets Committee and member of the ACP‐UE Joint Parliamentary Assembly). She was elected co‐ President of the Economic Development, Finance and Trade Committee of ACP‐UE Joint Parliamentary Assembly. She has been Principal Adviser of President Barroso in the areas of Science, Higher Education, Innovation, Research Policy, Energy, Environment and Climate Change from 2006 to 2009. She is a Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (Technical University of Lisbon) and she has a 30 years research experience in the areas of energy, environment and climate change. In 1983 she obtained her Ph.D. at the Imperial College in London in the area of energy intensive industries. She was the founder of a research group of 50 people at Instituto Superior Técnico (Technical University of Lisbon) in the Energy, Environment and Climate Change fields.

She was Minister of Science and Higher Education for the XV Constitutional Government of Portugal and Minister of Science, Innovation and Higher Education for the XVI Constitutional Government, Director‐General of GRICES‐Office for International Relations in Science and Higher Education and Deputy President of the Portuguese Association of Engineers. She has been a member of the Board of Directors and President of the Scientific Board of Instituto Superior Técnico (Technical University of Lisbon). She is a member of 22 national and international scientific associations and fellow of AIAA‐American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, of

AAAS‐American Association for the Advancement of Science, of the WAAS – World Academy of Art and Science and of the Portuguese Academy of Science. She's published 115 articles in international scientific journals and more then 300 articles in international books and proceedings of conferences. She is the author of 2 books and editor of 14 in addition to special editions of international scientific journals. Her main area of research is Energy, Climate Change and optimization of energy intensive industries. She was decorated by the President of Portugal with the designation “Great Official of the Order of Public Instruction” within the scope of International Women Day Programme (8 March 2002) and by the Chancellery of the International Order of Merit of the Discoverer of Brazil with the high honour of the Great Cross (26 April 2005).

Mr Antonio Correia de Campos MEP (S&D, Portugal)

Born December 14th, 1942 in Viseu, Portugal. A University Professor (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) with a law degree from Coimbra University (1966), a "Directeur d'Hopital" diploma from ENSP, France (1969), an MPh from John Hopkins University (1978) and a PhD on Health Economics from Universidade Nova de Lisboa (1982). For three years (1986‐89) he was director for Science and Technology at the Luso American Development Foundation (Lisbon). He was a member of the Portuguese National Parliament (1991‐92), Secretary of State (1976 and 1979‐80) and Minister of Health (2001‐02; 2005‐08). He has also worked as a member of the Committee on Health Services Research, WHO/EURO (1984‐88), as well as a Senior Health Care Management Specialist for the World Bank (1992‐95). He is presently a Member of the European Parliament and the First Vice‐Chairman of Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA).

Prof. Avelino Corma Instituto de Technología Química, Valencia

Avelino CORMA was born in Moncofar (Castellón) in 1951. He studied Chemistry at the University of Valencia (1967‐1973) and received the Ph. D. “with honours” at the University COMPLUTENSE of Madrid in 1976. After two years of postdoctoral work at the Chem. Eng. Dep. at Queen’s University in Canada with Professor B. W. Wojciechowski he returned to Spain and obtained a position as associated researcher at the Instituto de Catalysis in Madrid (1979). In 1987 he was nominated Research Professor. He was the founder and director of the Instituto de Tecnologia Química (UPV‐CSIC) at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia since 1990. His current research field is structured nanomaterials and molecular sieves as catalysts, covering aspects of synthesis, characterization, and reactivity in acid‐base and redox catalysis. He intends to carry out a rational design of catalysts with single and multisites for performing one step or multistep cascade reactions. This working methodology starts with fundamentals and combines theoretical calculations with advanced synthesis techniques, catalyst characterization and detailed reactivity studies.

He has directed 30 PhDs, written 3 books, about 700 articles in international journals and a number of reviews and book chapters. He is co‐author of more than 100 patents, ten of which have been commercialized. He is actively collaborating in research projects with major oil refining, chemicals and fine chemicals companies. He is a Member of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the Royal Academy of Science of Spain, The European Academia, Member of the National Academy of Engineering USA, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of several Research Institutes and companies. Professor Avelino Corma has received several national and international awards for his achievements.

Ms Edit Herczog MEP (Hungary, S&D)

Born on the 5th of May in 1961 in Budapest. Graduated from high school in 1979 and obtained an engineering degree from the University of Horticulture in 1985. She also completed a Master's in Portugal Language and Literature from the Eötvös Lóránd University of Science in 1992, followed by an additional degree from the European Business School. After her studies, she started work at the University of Horticulture. From 1994 till 2004, she was representative for the National Starch and Chemical, which belonged to the Unilever Group until 1997. In 1989 she became a member of the MSZP (Hungarian Socialist Party) and from 1998 to 2004 she was a member of the Hungarian National Assembly. Since 2007, she also holds membership in the Presidency of The Hungarian Socialist Party. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2004. She became a full member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee and a substitute member of the Industry, Research and Energy committee as well as the Budgetary Control committee. She currently is a full member in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee and a substitute member position in the Budgetary Control and Budget committees, and treasurer of Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. Furthermore, Edit is a member in the presidency of the European Energy Forum, European Internet Foundation, Kangaroo Group, Forum for the Future of Nuclear Energy and the Transatlantic Policy Network.

Prof. Dr. Dieter Jahn BASF

Dr. Dieter is Senior Vice President of Science Relations and Innovation Management, BASF SE. He also serves on the Supervisory Board of BASF Venture Capital. During 2006/2007 he was President of the German Chemical Society and initiated a study about contribution of Chemistry to future energy supply. He was Chairman of the University Council of University Konstanz and of the Board of trustees of Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Technology and Biochemical Engineering. He is also a member of the Chemistry Advisory Board of the University of Cambridge, the Academic Advisory Council of Universiti Teknologi Petronas, the Board of trustees of Max‐Planck‐Institute of

Coal Research, the Board of trustees of Stiftung Rheinland‐Pfalz für Innovation, Research & Innovation Programme Council of CEFIC, and the Supervisory Board of High‐Tech‐Gründerfonds Management. He is a former member of advisory committees to European Union, European chemical industry, German federal and regional governments (Chemistry, Biotechnology/Technology Management). Dieter also has a lectureship for Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Stuttgart; professorship in 2003.

Dr. Gernot Klotz Executive Director Research and Innovation, CEFIC

Dr. Gernot Klotz studied Biology and Microbiology at the University of Aachen (Germany). After having worked for the US based pharmaceutical company Armour he joined Bayer in various business sections (pharmaceutical, animal health and crop protection/product development). Since February 2007 he is the Executive Director for Research and Innovation for the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC). He is a member of the CEFIC Leadership Team, which has the overall responsibility of coordinating and steering the activities of the organisation. Specific key areas of responsibility are innovation, nano risk benefits and testing risk assessment within the CEFIC Long‐range Research Initiative (LRI) as well as health and environment issues. He is also a Board Member of the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem). Gernot has been called on to various advisory and steering committees at OECD, WHO and EU Commission level in areas like innovation, technology development, testing and assessment, impact on environment, health, and sensitive subpopulations. He is currently chairing the Group on Nanotechnologies and he is responsible for the Value Chain topic within the High Level Group Key Enabling Technologies (HLG KETs).

Dr. Nineta Majcen Secretary General, EuCheMS Nineta Majcen is the Secretary General of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS). She did her studies at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) where she gained her PhD in chemistry. She continued her research work at the Faculty for natural sciences, where she was also teaching, and later on in the chemical industry before stepping into public sector at the national and European level. In the public sector she was in charge, amongst others, of drafting and implementing legislation that includes quality of measurements related issues, corresponding national and European infrastructure, and other research and knowledge transfer related topics. She also closely collaborates with accreditation and standardisation bodies and lectures as a guest lecturer at universities, postgraduate summer schools and other knowledge transfer events. She is the author of more than 200 bibliographic publications in both research and expert areas. Several international conferences, workshops, seminars and high‐level events have been organised under her leadership, including some official events during the Slovenian presidency to the EU council. For example, the European metrology research programme launch event (EMRP 2008), Quality for south‐eastern European countries (2008), and the Measurement science in chemistry international summer school (2009). Nineta Majcen has received several national and international awards for her achievements.

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Maruszewski Joint Research Centre

I was born 08.08.1964 in Zielona Góra, Poland; I am a citizen of Poland. I graduated from the Faculty of Basic Problems of Technology of the Wrocław Technical University in 1988. My MS Thesis, "Computer Simulations of Side Directed Mutagenesis and its Influence on Protein Activity and Stability" was prepared in the Quantum Chemistry Group. Whilst a student, I was chairman of the Association of Biotechnology Students (1987 – 1988) where I organised the 1st and 2nd National Biotechnology Seminars. I received three Awards from the Chancellor of the Wrocław Technical University (1985, 1986 and 1988) and the Minister of Higher Education Award „Primus Inter Pares” in 1987. I began my doctoral study at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA in 1989. During my graduate study at Marquette University I completed five proficiency exams in the first years of the program and received: Dennis J. O’ Brien Fellowship (1990), J.P. Raynor, Fellowship (1991 ‐ 1992) and the “Certificate of Accomplishment” in 1994. I obtained my PhD degree in 1992 for the Thesis: “Spectroscopy and Physicochemical Properties of Ruthenium (II) Polypyridine Complexes in Free Solutions and Entrapped in Zeolites”. I continued research at Marquette University as an Associate Researcher during my post‐doctoral work (1992 – 1995). After returning to Poland in 1995 I began to work in the Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research (the Polish Academy of Sciences) in Wrocław and in the Chemistry Department of the Opole University. The Scientific Council of the Institute granted me a D.Sc. degree for "Physicochemical and Spectroscopic properties of metal complexes and organic molecules immobilized in zeolites and sol‐gel matrices” in June of 1999. I was nominated for an Assistant Professor position in the Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research in March of 2000. In the same year I was also offered a Professor position at the Wrocław University of Technology which I accepted (ending my work at the Opole University). I was a vice‐director and a director of the Institute of Materials Science and Applied Mechanics of the Wrocław University of Technology. Also, I was a professor‐consultant at the Electrotechnical Institute, Wrocław. In 2005 I received a full professorship in the field of Materials Science from the President of the Republic of Poland. In February 2007 I took the post as Director of Programmes and Stakeholders Relations Directorate in the Directorate General – Joint Research Centre, European Commission, in Brussels. In November 2009 I took the post of Director of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements of the Joint Research Centre, European Commission, in Geel, Belgium.

Dr. Gabor Mihaly Nagy European Research Council Executive Agency

Gabor Mihaly Nagy is the head of unit B3 in European Research Council Executive Agency. His unit is responsible for operations relating to proposal submission, evaluation, granting and follow‐up for Advanced Grant, Synergy Grant and Proof of Concept Grant calls. Dr. Nagy graduated as a Chemical Engineer with a PhD in physical chemistry. He was awarded a Candidate of Sciences by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was member of the Radiochemistry Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and was

Secretary General of the Hungarian Federation of Corrosion. He is a member of the International Society of Electrochemistry. Dr. Nagy joined the European Commission in 2007. For two years he was the Head of Unit S2 of Directorate S of DG RTD of the European Commission. Then he was seconded to ERC EA as Head of Unit in the interest of the service to take part in setting up this new pan‐European Funding Agency for frontier research. For almost two years he was also acting Head of the Scientific Department ERC EA. Before joining the European Commission, Dr. Nagy worked as scientist in different fields of physical chemistry in the MTA KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute.

Prof. Luis A. Oro EuCheMS

Professor Luis A. Oro is the head of the “Instituto Universitario de Catálisis Homogénea”. He obtained his Ph. D. in 1970. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University, and since 1982 is full professor of Inorganic Chemistry in Zaragoza. His main research interests are in coordination and organometallic chemistry of platinum group metals where he has co‐authored well over 500 scientific papers, several reviews and book chapters on synthesis, reaction mechanisms and homogeneous catalysis. He is the co‐author and co‐editor of seven books. He is co‐chairman of the Editorial Board of ChemCatChem and Series Editor of Topics in Organometallic Chemistry. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of several international journals such as Angewandte Chemie. He has been named "Highly Cited Researcher" in the field of Chemistry by ISI Web of Knowledge He has also received several distinctions and prizes and is member of several international scientific Academies, including the National Academies of Germany and France. President of the European Association for Chemistry and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) (2008‐11), has also served in high level positions in the Spanish science administration as well as being vice‐president of the European Science Foundation.

Prof. Ulrich Schubert EuCheMS

Ulrich Schubert, born in Regensburg/Germany in 1946, got his diploma degree in chemistry and his PhD degree at the Technical University of Munich. His PhD thesis (1974, with Prof. E.O.Fischer) was in the area of organometallic chemistry. After a postdoctoral year at Stanford University with W.S. Johnson, he did his Habilitation at the Technical University of Munich in 1980 on X‐ray structure analyses of metal complexes. From 1982 to 1994 he had the position of an Associate Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Würzburg, and since 1989 additionally served in different leading positions at the Fraunhofer Institute of Silicate Research in Würzburg. In 1994 he was appointed to the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry at the Vienna University of Technology. The current research interest of his group is centered around applications‐oriented fundamental research on sol‐gel processes, inorganic‐organic hybrid materials, and nanocomposites. His

32 publication record comprises more than 500 research papers and review articles, as well as 11 patents and 10 co‐authored or co‐edited books. He is a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the German Academy Leopoldina, and received the prestigious Wacker Silicon‐ Award in 2009. He served the scientific community as the president of the Austrian Chemical Society from 2001‐2004 as well as a member of several panels of international funding organizations and scientific journals. Since 2011 Ulrich Schubert is president of the European Association for Molecular and Chemical Sciences (EuCheMS).

Dr. Klaus Sommer Bayer, Chairman of SusChem

Dr. Klaus Sommer studied physics in Bonn and London and holds a Master's, Diploma and PhD degree in Physics. He joined Bayer AG in 1987 in the physics area of Central Research. During his initial career he worked in product research and optimization and also handled process and production problems, such as on‐line monitoring, production quality assurance, and process data analysis. Dr. Sommer then moved to Pittsburgh, USA, to work in the Polymers Division of Bayer Corporation for seven years. His responsibilities there led to his appointment to Vice President and Head of Research for Polymers at Bayer in the US. During this time he, in addition, gained experience in technical marketing and process research. In 2001, Dr. Sommer returned to the Bayer AG Central Research as Head of the Physics division. In July 2002 he was appointed to Senior Vice President and Head of Business Management (Customer Management, Portfolio Management, Marketing, Sales) for Bayer Technology Services. He is a member of the Global Management Team. He is also a member of the NMP Expert Advisory Group at the European Commission.

Mr Johannes Spork Innovation Manager, CEFIC

Educated as a Chemical Engineer (MD) in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Ger Spork started his career in 1977 in the Polyurethanes Operations of Dow Chemicals in Terneuzen, the Netherlands and moved to various Operational Technical and Sr. Operational Leadership roles at various plants in Dow Chemical, incl .Site Leadership roles at Dow locations in Europe. During special assignments, experience was gathered in the field for European Hazardous Transportation (incl representations in Industry Association), Market Development and Six Sigma Methodology. Within the Operational leadership roles, Global Operational Leadership and Asset Management Strategy Assignments were included, profiled in Dow’s Performance Business Operations. Since September 2008, he is seconded from Dow Chemical to Cefic, as Innovation Manager, responsible for driving the Innovation agenda for the Chemical Industry. In this role he also manages the secretariat of SusChem and the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry. He represents the Chemical Industry in several Innovation activities / interactions with the EC.

Ms Aurora Walshe European Young Chemist's Network

Aurora Walshe earned her Bachelor's degree in chemistry from University College Dublin in 2009. She was awarded the Hugh Ryan Medal for finishing first in her class, earning the maximum GPA. She is currently in her third year of her postgraduate studies, working towards a PhD in inorganic chemistry. In 2011 she was awarded the BOC Gases Postgraduate Bursary for her research into actinide chemistry showing the unprecedented catalytic activity of the uranyl moiety ([UO2]2+). In 2011 Aurora was chosen to represent Irish young chemists at the European Young Chemists' Network Delegates Assembly in Poland. During the DA she was elected to join the Board of EYCN as Communications Officer and has since set up a monthly newsletter and raised the profile of the network on social networking sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

"Everything is chemistry" exhibition

On the 9th of November, the Science and Technology Options Assessment group of the European Parliament, in conjunction with EuCheMS and CEFIC, organised a workshop entitled “Chemistry for a Better Life” to highlight the crucial contribution of chemistry to improving the quality of life for humankind. To coincide with the workshop, the EYCN (the European Young Chemists Network) organised a poster exhibition displaying many abstract images related to chemistry, each one chosen to demonstrate the varied impact of chemistry on our day‐to‐day lives. The images were taken from the huge library of photos that had been collected as part of the “Everything is Chemistry” photography competition EYCN organised in 2010 ‐ the 12 winning photos becoming a calendar for the International Year of Chemistry. When EuCheMS were approached about a potential exhibition for celebrating the IYC, they turned to EYCN to coordinate a presentation of a wider selection of these images as A0 posters. The exhibition was opened before the workshop with a few words from Professor Ulrich Schubert, the President of EuCheMS. He spoke about the beauty of the images and the questions that they evoked. With no text or explanation, the images were chosen to make the viewer ask about the relationship between the image and the chemical sciences.

‐View from the exhibition hall‐

From left to right: Prof. Luis Oro (EuCheMS), Ms Teresa Riera Madurell (MEP, ES), Prof. Ulrich Schubert (EuCheMS President),

From left to right: Prof. Ulrich Schubert (EuCheMS President), Prof. Wolfram Koch (GDCh, Executive Director), Richard Allan (Scottish Water Horizons), Dr. Nineta Majcen (EuCheMS, Secretary General), Claire Viney (RSC).

From Left to right: Prof. Luis Oro (EuCheMS), Ms Teresa Riera Madurell (MEP, ES), Pr. Dr Avelino Corma (ITQ), Prof. Ulrich Schubert (EuCheMS President

Samples of posters from the exhibition

"Everything is Chemistry"

Organisations represented in the workshop

STOA: today many of the issues coming before the European Parliament have a scientific or technological dimension to them. STOA is an official body of the European Parliament with the mission to:

o provide Parliament's committees and other parliamentary bodies concerned, with independent, high quality and scientifically impartial studies and information for the assessment of the impact of possibly introducing or promoting new technologies and shall identify, from the technological point of view, the options for the best courses of actions to take;

o organise forums in which politicians and representatives of scientific communities or organisations‐ and of society as a whole‐ shall discuss and compare scientific and technological developments of political relevance to civil society;

o support and coordinate initiatives to strengthen parliamentary technology assessment activities in the Member states of the European Union, including creating or enhancing parliamentary technology assessment capacities in European countries, especially New Member states www.europarl.europa.eu/stoa/default_en.htm

Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, represents an industry which makes an invaluable contribution to the welfare and quality of life of European citizens. The European chemical industry is a key contributor to the sustainable development of our society, ideally equipped to provide solutions to global challenges such as climate change. Through the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem), the European chemical industry is at the forefront of innovation in Europe. Cefic also helps boost innovation in Europe through active involvement in major initiatives such as: the High‐Level group on Key enabling technologies, the European Innovation Partnerships on water and raw materials, the European Parliament Knowledge4Innovation (K4I) forum. Cefic also provides concrete and tangible contributions on a wide range of EU innovation policy topics: resource and energy efficiency, smart cities, advanced materials, education and skills. The chemical industry is a responsible industry, holding itself accountable to society and committed to addressing its concerns actively and transparently, ensuring that chemical products manufactured and developed in Europe meet the most demanding safety criteria. On the European scene, Cefic is the voice of 29,000 large, medium and small chemical companies in Europe, which provide 1.3 million jobs and account for one third of world chemicals production. Cefic represents its members and interacts daily on their behalf with international and EU institutions, non‐governmental organizations, the international media and other stakeholders. www.cefic.org; www.cefic‐lri.org; www.suschem.org

EuCheMS, EuCheMS, the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences promotes cooperation in Europe between scientific and technical societies and professional institutions in the field of chemical and molecular sciences, whose interests include science, education and/or practice of chemistry/chemical sciences and related knowledge transfer issues. The EuCheMS was founded in 1970 and can draw upon significant resources, having more than 40 member societies, which in total represent some 150,000 individual scientists in academia, industry, government and other professional organisations in over 30 countries across Europe. There are sixteen EuCheMS divisions and working parties organised in various areas of chemistry, dealing with scientific challenges. European Young Chemistry Network (EYCN) is yet another network within EuCheMS that gathers young researchers, who are just starting their career and hence representing the future potential for Europe. EuCheMS is actively contributing to the societal challenges related to research and education. www.euchems.org

The European Research Council (ERC) is the first pan‐European funding body, set up to support the best frontier research in Europe.

The ERC was created by the European Commission in February 2007, and it is the newest, pioneering component of the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme, named the "Ideas" specific programme. It has a total budget of € 7.5 billion (2007‐2013).

The ERC aims to stimulate scientific excellence in Europe by supporting the very best scientists, scholars and engineers in any field of research. Through Europe‐wide peer‐reviewed competition ‐ with scientific excellence as sole selection criterion‐ the brightest ideas at the frontiers of knowledge are funded. There are neither thematic priorities, nor geographical quotas. The competitions are open to top researchers from anywhere in the world, provided they are based in or are moving to Europe8.

Being 'investigator‐driven', or 'bottom‐up', in nature, the ERC approach allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research, rather than being led by pre‐set priorities. By challenging Europe's brightest minds, the ERC expects that its grants will help to bring about new and unpredictable scientific and technological discoveries ‐ the kind that can form the basis of new industries, markets, and broader social innovations of the future.

The ERC has two main grant schemes: the "ERC Starting Grants" are targeted at early‐career, emerging research leaders, while the "ERC Advanced Grants" support established, senior top researchers. Since its launch, the ERC has funded over 2 200 frontier research projects throughout Europe.

In March 2011, a new form of funding, the "Proof of Concept", was introduced to complement ERC grants and to cover a funding gap in the earliest stage of an innovation, between "blue sky" research and commercialisation. It is targeted at ERC grant holders in order for them to establish the innovation potential of ideas arising from their ERC‐funded frontier research projects.

8 In the EU or the FP7 associated countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, FYR of Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey)

In July 2011 a new funding scheme ‐ "ERC Synergy Grants" ‐ was introduced on a pilot basis for exceptional proposals. Gathering complementary skills, knowledge and resources, it will support a few small size groups of researchers working together on the same project. For this initiative only a limited part of the ERC budget will be used. The first call will be published in October 2011.

In addition to being a funding organisation, the ERC aims to strengthen and shape the European research system and it already has an impact on the European Research Area. The ERC is helping to create international benchmarks and to trigger new thinking about research management and science policy at a national level. Ultimately, the ERC aims to make the European research base more prepared to respond to the needs of a knowledge‐based society and provide Europe with the capabilities in frontier research to meet global challenges.

The ERC consists of a Scientific Council, its governing body, which sets the ERC's scientific strategy, and an Executive Agency, in charge of its implementation. The Chair of the Scientific Council is the President of the ERC, Prof. Helga Nowotny (since 1 March 2010). She is the representative if the ERC as regards the European Commission and other bodies. Prof. Nowotny is assisted by two Vice‐Presidents who are equally the Vice‐Chairs of the Scientific Council; Prof. Pavel Exner and Prof. Carl‐Henrik Heldin (since April 2011). Prof. Donald Dingwell is the ERC Secretary General (since September 2011), with a key role to ensure effective liaison between the Scientific Council, the ERC Executive Agency and the European Commission. The ERC Executive Agency Director ad int. is Pablo Amor. www.erc.europa.eu

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is a Directorate‐General of the European Commission in charge of direct research and scientific and technical support in the field of European Union policies and in particular those concerning Europe 2020 policy priorities. Its main role is to provide sound, independent and relevant advice to support European policy making in order to have evidence‐based policy and to make our lives safer, healthier and more sustainable. "The mission of the JRC is to provide customer‐driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union." European decision‐makers are increasingly faced with policy dilemmas requiring solid scientific advice in addressing global societal challenges in the sectors of economic growth. Reflecting these needs and the growing importance of scientific knowledge to society, the JRC set its priorities in the areas such as energy, clean transport, agriculture and food security, environment and climate change, health, information and communication technologies and safety and security. Although final decisions remain political, it is important to ensure that scientific evidence is fully taken into account and this is where the expertise of the JRC comes into play. JRC institutes are located on specialist sites in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Its headquarters are in Brussels. This gives it close proximity to many of its most important stakeholders, including frequent users of its scientific and technical support such as the policy‐ making Directorates‐General (DG) of the European Commission and other EU institutions, in particular the European Parliament. www.ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm