Celebrating two decades of progress in sustainable chemistry, the 2024 SusChem Stakeholder Event in Brussels brought together industry, academia, research organizations, EU institutions, and civil society on November 8, to discuss a vision for the future in which SusChem will continue to tackle emerging challenges, support the digital and green transitions essential to the chemical sector’s future, and play a pivotal role in helping shape EU innovation agendas and funding.
Jürgen Tiedje from the European Commission opened the event, emphasizing the critical role of research and innovation in achieving a clean industrial transition, a circular economy, and enhanced competitiveness. He reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the Green Deal, alongside a renewed focus on innovation and competitiveness. Innovation should be at the heart of Europe’s economy, with particular attention to future research directions and sustained investment in advanced materials, he stressed.
While Europe has made strides in digital and technological innovation, for how long can we maintain this edge? Tiedje highlighted the importance of decarbonization, clean energy, and new, safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) materials for the sector’s future.
Tiedje called for the continued collaborative development of SSbD methodologies and the strengthening of stronger knowledge networks—projects and platforms such as IRISS play a key role here. Advancing SSbD application requires supporting skills development, digital infrastructure, and sustainable innovation.
20 years of SusChem: what’s next?
Over the past two decades, SusChem has fostered collaboration across industry, academia, and policymakers, producing three major Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas (SRIAs) and facilitating the launch of three Public Private Partnerships. With a network of 18 National Technology Platforms, SusChem has played a key role in supporting a clean, circular, sustainable, and innovative chemical sector in Europe.
Looking ahead, SusChem plans to enhance its impact by renewing its research agenda and forming new technical working groups. These efforts will address emerging challenges with a focus on areas such as digitalization and circularity, among others. SusChem’s strategy aims to help shape EU innovation policy and funding, particularly in the upcoming Framework Programme (FP10) or other potential funding instruments, through continued collaboration at national and EU levels.
Josef Richard Wünsch, SusChem Chair and Senior Vice President at BASF SE, emphasized the importance of continued collaboration to keep SusChem at the forefront of sustainable innovation. As he put it, “We (SusChem) are the part in between; we translate, interpret the needs between industry, the chemical sector, and policy.” This bridging role enables SusChem to align the goals of diverse stakeholders, ensuring that EU R&D&I strategies support both sectoral evolution and sustainability.
The Chemical Sector’s Needs for Future Funding Programs
True competitiveness relies on investments, skills, innovation, and collaboration, especially in the face of the current political, climate, and economic challenges. That was one of the main outcomes of the panel debate on “The Chemical Sector’s Needs for Future Funding Programs”, which explored different aspects and ways to boost EU competitiveness across the R,D&I value chain.
To achieve true competitiveness in Europe, it is important to maximize the efficiency of resources—both in how we invest and in bringing innovations to market. “It’s essential to engage the entire value chain to ensure that every link contributes to sustainable growth and a circular economy. Competitiveness isn’t just about ideas, it involves the entire value chain”, said Daniel Witthaut, Cefic Executive Director for Innovation.
For EARTO, it’s clear that enhancing competitiveness in Europe requires strong, collaborative efforts across the entire R&D and innovation chain—from universities and research organizations to industry. “Boosting competitiveness also depends on well-directed investments that build on the successful outcomes of past Framework Programs like Horizon Europe,” said Eleni Dritsakou, Senior Policy Officer. “As we look ahead to FP10, it’s vital to advocate for targeted, high-impact R&D investments, with an emphasis on public-private partnerships that bring academia and industry together to drive innovation”, she added.
From an industry perspective, “collaboration across the innovation ecosystem is essential—not only for incremental improvements but especially for breakthrough innovations. Achieving these requires a broader, integrated approach that involves suppliers, technology providers, manufacturers, customers, and even policymakers. So new ideas align with market needs, fit within regulatory frameworks, and gain traction”, complemented Witthaut.
“To remain competitive, we can’t afford lengthy approval processes from proposal to funding,” said Josef Richard Wünsch. “Faster approvals and more streamlined funding mechanisms that actively bring academia and industry together from the start are needed. By focusing on tangible deliverables, we may need to refocus certain activities within both academia and industry, aligning efforts to meet market needs more directly,” he added.
Finally, funding instruments need to reflect the diversity of business needs. “Different types of ventures may require different solutions. It would be beneficial if funding frameworks offered more freedom to operate, allowing for flexibility rather than rigid constraints. A balanced approach that combines speed with adaptability could greatly enhance innovation and impact”, reflected Floris Rutjes, Vice President at EuChemS (European Chemical Society).
To move forward effectively, we must drop ego and embrace the opportunity of collaboration, agreed the panellists.
Watch the full panel discussion here.
