Internationalisation

From this perspective, Cluster SPRING operates as an interlocutor for European institutions and stakeholders operating in the circular bioeconomy, through:

• constant dialogue with bio-based industry players to create partnerships for participation in Horizon 2020 calls for proposals, and participation in the Advisory Board for the SC2 “Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water, Research and the Bioeconomy” initiative;
• consolidation of collaboration with other Clusters operating in the Mediterranean bioeconomy sector, mindful that, now more than ever, the sustainable economic, environmental and social development of the whole area requires close collaboration between all participating players;
• participation in the “Cluster-to-Cluster Meeting & Innovat&Match Brokerage Event”;

• membership of the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) as an associate member;
• participation as an observer in the Expert Group of Bio-based Products of the European Commission;
• membership of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, a tool to assist in promoting relationships with the other international Clusters;
• the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with GreenWin – the Belgian biotechnology and bioeconomy cluster, BIC Sarnia – a Canadian Cluster and with the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation.

• Partnership with GRACE – GRowing Advanced industrial Crops on marginal lands for biorEfineries – submitted in response to the “BBI 2016.D2 – Improvement and adaptation of industrial crop varieties and novel sources of biomass to diversify biomass feedstock for biorefineries” call, a project coordinated by the University of Hohenheim. Within the project, which started on 1 June 2017 and will continue for five years, SPRING is responsible for coordinating the Industry Panel and for dissemination and communication on the bioeconomy.
• participation as a partner in the POWER4BIO - emPOWERing regional stakeholders for realising the full potential of European BIOeconomy project, which ended in March 2021, and was submitted in response to the H2020 call RUR-09-2018: “Realising the potential of regional and local bio-based economies”. Responsible for Coordination and Support Action, started in October 2018 and with a duration of three years, which aimed to support European regions in the transition towards the bioeconomy and a circular economy by providing them with tools, materials and guides to implement and optimise their national strategies to support this transition.
• Start in February 2020, the Competent and Connected Clusters Unfold the Hemp Industry Potential for the European Bioeconomy (HempCluB) project is an EU COSME project coordinated by LGCA bringing together 7 clusters and association operating in the primary hemp production, bioeconomy, mechatronics and green chemistry sectors from Italy, Czech Republic, Romania, Austria and Portugal. HempCluB project works to unlock the potential of hemp by creating EU value chains for biobased applications and new business opportunities for primary producers and chemical companies. As a “European Strategic Cluster Partnership”, HempCluB promotes collaboration, synchronised strategies, and encourages innovative interregional investments to enhance cluster excellence. Through mutual learning and SMEs and other stakeholders’ mobility, HempCluB aims to unlock the biomass exploitation potential supporting the ClusterXchange scheme’s implementation.