Welcome to the 11th International BioEconomy Conference in Leuna / Saxony-Anhalt

The future-oriented BioEconomy gained momentum in Saxony-Anhalt many years ago, so that it now occupies an enormously high position in the economy of Saxony-Anhalt.

With a share of over 16 percent of the total economy, we are at the top in Germany.

As the Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt, we are therefore taking on a supporting role in the BioEconomy, as this industry is capable of solving major challenges of our time. The BioEconomy combines some unbeatable advantages:

• It is a key driver of transformation. In the model region in the south of the country, it provides economic growth nuclei, rooted and networked, and helps to positively shape structural change in the region.
• Sustainability needs staying power. In the BioEconomy, science and business are united; the effort to achieve a balance of resources unites many sectors, from agriculture and forestry to the food industry, chemistry and pharmaceuticals.
• The current global challenges that long-term perspectives for securing energy supply and food are urgently required, and the BioEconomy offers these solutions.

Good partnerships, such as the one we have with BioEconomy e.V., are the basis for success. This also significantly supports our work as economic promoters. In addition to networking within the country, our contribution is above all international orientation and marketing.

The international Bioeconomy Conference (iBC) has a long tradition as a scientific conference at the Leopoldina in Halle (Saale). This conference of BioEconomy e.V. in cooperation with the Weinberg Campus of Martin Luther University Halle has taken place ten times in the academic environment with more than 250 participants. After ten years, the organisers have adjusted the focus of the conference and chosen a new venue: Leuna, the epitome of chemical production and development in Germany. Developed as a site in 1916, Leuna was the munitions factory of National Socialist Germany, the cradle of engineering technological excellence and at the same time an environmental cesspit in the GDR. Since 1996, Leuna has been one of the largest and most important chemical parks in Germany with a total area of 1,600 ha.

The international Bioeconomy Conference (iBC) claims to be the most important annual meeting place for business and politics in the field of the circular economy and bioeconomy in Germany. Only if we succeed in actually bringing the innovative power of the bioeconomy into production, onto the markets and to the customers, will the transformation to a sustainable economy succeed; this challenge is the focus of the conference. International impulses and keynotes from top research and science complement the brand core.

The venue, Chemical Park Leuna, makes this conference unique. Leuna is, even in a global perspective, the central place for scaling innovation. At the iBC you will find the partners for the successful development of your idea. Here you will experience and develop cooperation at the highest level. The rubber boots for a spontaneous walk through the industrial site are part of the conference equipment, the iBC is the scaling hub for the products of tomorrow.

The foundation of the BioEconomy Leuna cluster back in 2012 is considered the result of a pioneering and future-oriented economic policy of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.The vision of the BioEconomy Leading-Edge Cluster is to achieve a globally exemplary implementation of the bioeconomy on the scale of an entire region. With this goal in mind, the cluster's strategy is geared towards advancing the region's economic development in the context of the bioeconomy and creating new growth impulses. In the BioEconomy Cluster, partners from industry and research work on the fundamentals of the material and energetic use of non-food biomass. More information and members can be found here.

The iBC11 will also be a platform for dialogue and debate with federal and state politicians: High-ranking representatives from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK), the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the Ministry of Infrastructure, Construction and Digital Saxony-Anhalt, as well as representatives from the Ministries of Economics in Saxony and Thuringia will provide impulses and engage in discussion. The conference is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), InfraLeuna GmbH, UPM Biochemicals GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institutes IMWS, CBP and WKI. Dr. Michael Duetsch, Prof. Marcel Fratzscher and Prof. Peter Seeberger have agreed to give exceptional keynotes. The patronage for the iBC11 has been assumed by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection. Further highlights: "Next Generation Refinery": The world's first hardwood-based biorefinery is currently being built in Leuna by UPM Biochemicals GmbH. An exclusive tour of the construction site is part of the conference. "ScalingUP Tour": We support targeted company visits to the Leuna Chemical Park. #scaleyourbusiness The current status on the programme, further information and the possibility to register can be found here.