Title

FIBRA: Fibre Crops as a sustainable source of biobased material for industrial products in Europe and China.

Programme

KBBE.2012.3.1-03: EU – China Partnering Initiative on fibre crops – Mandatory China

Grant agreement

No. 311965

Funding body

European Union

Contract

Duration

39 months

Period

01/09/2012 – 31/12/2015

Link web

http://www.fibrafp7.net/

Planned activities

In the light of a strong renewed interest in fibre crops and sustainable biobased production chains as well as the relevant research activity on fibre crops carried out from both counterparts’, a sound link between EU and China will lead to a wider stakeholders’ participation, while providing a long term vision on future and common research activities between EU and the Republic of China.

The specific project objectives are:

• To develop a resource efficient system via optimisation of raw material from fibre crops for multiple uses (crops breeding, crops agronomy, logistics, integrated assessment;
• To support the biorefinery concept for processing fibre crops;
• To facilitate future collaborations between European and Chinese industries in the field of fibre crops and bio-based products;
• To ensure a wide-range networking of the relevant scientific communities and stakeholders and the systematic establishment of linkages such as broad networking twinning of large sets of research projects and consortia and short exchange /visits of researchers and summer schools;
• To improve training opportunities in the area of fiber crops to European and Chinese scientists;
• To provide a long term vision on future common research activities that will contribute to the international policies of the EU;
• To disseminate the project results.

CRA-ING group will be involved in the transfer of knowledge on agricultural mechanization and the adaptation to the local conditions of the European commercial systems with special reference to the harvesting and post harvesting systems, extraction of long fiber for textile purposes, short fiber for composite materials and energy production from co-products.