IFMAS gets over €30m for green tech in Lille region

IFMAS, the R&D institute for bio-based materials headquartered in the Lille region, has recently been certified as an Institute of Excellence in its field, gaining a €30.8m grant from the French government in the process. The R&D excellence of Lille and its region has again been acknowledged by the authorities, opening up new perspectives in the energy field.

IFMAS, the R&D institute for bio-based materials headquartered in the Lille region, has recently been certified as an Institute of Excellence in its field, gaining a €30.8m grant from the French government in the process. The R&D excellence of Lille and its region has again been acknowledged by the authorities, opening up new perspectives in the energy field.

Already boasting seven officially recognised high-tech clusters of excellence, the Lille region has again demonstrated its expertise in research and development. Indeed, IFMAS, a newly formed research institute, has gained national recognition, putting the Lille region’s R&D facilities in a leading position among others that are involved in bio-based materials and green technologies.

IFMAS is an organisation devoted to R&D and education in the field of green chemistry. Following the French government’s certification of this institute as an Institute of Excellence for Decarbonised Energy, IFMAS received a €30.8m grant, which is expected to result in the creation of 5,000 new jobs over the next 10 years. This move makes Lille and its region one of Europe’s key centres for R&D in the field of bio-based plastics.

IFMAS’ objective is to develop new technologies in order to create innovative materials from local agricultural resources such as corn and potatoes. Taking into account all sector players — from the farming industry to the plastics sector — IFMAS will focus on raw-materials processing and the shaping of bio-based plastics, paying due attention to the end-of-life management of manufactured products.

IFMAS has a proactive policy in favour of green chemistry and will promote France’s industrial leadership, providing significant socio-economic benefits not only for the agricultural and green-technology sectors, but also for the chemicals and plastics industries.

Many industries are concerned with decarbonised materials, including paint manufacturing, packaging, construction, transport, the production of electrical and electronic equipment, and, finally, the health sector.

The IFMAS project is led by two high-tech clusters of excellence located in Lille and its region. The first is MAUD (for Materials and Applications for Sustained Use), a cluster that focuses on the development of new products by improving the materials’ functionalities and by integrating a sustainable-development approach. The second is TEAM2 (which stands for Environment Technology Applied to Materials), a cluster that aims to rejuvenate end-of-life products and materials as well as household and industrial waste, turning them into recycled materials.

IFMAS will provide France with the means to be an internationally recognised leader in the field of high-value-added and sustainable bio-based products that emit less CO².

Above picture: photo credit ©IFMAS

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