Valbiom, reference center for the biobased economy in Wallonia
Since 2002, Valbiom has been the reference center for the biobased economy in Wallonia (Belgium), serving public and private stakeholders: growers, local authorities, regional public services, project promoters, manufacturers, start-ups, etc.
Valbiom encourages the emergence, promotes and develops existing and innovative economic activities in Wallonia, based on non-food valorization of biomass. Our motivation: to work alongside project holders to implement solutions in the biobased economy. Thanks to its expertise in the field, in biobased material and bioenergies, the Valbiom team is committed on a daily basis to achieving the objective of a more resilient, low-carbon society that creates local jobs.
Valbiom is active in three key areas:
1. Developing and deploying new sectors
Valbiom, through active monitoring or on request, is working to:
- identify new development opportunities for the Walloon biosourced sector, such as new crops (hemp, silphia), exploration of available but underused resources (wool, grass), new recovery processes, innovative supply chains, etc.
- study the viabilty of these opportunities and oversee their development.
- respond to requests from various levels, both public and private.
2. Supporting projects and making them a reality
Valbiom offers a range of services to help stakeholders turn their project into reality:
- pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for bioenergy projects
- territorial diagnostics and prospective studies (availability of materials)
- regulatory studies and legislative interpretations
- active monitoring and benchmarking
- communication strategy and specific tools
- personalised support
Find out more about our support and consultancy services.
3. Informing and raising awareness
Valbiom's role is to monitor, inform, raise awareness and provide advice. Valbiom also encourages the exchange of knowledge and collaboration.
Valbiom develops tools (publications, reports, analyses, etc.) and disseminates the knowledge acquired (field visits, events, press, social networks, etc.).
Scope of action, projects and services
- Regional support: Valbiom accompanies the Walloon region in the development of biomass value chains in Wallonia.
- Customised support and consultancy services: Valbiom accompanies private and public players in their transition.
- European projects: Valbiom makes its expertise and know-how available to various cross-border projects (communication and awareness-raising, technical and technological monitoring, Life Cycle Assessment, etc.). Valbiom is continuously investigating new projects, with a view to forging fruitful collaborations with neighbouring regions, thanks in particular to the support of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
- Our current european projects :
Hemp4Circularity
Hemp4Circularity is an Interreg NWE project that aims to implement an innovative, local and biobased ecological fibre - long hemp fibre - in the North-West European textile value chain, from growers to weavers/knitters, from field to fashion.
The project sets up pilot actions at several stages of the value chain (cultivation, primary processing, data-driven agriculture, spinning, fabric production) to optimise all stages of production, so that they can be implemented sustainably, from fibre to recycling solutions. With this project, from field to recycled fibre, hemp is a driver for circularity in the textile industry!
Follow the project on LinkedIn and on its dedicated web page.
With the financial support of the European Regional Development Fund, Wallonia, the Province of West Flanders and Normandy.
ExtraBark
ExtraBark is an Interreg Grande Région project that aims to develop and validate innovative, industrialisable solutions based on the use of bark (under-utilised co-products available in large quantities in the project region) for the extraction of high added-value molecules. Two application sectors will be investigated as a priority in the light of current environmental challenges: plant protection and wood materials. Two application sectors will be investigated as a priority in the light of current environmental challenges: plant protection and wood materials.
Follow the project on LinkedIn.
- With the support of the European Regional Development Fund, Wallonia and the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
More information on our current projects and the accompanied sectors