"We have a shared responsibility to drive the transition to green chemicals"

It is not only fossil petrol and diesel that need to be phased out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Although the impact is less than the direct burning of fossil fuels, it is a fact that the production and use of fossil products and materials contribute to climate change.

Sweden has long been proactive in reducing the use of chemicals that can harm the environment. In 1999, it set an environmental quality target, a non-toxic environment, which aims, among other things, to ensure that the levels of man-made substances (known as "xenobiotics") are close to zero and that their impact on our health and ecosystems is negligible.

But how do we get rid of fossil-based chemical products? Making better use of waste streams from forestry, agriculture and the pulp and paper industry is part of the answer. For example, bark and sawdust can be converted into bio-based plastics using new conversion technologies.

"In Sweden, we have examples of companies producing different types of chemicals from renewable raw materials, which are used for renewable fuels and functional chemicals in construction and other industries. But overall, fossil alternatives still dominate when it comes to chemicals and materials," says David Blomberg Saitton, Business developer at RISE.

"We have a shared responsibility to drive the transition"

Developing chemicals and chemical materials in a traditional way, from fossil feedstocks, can often be cheaper in the short term. Today, only a few have the right technical prerequisites, which creates barriers to scaling up new, green processes. What is needed for Swedish companies involved in chemical processes to make the transition to green chemicals is for researchers, politicians and other societal actors to help lower the thresholds.

"I think it's very clear that we have a shared responsibility to drive the transition to green chemicals. RISE has the resources and technology to accelerate the transition to a bioeconomy. It is clear that it will be costly, but there are also business opportunities associated with the transition," says David Blomberg Saitton:

"It's worth remembering that the processes for extracting chemical products from fossil raw materials have been refined for over 100 years, so it's not surprising that bio-based processes are not yet as efficient. But in a few decades, development will have progressed further and costs will have been reduced."

New policy instruments can pave the way for green chemistry

Incentives from policy makers will also be important to enable a full transition to green chemistry. One piece of the jigsaw is a clearer plan for how to recycle materials brought to market and how to achieve more efficient carbon cycles, both fossil and bio-based. It will also be important to optimise energy use in new production processes for green chemicals.

"Whether we are talking about biochemicals, biofuels or bio-based plastics, there is a certain amount of energy involved. In order to produce something in an economically sustainable way, we need access to green energy," says David Blomberg Saitton.

RISE research infrastructure makes it possible

The Bioeconomy Arena brings together RISE's expertise and infrastructure for the development of the bioeconomy. A range of scale-up and test facilities are available to develop processes and optimize conditions. In Örnsköldsvik, for example, there is a robot that can evaluate and select micro-organisms so that only the best go on to process development and scale-up. Companies can come here to develop their bio-based processes.

"I'm looking out of my office where it is 6 degrees and raining outside. It is supposed to be colder and snowing in January. That at least gives me the feeling that there is a time aspect here. We can't put things off, we have to work on the transition now," says David Blomberg Saitton.