The P.I.V.E.R.T project selected as an "Investment for the Future"

The P.I.V.E.R.T project, an Institute of Excellence in plant chemistry, has been selected as an Investment for the Future ("Investissements d’avenir"), with a budget of €220 million over a ten-year period.

P.I.V.E.R.T (Picardie Innovations Végétales Enseignements et Recherches Technologiques, or Picardy Plant Innovations, Teaching and Technological Research) will be one of the Institutes of Excellence set up in the field of Low-Carbon Energies (IEED).  Based in Compiègne (Picardy), at the Rives de l'Oise Technology Park, it will constitute a centre for research, innovation, experimentation and training in oilseed biomass-based plant chemistry (rapeseed, sunflower, etc.).  Over a ten-year period, it will involve more than 150 researchers, engineers and teachers working in different laboratories and on industrial pilots.  P.I.V.E.R.T. will thus contribute to ensuring the transfer of laboratory innovations to a pre-industrial stage.
P.I.V.E.R.T will be the first European centre designed to transform oilseed biomass, i.e. the whole plant, into renewable chemical products for numerous applications: food, health, cosmetics, construction materials, etc.  Its areas of research will include the thermal treatment of biomass, catalytic chemistry and industrial (or "white") biotechnologies.  The originality of this project resides in the interactions between the different research areas.  
P.I.V.E.R.T will be built on a concept of industrial ecology: the by-products of some activities will serve as starting materials for other activities.  Both energy and water will be recycled.  This future refinery for plant material will utilise local agricultural and forest resources from the Picardy region, thus enhancing the value of its agriculture and industry.
P.I.V.E.R.T will be a cross-disciplinary project concerning numerous research fields that will  need to be totally rethought so that they can adapt to the concept of industrial ecology.  In parallel, P.I.V.E.R.T will create new opportunities for training, thus guaranteeing the economic competitiveness of the sector and the transfer of knowledge essential to its long-term future: vocational degrees, Master's degree, continuing training, e-learning, etc.
P.I.V.E.R.T is based on a novel organisational and financial model.  It is being sponsored by technical and research centres, universities such as the Compiègne Technology University (UTC), industry and private sector actors, notably Sofiprotéol and the IAR (Agro-Resource Industries) competitiveness cluster.  Selected as an Investment for the Future funded by the French Government Loan, the project has also received backing from central and local government bodies, and particularly the Région de Picardie and the Agglomération de la Région de Compiègne (ARC, Compiègne Urban Region).

The project will be managed by SAS P.I.V.E.R.T, the shareholders in which are Sofiprotéol, Rhodia, Maguin, PCAS, SNC Lavallin, the IAR cluster, UTC, Université de Picardie-Jules Vernes, and Troyes Technology University (Université de technologie de Troyes).  
The project will be declared to the Directorate General for Competition at the European Commission.  


 
About Sofiprotéol
Sofiprotéol is the financial and industrial arm of the French oilseed (rapeseed, sunflower, etc.) and plant protein sector.  At an industrial level, Sofiprotéol has five complementary activities: seed crushing and oil refining (Saipol); the refining and packaging of edible oils (Lesieur); the production of biodiesel (Diester Industrie and Diester Industrie International); plant chemistry (Oleon and Novance); animal nutrition and the slaughter and processing of pork, poultry and eggs (Glon Sanders). At a financial level, by means of loans and shareholdings, Sofiprotéol provides support for companies in the oilseed and protein sector, and generally throughout the agrifood sector.  
Set up in 1983 by representatives from the farming world, Sofiprotéol's mission is to develop markets and valorise French oilseed and protein crops.  In 2010, Sofiprotéol achieved sales worth €5.6 billion, and it currently employs 6400 people.  
Press contact:
Catherine Bozon
Press Officer, Sofiprotéol
Tel.: +33 (0)1 77 45 70 74
Email : c.bozon@prolea.com

About Compiègne Technology University (UTC)
UTC was set up in 1972 to be an experimental and technological university; it now counts more than 17,000 graduates.  In 2011 it became an associate member of the Sorbonne Universities Higher Education and Research Cluster (PRES). As both a university and an engineering school, UTC interacts with society and its economic partners by anticipating the research needs of industry and facilitating entry into the workplace for its students (mean time required to find a job: less than one month).  Based on a teaching method that encourages independence, and cross-disciplinary technological research focused on innovation, UTC trains nearly 5000 engineers and Master's and Doctoral students who are ready to grasp the interactions of technology with man and society, and to work in a globally competitive environment turned towards sustainable development.  The 450 teacher-researchers at UTC, grouped into nine research units classed as A or A+, give a sense to innovation, allowing the emergence of new areas for innovation and introducing entrepreneurship as a core concern.  Indeed, in only 10 years, 160 companies have been created by members of the UTC community.
Press contact:
Nadine Luft
Director Communication, UTC
Tel.: +33 (0)3 44 23 49 97
Email : nadine.luft@utc.fr

About the IAR cluster
The "Agro-Resource Industries" (IAR) competitiveness cluster is designed to assemble actors in research, teaching and industry around a common purpose: the valorisation of biomass.  To achieve this ambitious objective, the IAR cluster has defined four areas for strategic action, grouped under the concept of biorefining:
-    Bioenergies (biofuels, biomass energy, etc.);
-    Biomolecules (platform molecules, synthetic intermediaries, etc.);
-    Agromaterials (agrocomposites, bioplastics, etc.);
-    Ingredients and active substances (plant health products, cosmeceutics, nutraceuticals, etc.).
These strategic areas lie at the heart of current and future development challenges: sustained increases in the prices of raw materials and non-renewable energy, international competitiveness, sustainable development, the control of industrial risks, protection of the environment, consumer health and safety.  The introduction of more wide-ranging and increasingly strict regulatory frameworks, at both the national and European levels, is indicative of these concerns.
Press contact:
Stéphanie Louis
Communication manager, IAR Cluster
Tel.: +33 (0)3 23 23 25 25
Email : louis@iar-pole.com