Minister Launches BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre and National Pilot Biorefining Facility

(University College Dublin Innovation) €28 million in total invested in BEACON and National Bioeconomy Campus; Launch at Lisheen part of inaugural Bioeconomy Ireland Day -- Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD today launched the new €22.2 million BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre at the €5.75 million National Bioeconomy Campus in Lisheen, Co. Tipperary.

The event also saw the launch of the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (IBF), as part of the inaugural Bioeconomy Ireland Day, which aims to engage industry, the farming community, Government and wider society in the bioeconomy. The bioeconomy brings together the development of new ideas, processes and technologies to sustainably use our natural resources, create jobs and stimulate rural development.

Minister Creed TD also announced the initiation of a Bioeconomy Public-Private Network, as part of the national bioeconomy policy statement implementation, to establish a network of representatives from industry, research, society and relevant public bodies to inform the future development of the Irish bioeconomy. With the bioeconomy already accounting for 8% of the EU’s workforce, bio-based industries could create up to 1 million green jobs by 2030, especially in rural and coastal areas.

The BEACON Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre funded by Science Foundation Ireland through the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Industry, includes partnerships with five research institutions, including University College Dublin (UCD) where the Centre is hosted, and an initial 10 industry partners.

The Centre will connect Ireland’s key bioeconomy sectors with fundamental and applied research excellence and innovation infrastructure, using a multi-disciplinary perspective to solve the key challenges for a robust bioeconomy; technology and sustainability.

An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD said, “In March of this year, Government published the National Policy Statement on the Bioeconomy, setting out our ambition for Ireland to be a global leader in this sector. We want to integrate sustainable economic development into our economic model as we transition to a low carbon economy.”