The Korea Bio Association announced on the 28th that it will visit institutions and facilities in Europe, an advanced country in the white bio sector, by the 3rd of next month (local time), together with government R&D support agencies, companies, and experts involved in white bio.
White bio is a technology field that produces products and fuels using renewable resources such as plants. Bioplastics and biofuels fall under this category, with Europe being the largest market.
During this visit, they will visit BASF, a leading bioplastics manufacturer in Germany, and Biotec to understand the current status of technology development and utilization, and discuss mutual cooperation plans between companies of the two countries. Additionally, they will visit Biogas Zurich, the largest biogas production facility in Switzerland, and AXPO, the largest renewable energy producer, to gather information on renewable energy production processes and distribution.
They will also seek opportunities for domestic companies to enter the European market through meetings with EU economic institutions, officials from the Korean embassies in Switzerland and Belgium, and the head of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) Brussels office.
Currently, the white bio market is expanding globally as a response to environmental issues such as carbon neutrality, waste plastics, and chemical substances. Major advanced countries such as the United States and Europe operate preferential purchasing and certification systems for white bio products and are conducting large-scale R&D to expand the use of biomass from plants as raw materials and to develop processes.
The association explained that domestic bio and petrochemical companies are also promoting white bio technology development and commercialization, but face a relatively disadvantageous situation compared to the limited domestic market and major overseas companies. It emphasized that to overcome technological and price competitiveness, cooperation with overseas companies and responses according to overseas government policy trends will be increasingly necessary when entering foreign markets in the future.
Meanwhile, the association launched the White Bio Cooperation Council in April 2021 to promote cooperation between bio and petrochemical companies, develop biomass-based chemical products, improve systems, and discover incentives. The association explained that this visit was also promoted as part of the support for the White Bio Cooperation Council to facilitate the entry of domestic white bio companies into the European market.
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