Background

The Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (IBF) is a cluster operating in Ireland to promote the conversion of natural resources to high-value products, for the development of a sustainable bioeconomy.

Bioeconomy is the production and recycling of renewable resources, which are inputs for sustainable and circular economies. They reached out to InterTradeIreland to seek support with expanding these mapping activities into NI to help identify new cross-border collaboration opportunities.

To attract potential developers and investors to Ireland, the IBF wanted to develop a better understanding of the potential to produce new products and services.

Details of Synergy support

The IBF developed a ‘biomap’ to provide a view of the marketplace and the potential for a bioeconomy in Ireland. They reached out to InterTradeIreland to seek support with expanding these activities into NI and to identify new cross-border collaboration opportunities.

Synergy project outcomes

• The all-island biomap was able to document the value chain of 48 companies with a 50:50 ratio based in RoI and NI.
• It identified organisations for cross-border partnerships and facilitated meetings between these companies, leading to collaboration on developing innovative bio-based products that are globally competitive.
  

The total biomap population reached 597 and continues to promote cross-border collaboration between NI and RoI.