White Biotech TP is funded by FP6
Turkey
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Introduction
With its huge potential in the agricultural sector, Turkey could become a major industrial biotechnology actor. White biotech could represent a major economic growth opportunity for the country. Several innovative companies are today active in Turkey but mainly in the biopharma sector and industrial biotechnology is still very limited even though the country has a very long tradition in the fermentation sector. Today Turkey is producing 20% of the world baker’s yeast and new development opportunities are present in the bioenergy sector and on a smaller scale in the chemical industry and bioremediation. The current process of the establishment of a national technology platform for knowledge-based bioeconomy will certainly help to further develop and coordinate industrial biotechnology in Turkey.
I. Research and Innovation
Modern industrial biotechnology is a relatively new discipline, with major areas of knowledge still to be explored. Public support to research as well as the establishment of pilot and demonstration facilities to scale-up individual processes will therefore help in the development of a European bio-based economy.
A. Public research funding
No information.
B. Pilot and demonstration plants
A descriptive list of pilot and demonstration plants in Turkey is available
here.
II. Policy
Public authorities can promote the quick take-up of industrial biotechnology innovations by implementing a number of “instruments” or policy initiatives. This can be the improvement of the regulatory framework; the integration of specification for bio-based products in public procurement; the establishment of standardisation, labelling and certification schemes to overcome perceived uncertainty about product properties and weak market transparency; the development of financial instruments and supports to increase investments into research, technology development and innovation as well as the elaboration of communication and information campaign to communicate the benefits of bio-based products to users.
A. Policies and regulations
No information.
B. Public procurement
No information.
C. Standardisation, labelling and certification
Some activities have started towards labelling and standardisation but no wide-spread practice . The awareness is increasing in industry.
D. Access to finance
No information.
E. Communication
Ege University has been the coordinating institution in one of the Innovation Relay Centres in Turkey (IRC-EGE) and is a part of the Enterprise Europe Network as of 2008.
Industrial biotechnology actors are currently in the process of establishing a national technology platform for the knowledge-based bio-economy (KBBE). The objectives of the platform will be:
- to provide a place interaction among the stakeholders of bioeconomy initially in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
- to focus primarily on the biotechnology applications in agriculture, food, chemicals, energy and environment.
- to develop strategies for rapid growth of the KBBE.
Main Sources
| Roundtable on industrial biotechnology in Turkey |