Material availability, climate protection and the Green Deal: the last few months have clearly shown how important these issues are. In order to promote dialogue for a future-oriented bioeconomy despite the COVID 19 pandemic, the Wood Industry Summit will be launched as a digital event for the first time. The two-day online conference, organised as part of the LIGNA.Innovation Network, will bring together more than 30 international experts from industry and politics. The German- and English-language presentations and panel discussions will be streamed live from the H'Up in Hall 18 at the Hannover Exhibition Center from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both 27 and 28 September 2021. All lectures will be simultaneously translated. Registrations for digital participation in the event are now open online.

The forestry and wood sector is an integral part of the Circular Bioeconomy, and as such, process technologies and products in the woodworking and wood processing sector are future-oriented. The LIGNA.Innovation Network will examine the wood-based bioeconomy from a variety of perspectives. Visitors can look forward to new impulses for the use of wood as a raw material, the promotion of start-up companies, investment support and the market launch of new products, as well as new perspectives on building with wood. 

In addition, there will be reports on the implementation of the first wood-based biorefinery in Germany. In addition, political framework conditions for the expansion of resource-efficient wood use as part of the European Green Deal and pillar of a circular bioeconomy will be highlighted. Another focus will be on the digitalization of forestry and timber industry process chains and innovations in sawmill technology. 

The focus of the LIGNA.IN Wood Industry Summit is on process technologies of the bioeconomy. The LIGNA.IN Wood Industry Summit will be opened by Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover, and by Dr. Eva Ursula Müller, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Zscheile, Technische Hochschule Rosenheim (Rosenheim Technical University of Applied Sciences) and Hans-Georg von der Marwitz, President of the Association of German Forest Owners (AGDW).

On the first day, the partners of the European network of the "Bioregions Facility" shed light on the perspectives of the wood-based bioeconomy in the European and regional context: "Forest Bioeconomy in action". NRW Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser will present the contribution of the wood-based bioeconomy to the further development of the industrialised state into a sustainability-driven business location. The Basque Country will draw the regional perspective on how policy can create favourable framework conditions for the transformation to a circular bioeconomy.

In addition, the European Commission will address the topic "Green Deal, Forest Strategy and Circular Bioeconomy" and present perspectives for Europe.

The topic "Forest and Wood are a crucial part of the Circular Bioeconomy" will be the focus of the presentation by Marc Palahí, Executive Director of the European Forest Institute (EFI). New products, business models and companies make an important contribution to innovation and growth in the wood-based bioeconomy. Other key topics of the morning are the initiation, support and financing of start-up companies from the idea to business maturity. Here, industrial heavyweights such as StoraEnso, BBI, and the new ECBF Fund will share their recipes for success in establishing and promoting new products and companies. 

The lecture programme in the afternoon of the first day of the event will start with a Wood Pitch with new ideas for the use of wood from selected start-up companies.

The focus for the afternoon is the "Wood-based Bioeconomy – Wood Construction". Here, new aspects of wood as a raw material will be highlighted, particularly in relation to quality of life and the living environment, as well as the role of timber construction in creating the urgently needed biocities. 

What does building with wood look like in the European regions? Representatives from the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Grand-Est region and the Nordic Council of Ministers will share their experiences of implementation.

The programme of the first day of the event will conclude with a panel discussion on the topic "Beyond environmental sustainability: benefits and incentives for integrating wood into Europe's building stock". 

The first day of the event will be moderated by Dr. Dr. h.c. Christian Patermann, who was a founding member of the first German Bioeconomy Council. Patermann is considered one of the pioneers of the bioeconomy in Europe.

The second conference day begins with a series of presentations on the digitalization of supply chain management in the sustainable forestry and wood industry. Alexander Kaulen, German Center of Forest Work and Technology (KFW) will focus in particular on tracking and traceability in forestry and technical prerequisites for sustainable supply chains. 

Can deforestation-free supply chains and ISO38200 certification be realised through blockchain? Is there intelligent path planning for sustainable supply chains? And can the value chain be integrated in the digital twin? Participants will also find valuable answers to these questions. 

What will sawmill technology look like in 2030? Will there be special processes and what can be expected here? The German Engineering Federation (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e. V. – VDMA) takes a look into the future. 

The Working Group of German Forest Owners' Associations (AGDW) and its partners address the topic "Sustainable and Innovative - Forest Owners as Pillars of the Green Industry" and present the sustainability expertise of forest owners as part of the Forestry and Wood Cluster. The starting point is the current crisis in the forests and the challenges for forest (re)construction in the face of climate change. The ecosystem services of the forest, the provision of wood as a raw material as part of the bioeconomy and the contribution to the energy transition will be presented. The presentation will be moderated by Dr. Irene Seling, Managing Director, Confederation of German Forest Owners’ Associations (AGDW).

The other expert lectures will show the connection between the bioeconomy and biorefineries. 

Dr. Michael Deutsch, Director UPM Biochemical Business, Leuna, presents the milestones of an innovative wood-based bioeconomy.  

Dr. Marina Crnoja-Cosic, Head of New Business Development, Kelheim Fibres, presents wood-based fibre solutions for diverse applications. Dr. Frank Meister, Head of Chemical Research Department, Thüringisches Institut für Textil- und Kunststoff-Forschung e.V. (TITK) will address the topic of wood fibres - alternative, functional, sustainable.

Panel discussions with the speakers as well as Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Zscheile from Rosenheim Technical University of Applied Sciences on the topic of "Potentials of wood in bioeconomy, Charter for Wood 2.0" round off the programme. 

The two-day conference programme will end with a presentation by Jukka Kantola, Founder and President, World Bioeconomy Forum (WCBEF) on "Biorefineries and emerging bioproducts in Europe".