Major research conference on bio‑based materials to Sundsvall 2025
Nearly 500 researchers, experts and representatives of the business community are expected to participate when Mid Sweden University hosts a major international research conference on bio-based materials. The conference will be held in Sundsvall in August 2025.
The 9th EPNOE International Polysaccharides Conference is Europe's largest conference on polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are the most common substances in the plant world and come in a large number of varieties, the most common of which are starch and cellulose.
- Trees consist mostly of cellulose and at Mid Sweden University we have extensive research on how wood from trees can have different applications depending on how we choose to process the wood. Products made from wood as a raw material range from impregnated decking boards, milk cartons, to clothes where textile fibers are spun from solutions of cellulose molecules, says Magnus Norgren, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Mid Sweden University.
It is Mid Sweden University's research center FSCN that organizes the conference and it is the first time that EPNOE is held in Sweden. The conference brings together researchers as well as representatives of business and industry.
- We are very pleased to have been entrusted as an organizer, which in itself is a recognition of our research, which we see arousing great interest internationally. This is particularly noticeable when our researchers communicate through scientific articles and participate in conferences in the international research arena," says Birgitta Engberg, director of FSCN research centre.
- I am happy and proud that Sundsvall has been entrusted with hosting such an important conference as EPNOE. The development of bio-based materials is timely. Sundsvall, with its long tradition of being a base for the forest industry and the chemical industry, can benefit greatly from this network. Being the meeting place for future-oriented conversations is something we are proud of. I feel confident that the visit will be memorable as the destination has a lot to show for it and we look forward to welcoming the participants. says Ulrica Widmark Norberg, responsible for strategic meetings and events at Destination Sundsvall.
In the autumn of 2023, Mid Sweden University received project funding from the European Regional Development Fund and Region Västernorrland for the three-year project HIPS – Sustainable Innovations and Products in Forest Bioeconomy. One of the commitments within the project is to create a larger international conference that can serve as a showroom for smaller, regional companies, which is done through the EPNOE conference.
- There is a great benefit for both the business community and our research from being able to connect international partners with the entrepreneurs in the region. We also expect that the conference will contribute to even more regional companies choosing to take an interest in the HIPS research project and at the same time we can show our international guests many exciting things that are happening in our region in the field of bioeconomy. says Magnus Norgren.
Contact person:
Magnus Norgren, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Mid Sweden University, 010-142 88 77, magnus.norgren@miun.se