FIBC 2025 PROGRAM

FIBC 2025 brings together speakers and participants from government, the forest industry and associations, start-ups, investment firms, First Nations, and international organizations, all focused on the research, development and commercialization of forest bioproducts.

Over the first two days, the conference will showcase the latest global innovations in bio-product research, as well as commercialization opportunities in both international and domestic markets. These sessions will inspire new research and business ideas, while fostering information exchange and collaboration between government, academia, industry, and First Nations.

On Day 3, the conference will focus on the forest sector transformation and diversification through the development of BC's forest bioeconomy. Presentations and panel discussion will explore how to attract and retain investment to develop bioproduct facilities in BC, position bioeconomy as a driver for sustainable economic growth, and develop BC as bioeconomy innovation cluster on the West Coast. Discussions will also feature a fireside chat with bioeconomy leaders on workforce and talent development. Moreover, there will be a concurrent business-to-business matchmaking session on the same day designed to build connections between bioproduct start-ups and key audiences, helping both sides identify and better understand business opportunities and the specific needs of startups.

*The following agenda is not final and will be updated regularly.

DAY1

Tue. May 6th

8:00 AM

Welcome Reception and Registration/Breakfast

8:45 AM

Opening Remarks

Session Chair: Gustavo Oliveira, Executive Director, Innovation and Climate, Ministry of Forests (FOR)

Indigenous welcome
Honourable Ravi Parmar, FOR, British Columbia, Canada (TBC)
Orlando J. Rojas, Scientific Director, BioProducts Institute (BPI), University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada
Davis Chiu, Global Investment and Innovation Incentives & National Forest Sector Leader, Deloitte, Canada

10:00 AM

Coffee Break/Exhibition - Sponsored

10:30 AM

Session #1-Innovation Research and Development-Part I

Session Chair: Orlando J. Rojas, BPI, UBC

Wood fibre insulation made in America-Joshua Henry, Chief Executive Officer, Timber HP, USA
VTT’s Innovations in Biomaterials and the Power of Partnerships -Alina Ruonala-Lindgren, Co-creation Manager, VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland
Wood made active carbon filter to catch and destroy PFAS-Hassan Pardawalla, Chief Operational Officer, ReAct Materials, Canada

12:00 PM

Lunch Break – Sponsor Presentations/Start-up Pitches

1:00 PM

Session #2- Indigenous Bioeconomy Development and Research Collaboration

Session Chair: Qingcen Cai, Manager, Indigenous Opportunities, FOR

Patrick Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, HFN Group of Businesses (Timber Tiles), Canada
Owen Miller, President, Deadwood Innovation, Canada

2:00 PM

Coffee Break/Exhibition - Sponsored

2:30 PM

Session #3- Bioproduct Commercialization-Part I

Session Chair: Paddy Hirshfield, Director, Innovation, Bioeconomy and Indigenous Opportunities, FOR

Innovative and sustainable packaging materials development at Unilever- Mark Newman, R&D Director, Unilever, UK
Paper-Recyclable thermoforming films for producing rigid packaging- Jordan MacKenzie, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Bioform, Canada
Pathway to Commercialization-Biogas, Biooil and Other Bioproducts-Scott Treadwell, President, SixRing Inc., Canada

4:00 PM

Session #4- Lab-to-market Panel Discussion: The Pathway to Commercialization

Moderator: Gurminder Minhas, Managing Director, Performance BioFilaments, Canada

Alina Ruonala-Lindgren, Co-creation Manager, VTT, Finland
Juha Salmela, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Spinnova, Finland
Joshua Henry, Chief Executive Officer, Timber HP, USA
Mark Newman, R&D Director, Unilever, UK
Marc Gaugler, Scion, New Zealand (TBC)

5:15 PM

Closing Remarks

5:30 PM

Cocktail Reception Sponsored by Global Affairs Canada

Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) presentation

DAY2

Wed. May 7th

8:00 AM

Registration and Breakfast

8:30 AM

Session #5-Innovation Research and Development-Part II

Session Chair: Nadine Diner, Strategic Partnerships Lead, FPInnovations, Canada

Development of synthetic graphite from forestry waste for energy storage - Dr. Lukas Bichler, Scientific Director and Professor, UBC Okanagan CleanTech Hub, Canada
Spinnova- idea to product- Juha Salmela, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Spinnova, Finland
Cellulose Nanofiber (CNF) applications in energy storage- Sang-young Lee, Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, South Korea

10:00 AM

Coffee Break/Exhibition - Sponsored

10:30 AM

Session#6- Growing Together: Indigenous-University Collaboration in the Forest Bioeconomy

Session Chair: Robert Manuel, Strategic Advisor, BC First Nations Forestry Council, Canada

Feng Jiang, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Sustainable Functional Biomaterials, UBC, Canada
David Gill, General Manager, Ntityix Resources LP, Canada
David A. McCormick, Economic Development Manager, Uchucklesaht Tribe Government, Canada
Klay Tindall, General Manager Forestry Operations, Lil’wat Forestry Ventures LP, Canada

12:00 PM

Lunch Break – Sponsor Presentations/Start-up Pitches

1:00 PM

Session #7- Bioproduct Commercialization-Part II

Session Chair: Stefan Tack, Manager, Forest Industry Innovation, FOR

Horizon Europe- Dr. Piergiuseppe Morone, Professor of Economic Policy, University of Rome & Dr. Danilo Porro, Professor, Industrial Biotechnology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy
Fibenol: Sustainable Innovation in Chemicals & Materials-Gert Preegel, MCC Innovation and Development Manager, Fibenol, Estonia

Deep formed, high density fiber products as a cost-effective competitor to fossil plastics- Lars Sandberg, Chief Executive Director, Blue Ocean Closures, Sweden

2:30 PM

Coffee Break/Exhibition - Sponsored

3:00 PM

Session #8-Bioeconomy Cluster Introduction and Panel Discussion

Moderator: Meahgan Seagrave, Executive Director, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC)

Mario Bonaccorso, Director, Cluster SPRING- Italy

Beth Mason, Executive Chair, Verschuren Centre- Nova Scotia, Canada RISE-Sweden
Marie-Claude Marie-Claude Béland, RISE-Sweden
Ferrán Martí, Head of Innovation, AIMPLAS Instituto Tecnológico del Plástico, Spain
Luis Alberto Otero, Head of Innovation, FORESA, Spain

5:15 PM

Closing Remarks

BC Forest Bioeconomy Development, Diversification and International Collaborations

DAY3

Thu. May 8th

8:00 AM

Registration and Breakfast

8:30 AM

Opening Remarks

Session Chair: Gustavo Oliveira, Executive Director, Innovation and Climate, FOR

Opening Remarks

Shane Berg, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Forester, Ministry of Forests, British Columbia, Canada
Tom Nyberg, Honourable Consul of Finland, Finland

9:00 AM

Concurrent Presentation and Matchmaking Sessions

ㅤ

Session Chair: Paddy Hirshfield, Director, Innovation, Bioeconomy and Indigenous Opportunities, FOR

9:00 AM

Strategies for accelerating the transition to a bio-based and circular economy-Marie-Claude Béland, Business Development Manager at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

9:30 AM

Strengthening Canada’s Forestry and BioEconomy innovation ecosystem- Elicia Maine, Associate Vice-President, Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation (AVPKMI) and Professor, Innovation &

Entrepreneurship, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, Canada

10:00 AM

Coffee Break

10:30 AM

Lignin applications- Orlando J. Rojas, Scientific Director, BPI, UBC, Canada

11:00 AM

Technological acceleration of bioprocesses and bioproducts diversification- Jean-Philippe Jacques, Director, Innofibre, Canada

11:30 AM

Mercer’s Lignin Pathway – Bill Adams, , Chief Sustainability Officer, Mercer International Inc.

ㅤ

Moderator: Sandy Ferguson, Director, BioNEXT, Foresight Canada

9:00 AM