The first ACTPAC consortium meeting and joint symposium took place on April 11-12 in Aarhus, Denmark
Over the course of two days, the ACTPAC consortium meeting and a joint symposium on chemo/biocatalytic upcycling of plastic wastes and synthetic biology for green transition took place in Aarhus, Denmark. We invite you to stay tuned as we bring you the highlights from these exciting events, which are set to redefine the future of plastic waste management.
The two-day event kicked off with the ACTPAC consortium members’ meeting on Day 1 and discussing the upcoming tasks and challenges for the project. 16 consortium members traveled to Aarhus while other members joined the meeting online. The dean of the Faculty of Technical Science, Aarhus University Eskild Holm Nielsen gave a warm welcome to the guests.
“This meeting provided a good opportunity for the consortium members to meet in person and get to know each other, which is critical for a smooth collaboration in the future,” said Prof. Bert M. Weckhuysen, Utrecht University.
On behalf of the management team, Prof. Zheng Guo made a presentation on the overall project management, while Mette Søgaard Presser addressed the key aspects for the financial management. Dr. Bekir Eser presented the project progress and the next steps going forward, and thus laid the foundation for essential discussions to ensure the smooth progress of the project. Celine Rabe from M&S presented the plan for communication, dissemination and exploitation as it is of utmost importance for the project to inform and involve the public and key stakeholders from the outset. In separate work package group meetings, the scientists and engineers discussed practical issues and future cooperation within the work packages as well as possible collaborations. At the end of the meeting, plans for the next consortium meeting were already forged, which is expected to take place in the Netherlands next year.
On the second day of the event, the joint symposium organised by ACTPAC and the DFF2 “C1-to-Cn Biopath” project took center stage, delving into the compelling theme of “Chemo/Bio Catalysis and Synthetic Biology for Sustainable Chemistry and Green Transition”. This captivating event brought together leading experts in the field, sparking insightful discussions and paving the way for a greener, more sustainable future.
Over 100 researchers and students attended the symposium with the topics focused on upcycling of plastic wastes and bio-mitigation of CO2. Eight scientists from the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Denmark gave a series of lectures on “Chemo-catalytic depolymerization of C-C backboned plastics”, “Biocatalytic transformation of alkanes into monomers”, “Advanced Functional Materials for CO2 electrocatalytic reduction” and “Engineering of the central metabolic pathways for CO2 assimilation and transformation into high-value chemicals” and reported their latest research progress.
“This symposium is well-organized and many seminar talks reflected the latest progress in green technology, which I believe will inspire our students and young talents” said Prof. Kim Daasbjerg, Aarhus University.
In the closing remark of the symposium, Prof. Guo expressed great appreciation for the support from the symposium organizing teams particularly for Tina Kousted; and for the financial support from the European Research Executive Agency (REA) and The Independent Research Fund Denmark.
The two-day event was a great success for the ACTPAC project. The consortium meeting in Aarhus was the first opportunity for all members of the international consortium from eight EU and associated countries to personally get to know each other. The meeting was not only a great success on a professional level, but the coffee and lunch breaks also provided a good opportunity for informal communication, which helped to create a solid foundation for the project by fostering positive relationships within the ACTPAC consortium. The symposium on the second day was the culmination of the event, and it was a great pleasure for the consortium to experience the high level of interest in the project’s topic and to have had the opportunity to exchange ideas with interested individuals.
Author: Zheng Guo
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Keywords
consortium meeting, symposium, plastic waste, recycling, upcycling, catalysis, sustainability
