Bio-based industries form an important industrial sector in Europe. The annual turnover of EU's bioeconomy is worth two trillion euros and accounts for more than 22 million jobs and approximately 9% of the workforce. The European Commission has recognized the bioeconomy as one of the future drivers for sustainable economic growth and has shaped a strategy for the development of this industrial sector in Europe. The industry is responding to these challenges and trends by undertaking massive investments in order to renew its business. Until 2060, the European paper and fibre industry has committed to achieve about 40% of their future revenue growth, a sum of €3.5 billion p.a., from innovative bio-based products. To achieve the goal, the European bio-based fibre industry must be able to create innovative products, which are able to compete with fossil-based alternatives in terms of price, performance, productivity and environmental benefits. Instead of mimicking properties of fossil-based products, bio-based fibre products should aim for tailored functionalities, which utilize the specific benefits of the bio-based materials. To remain competitive against producers in low-wage resource-rich countries and sustain the bio-based fibre industries in Europe, a realistic alternative is to focus on new high added value products that have increased functionality but reduced environmental impact. To achieve these ambitious goals well-educated future fiber experts are the key and are trained by this project.

The traditional bio-based industry is undergoing an intense transformation. This is due to overcapacity, the push towards a bio-economy and changes in end-users and their needs. Therefore, there is an increasing need for completely new, environmentally friendly products and products with new functionalities. This transformation requires very specific research and experts with new types of skills and competences. Education and research at FibreNet specifically addressed this common challenge for a deeper understanding of the materials and their wide range of applications, thereby contributing to the creation of a new set of experts capable of meeting the challenges of industrial change and sustainable development. Fibres—their functionalization, fibre-fibre bonds and the interaction of fibres with other components of the fibre-products, have central role in forming the characteristics of the end-products. Project mission is to emphasize fibres in the product design and manufacturing and, for this purpose, to develop a common methodological toolbox that can be applied to different fields of fibre-based industry. Aim of the project is: - increased competitiveness of the European bio-based industry, - training versatile and competitive fibre-professionals for the European job markets through coherent, carefully planned and executed PhD studies and by helping to build strong professional networks, - sustainable development.