About BioGlue-Centre

Last changed: 19 January 2024

The BioGlue-Centre is a network of excellence in the field of bio-based adhesives in co-operation with 3 universities and 12 companies from different industrial sectors (furniture, construction, packaging), sharing the same research questions around adhesives and bonding. The Centre responds to the urgent need in these sectors to become more sustainable by increasing the speed of finding bio-based alternatives to the vast amounts of the, almost exclusively, fossil-based adhesives used today. These sectors alone consume about 25% of all adhesives produced world-wide, and thus represent a major market share.

The substitution of fossil-based adhesives with bio-adhesives has hitherto not been possible since there is a lack of fundamental knowledge to create high-performing and more environment-friendly products. The vision of the centre to become a worldleading research environment will be accomplished through development of paradigm-shifting knowledge on bio-based adhesives in three research areas: raw materials and formulations, aspects of adhesives, and end-use requirements and sustainability. Such a research environment, focusing on adhesives and adhesive function, does not exist today at international level. The Centre provides a unique opportunity to strongly influence novel research directions and revolutionise the field of bio-adhesives, thus bringing about several benefits for the involved partners and contributing to a more sustainable industry. 

BioGlue-Centre highlights

  • World-leading research environment through development of paradigm-shifting fundamental knowledge on bio-based adhesives
  • Unites sectors sharing the same research questions around adhesives and adhesive bonding: furniture, packaging and construction
  • Responds to urgent need of increased sustainability by replacing fossil-based adhesives with bio-based alternatives
  • Globally unique and "once in a lifetime" opportunity for a market corresponding to 25 % of all adhesives produced world-wide​
  • Creates competitive advantages for large companies and SMEs.
  • Provides a pool of highly-educated academic- and industrial researchers

Vision and objectives

The vision of the BioGlue-Centre is to significantly reduce the dependency on fossil-based materials in the adhesive industry by developing paradigm-shifting knowledge of bio-based adhesives and becoming a world-leading research environment in Sweden.

To achieve the vision of defossilisation in the adhesive industry, we have defined the following medium-term (5-10 years) strategic steps as co-creation between key research groups and stakeholders along the value chain:

  1. Develop new fundamental knowledge, including methods and technologies on bio-based adhesive systems that will create a paradigm shift in adhesives, receive international attention, and act as an enabler for industrial implementation

  2. Design an application roadmap of bio-based systems that goes beyond the current state-of-the-art – fulfilling laboratory (5 years) and industrial-relevant requirements (10 years)

  3. Define methodological approaches to evaluate the environmental sustainability of new bio-adhesive technologies and the circular and sustainable use of products

  4. Establish knowledge exchange and mobility routines between academia and industry (both directions) at multiple points within the value chain

  5. Educate the next generation of young scientists using updated curricula to become a highly employable, specialised workforce for academia and industry

Consortium

The BioGlue-Centre consortium is built to be highly representative of the sectors of interest and to effectively respond to their challenges in terms of raw materials, aspects of adhesives, requirements and sustainability. Fifteen partners along the value chain will participate, including universities, bio-based feedstock providers, adhesive manufacturers, end-product manufacturers, and associations. A key benefit for all partners will originate from understanding and successfully developing high-performance bio-based adhesives for multiple applications.

BioGlue-Centre is initially comprised of:

  • Three Swedish universities: SLU, KTH, and LNU
  • Four Gold partners, strongly influencing BioGlue-Centre’s management as members of the Board: IKEA, AkzoNobel, Stora Enso, and Tetra Pak
  • Two Silver partners, participating in all BioGlue-Centre activities, with access to the entire network and the possibility to lead special activities, such as workshops, seminars, etc. Södra and BASF
  • Six Bronze partners, participating in all BioGlue-Centre activities, with access to the entire network: Lantmännen, IsoTimber, Masonite Beams, Green Furniture Concept, 2D fab, and Swedish Wood.

Organization

All partners are represented in the General Assembly, the main governing body for appointing the Director, Vice Directors, and Board members, and making decisions on new BioGlue-Centre partners. The Board takes all formal decisions related to BioGlue-Centre´s activities, including project approvals, handling of IP, budget allocation, etc. A Management Team, composed of the Director, the two Vice Directors, the three WP leaders, and an operational support team for administrative coordination, finance and communication (Secretariat), supports the Director.

The Industrial Advisory Board is composed of a majority of industry representatives  and has the tasks of assessing new project applications, providing recommendations to the Board, and monitoring progress in the ongoing projects.

 

Management Team 

Stergios Adamopoulos
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 

Eva Malmström (Vice Director)
KTH

Peter Herder (Vice Director)
IKEA

 

WP leaders

Linda Fogelström (WP1)
KTH

Stergios Adamopoulos (WP2)
SLU

Reza Hosseinpourpia (WP3)
LNU


Board members

Academia

Göran Ericsson
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Mikael Thyrel
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Jesper Andersson
Linnaeus University

Daniel Söderberg
KTH Royal Institute of Technology

 

Gold members

Niklas Johansson
IKEA

Anders Brolin
Stora Enso (chair)

Katarina Jonasson
Tetra Pak (deputy chair)

Erik Pettersson Thyboll
AkzoNobel

Representing Silver members

Stefan Weinkoetz
BASF

Representing Bronze members

Janina Östling
IsoTimber

 

Industrial Advisory Board

Erik Pettersson Thyboll and Anna Furberg
AkzoNobel (chair)

Svante Nordänger and Peter Herder
IKEA

Jesper Ekstrom and Reeta-Maria Stod
Stora Enso

Anna Svensson and Katarina Jonasson
Tetra Pak

Karin Walter and Kristoffer Segerholm
Södra

Stephan Weinkoetz and Ralph Lunkwitz
BASF