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)
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Indigenous welcome
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Honourable Ravi Parmar, FOR, British Columbia, Canada (TBC)
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Her Excellency Hanna-Leena Korteniemi, Ambassador of Finland to Canada, Finland
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Orlando J. Rojas, Scientific Director, BioProducts Institute (BPI), University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada
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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
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VTT’s Innovations in Biomaterials and the Power of Partnerships -Alina Ruonala-Lindgren, Co-creation Manager, VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland
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Removing and destroying PFAS with Activated Carbon derived from Forests and Woods-Hassan Pardawalla, Chief Operational Officer, ReAct Materials, Canada
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Innovating to address weak residuals markets and shuttered mill infrastructure - the case for wood fiber insulation in North America-Joshua Henry, Chief Executive Officer, Timber HP, USA
12:00 PM
Lunch Break – Sponsor Presentations/Start-up Pitches
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Presentation: Advancing the Bioeconomy in BC and Beyond-Sandy Ferguson, Bioeconomy Advisor and Principal SF Consulting, BioNEXT, Foresight Canada
1:00 PM
Session #2- Indigenous Bioeconomy Development and Research Collaboration
Session Chair: Qingcen Cai, Manager, Indigenous Opportunities, FOR
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HFN Forestry LP.– Advancing Value Upstream - Patrick Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, HFN Group of Businesses (Timber Tiles), Canada
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Developing & Commercializing New Tech in BC Forestry-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
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Innovative and sustainable packaging materials development at Unilever- Mark Newman, R&D Director, Unilever, UK
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Paper-Recyclable thermoforming films for producing rigid packaging- Jordan MacKenzie, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Bioform, Canada
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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
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Alina Ruonala-Lindgren, Co-creation Manager, VTT, Finland
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Juha Salmela, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Spinnova, Finland
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Joshua Henry, Chief Executive Officer, Timber HP, USA
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Mark Newman, R&D Director, Unilever, UK
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Luis Alberto Otero Vázquez, Head of Innovation, FORESA, Spain
5:15 PM
Closing Remarks
5:30 PM
Network Reception Sponsored by Canadian Council of Forest Ministers & Global Affairs Canada
Welcome Remarks
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CCFM-Shane Berg, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Forester, Ministry of Forests, British Columbia, Canada
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Advancing the Bioeconomy: The Basque Region’s Strategy and Opportunities for Cooperation, Olatz Unamunzaga, General Director at NEIKER, Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Spain
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
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Development of synthetic graphite from forestry waste for energy storage - Dr. Lukas Bichler, Scientific Director and Professor, UBC Okanagan CleanTech Hub, Canada
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Spinnova- idea to product- Juha Salmela, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Spinnova, Finland
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Engineering Nanocellulose for Sustainable PFAS-free Lithium Battery Electrodes- 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
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Feng Jiang, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Sustainable Functional Biomaterials, UBC, Canada
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David Gill, General Manager, Ntityix Resources LP, Canada
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David A. McCormick, Economic Development Manager, Uchucklesaht Tribe Government, Canada
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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
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Horizon Europe- Dr. Piergiuseppe Morone, Professor of Economic Policy, University of Rome & Dr. Danilo Porro, Professor, Industrial Biotechnology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy
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Fibenol: Sustainable Innovation in Chemicals & Materials-Gert Preegel, MCC Innovation and Development Manager, Fibenol, Estonia
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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)
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Mario Bonaccorso, Director, Cluster SPRING- Italy
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Beth Mason, Executive Chair, Verschuren Centre- Nova Scotia, Canada RISE-Sweden
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Marie-Claude Marie-Claude Béland, RISE-Sweden
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Ferran Martí, Head of Innovation, AIMPLAS Instituto Tecnológico del Plástico, Spain
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Marc Gaugler, Portfolio Leader Distributed and Circular Manufacturing, Scion, New Zealand
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
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Shane Berg, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Forester, Ministry of Forests, British Columbia, Canada
9:00 AM
Concurrent Presentation and Matchmaking Sessions
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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 biobased products diversification - Jean-Philippe Jacques, Director, Innofibre, Canada
11:30 AM
Mercer’s Lignin Pathway – Bill Adams, , Chief Sustainability Officer, Mercer International Inc.
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Moderator: Sandy Ferguson, Director, BioNEXT, Foresight Canada
9:00 AM
Bioproduct Start-ups One-On-One Matchmaking Sessions
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List of companies (TBD)
10:00 AM
Coffee Break
10:30 AM
Matchmaking Session Continues
12:00 PM
Networking Lunch
1:00 PM
Final Panel Session: Accelerating BC Forest Bioeconomy Development and Diversification
Moderator: Elicia Maine, Associate Vice-President and Professor, SFU, Canada
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Bill Adams, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mercer International Inc., Canada
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Stéphane Renou, President and Chief Executive Officer, FPInnovations, Canada
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Orlando J. Rojas, Scientific Director, BPI, UBC, Canada
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Meahgan Seagrave, Executive Director, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC)
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Gurminder Minhas, Managing Director, Performance BioFilaments, Canada
2:00 PM
Closing Remarks- Honorable Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests, FOR (TBD)
IEA Bioenergy Task 43 Workshop
Addressing Investment Barriers by Improving Documentation of Sustainable Biomass Resources
Time: May 8th Thursday 13:30-18:00 PST
Location: Marine Room, The Westin Bayshore
All interested attendees are invited to a workshop hosted by IEA Bioenergy Task 43 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory immediately following the Forest Innovation & Bioeconomy Conference. This interactive session will introduce the new Global Biomass Resource Dataset and Web Portal, recently launched to support informed decision-making on biomass supply and sustainability across 62 countries.
Organizations Presenting
Explore the organizations participating in our event, with more to be added as they are confirmed.
