The 15th BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Philadelphia took place from the 16th until the 19th of July 2018. The Netherlands was once again represented in the Holland Biotech Pavilion, which included 15 Dutch organisations and companies with a focus on biotechnology, biochemistry, energy, feedstock production, transport and logistics. The eye-catching pavilion was coordinated for the 6th time in a row by BE-Basic Foundation (requested by Topsector Chemie) as part of the Strategic Conferences Program.

The BIO World Congress continues to be the largest industrial biotechnology conference in the world, and this year’s event had a significant international presence with 44 percent of attendees coming from outside the United States. Additionally, more than 100 new companies were in attendance in Philadelphia.

The congress hosted more than 2000 partnering meetings that many Dutch participated in. The three days of BIO World Congress programming included over 70 programming sessions, featuring 28 breakout sessions across seven tracks, more than 20 poster presentations, 10 GreenTech Investor Sessions and four sponsored workshops amongst which several of the  Dutch participants. The conference also offered a new efficient element of the program featuring 60 company and technical presentations. This congress provided a very useful platform for international cooperation: for Dutch industries at an international market, and for international investments into the Netherlands.

The Holland Biotech Pavilion in-booth event about “Highlights of the Dutch Bioeconomy” was well attended. During this event Willem Sederel (Board member Biobased Delta Internationalisation) presented the Holland Biotech Pavilion and interactively introduced the participants and their activities as well as the ins and outs of the Dutch Bioeconomy and its strong international position within.

During the Holland Business Partnering Reception, Bram Brouwer (Managing Director of BE-Basic Foundation) presented the Bike Raffle, sponsored by Rabobank and LeidenMarketing, which once again attracted a lot of attention at the Holland Biotech Pavilion. The winner, Mr. Frederik de Bruyn (Bio Base Europe) was very happy with his new bicycle in traditional Dutch colours. 

Here you can find an impression of the Holland Biotech Pavilion at the BIO World Congress in Philadelphia.