Transnational Cooperation

ERA-IB (2006-2011)

ERA-IB is an ERA-NET funded from the European Commission's sixth Framework Programme. In the ERA-NET "Towards an ERA in Industrial Biotechnology" 17 partners and 5 observers from 12 different countries joined forces to reduce fragmentation of national research efforts in the area of Industrial Biotechnology (IB). The ERA-IB network started in 2006 and within its five-year duration the partners aimed to reduce fragmentation of national research efforts and to achieve sufficient critical mass and better use of scarce resources in the field of Industrial Biotechnology. ERA-IB network has launched two transnational joint calls:

Transnational Calls 2007 and 2009

ERA-IB launched two transnational calls for research projects in 2007 and 2009, under the topic: Industrial Biotechnology for Europe – an Integrated Approach.

2^nd Call (2009)

Submitted projects	46
Funded projects	10
Success rate	22%
Portuguese success rate	25%
Budget (M€)	11.1

The participating countries were: Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Finland, France, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Romania.

The panel of independent experts recommended for funding 10 transnational proposals, 2 of which with Portuguese participation, from a total of 45 submitted proposals. The total budget for the 2^nd call was 11.1 M €, and FCT financed approximately 300.000 €.

PROJECTS RECOMMENDED FOR FUNDING WITH PORTUGUESE PARTICIPATION

Robust fermentation production of tacrolimus and related immunosuppressors: Molecular genetics and metabolic engineering to construct a by-product free superproducer – IMMUNOTEC, project led in Portugal by Marta Vaz Mendes (IBMC), with a total budget of 165.100€ for the 3 year duration of the project;
Integral Engineering of Acetic Acid Tolerance in Yeast – INTACT , project led in Portugal by Isabel Sá-Correia (IBB/IST), with a total budget of 128.800€ for the 3 year duration of the project.

1^st Call (2007)

Submitted projects	32
Funded projects	8
Success rate	25%
Portuguese success rate	18%
Budget (M€)	9.7

The participating countries were: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Netherlands, Poland and Portugal.

The 1^st ERA-IB call allowed the academic and industrial researchers to establish cross-border partnerships in research in Industrial Biotechnology. From 32 submitted proposals, 8 research projects were selected for funding. The total budget for the 1^st call was approximately 9.7 M €, and FCT financed 345.000 €. In total, 51 research teams were funded through this call, with an increase of 7 teams who participated with their own funding.

FUNDED PROJECTS WITH PORTUGUESE PARTICIPATION

ERA-NOEL - Novel Enzyme Tools For Production of Functional Oleochemicals from Unsaturated Lipids, led in Portugal by Armando Silvestre (U. Aveiro), with a total budget of 145.000 €, for the 3 year duration of the project.
BioProChemBB - Bio-based production of Chemical building blocks: Corynebacterium glutamicum as a platform for new and efficient bioprocesses, led in Portugal by Helena Santos (ITQB), with a total budget of 200.000 € for the 3 year duration of the project.