The BIORAF project: Training tomorrow's biorefinery experts

Since January 2025, Fibre Excellence has been a partner in the BIORAF project. This project, carried out in collaboration with Grenoble INP - UGA and Clermont Auvergne INP, aims to offer innovative higher education in the field of biorefineries.

Winner of season 2 of the call for expressions of interest (AMI) “Skills and Professions of the Future” (CMA), BIORAF draws on the complementary expertise of Grenoble INP (Pagora and Industrial Engineering) and Clermont Auvergne INP, with the support of industrial partners such as
BIO-VALO and Fibre Excellence. It also benefits from the support of the Campus des Métiers et des Qualifications d'Excellence Chimie AURA and the AXELERA and VEGEPOLYS VALLEY competitiveness clusters.
The project has a total budget of €4.6 million, of which €3 million is financed by France 2030.

This project illustrates the joint commitment of public authorities and industry to developing skills and innovation in the field of biorefineries. It responds to a strategic need: to train highly qualified professionals to support the rise of bio-based solutions and strengthen the sector's competitiveness.
Christine Chirat, professor at INP Grenoble and project coordinator, emphasized in an article in La Tribune last October: “The originality of this training program lies in its strong industrial roots and its global vision of economic and environmental issues.”
 

A partnership supporting the ecological transition

Biorefineries are key players in industrial decarbonization: they transform plant biomass into bio-based products, biofuels, and bioenergy. With 143 biorefineries in Europe and growing demand for sustainable alternatives, the sector represents a major driver of innovation.

To support this transition, BIORAF offers master's and doctoral-level training programs focused on biotechnological processes, eco-design, and the characterization of bio-based products. The approach is holistic, covering the entire value chain, from the characterization of raw materials to the assessment of the carbon footprint of processes.

Fibre Excellence plays a central role by contributing its expertise in cellulose production and the development of new outlets for bio-based products. François Vessière, Director of Research and Development at Fibre Excellence, explained this to La Tribune:

"In our company, we operate a biorefinery, recovering wood to produce mainly cellulose for paper pulp. But our ambition is to recover more components of this raw material to minimize waste."

Thanks to BIORAF, Fibre Excellence is strengthening its commitment to a circular economy, affirming its ambition to develop its expertise and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable industry.
 

A partnership to train tomorrow's engineers

Starting in the 2025 academic year, the first students from partner schools will benefit from the teachings of this project. It was launched on March 18 in Grenoble.

As an industrial partner, Fibre Excellence will play a central role in the training and professional integration of future engineers. Ultimately, BIORAF will train 220 students each year, preparing them to meet the challenges of the circular economy and ecological transition.

Students will benefit from teaching in the form of collaborative projects in direct interaction with partner companies. Part of the training will take place in industrial facilities, offering concrete immersion in the realities of the sector.

“This is a training program of excellence that will enable us to meet the concrete needs of companies,” François Vessière told La Tribune, before continuing, “Students will be able to benefit from the facilities at our research center. They will be able to validate their practical work there.”

For more information, see the article in La Tribune on October 28, 2024, Training: this new program to fuel the rise of biorefineries. and read the Grenoble INP – UGA press release presenting the project.