Residues & bioeconomy events delivers new innovation

In October, our Innovatek team delivered our largest and most comprehensive conference of 2025. We combined our long-standing Wood Residues2Revenues Conference with the inaugural Bioeconomy Innovations Conference. Close to 300 delegates were on hand to see the latest innovations and technologies for extracting energy and value from wood fibres.

With over 32 speaker presentations from a range of local experts and overseas innovators, delegates were also full of questions during the 16 Question & Answer Panel sessions over the two days of the conference in Rotorua.

Conference delegates were also treated to the launch of a new Government “Wood Energy Strategy and Action Plan” by Hon Simon Watts, Minister for Energy.

Coinciding with the two conference was the official launch of the $63 million research factory processing biowaste into chemicals, glues and bioplastics will turbocharge the biotechnology sector when it opens in Rotorua next year. The biofactory will be a commercial-scale facility that will transform low-value wood, food waste and animal products into high-value ingredients, which its promoters say will change industries and create new ones.

The factory is to be built on the Rotorua Campus of the Bioeconomy Science Institute. The facility is charged with two main research aims – identifying opportunities in the wood fibre, pulp, biopolymer, packaging and biochemical industries and from their biomass side stream, and increasing New Zealand’s energy security through the use of forest and waste biomass for bioenergy.

Further details can be viewed on the event websites, Residues2Revenues 2025 & Bioeconomy Innovations 2025.

Source: Innovatek