A New Spotlight on Projects to Reduce or Avoid Emissions From Timber and Timber Products

The German Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection has cast a new spotlight on projects to reduce or avoid emissions from timber and timber products within its renewable raw materials funding initiative. The project manager, Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR), has been accepting proposals since 1 October 2013; the deadline for submissions is 31 March 2014. The new funding spotlight is geared primarily towards research projects looking at the correct toxicological evaluation of emissions from wood and wood products and that examine current emissions limit values from wood building materials. In addition, projects to adjust or refine wood building materials that reduce or avoid emissions altogether may receive funding. Subjects eligible for funding will have to be expected to show technical, economic and environmental efficiency; adequate market and value-added potential must also exist.