SOFOFA HUB: 2021 Annual Report

“Collaborative spaces for sustainable development” is the title of SOFOFA Hub’s 2021 Annual Report, a document in which we summarized the main milestones and achievements of the past year.

Inspired by the collaborative work with other stakeholders in society, SOFOFA Hub has arrived to the conviction that this is the way forward toward sustainable development.

The current scenario challenges us to rethink processes, integrate new capabilities, and seek new paths. That is why connecting with other outlooks and uniting the talents of science, innovation, and entrepreneurship is key to addressing the common challenges we face as a country.

Circular economy

Through local and international alliances with the public and private sector, we were able to identify 150 opportunities for industrial symbiosis that present significant potential both in Chile and at a global scale, based on a work developed within the framework of the SCALE 360º Program, an Initiative of the World Economic Forum led in Chile by SOFOFA Hub. The focus was on food and beverages; agriculture and aquaculture; mining and construction; forestry & wood pulp; and energy.

In 2022, this program —which comprises 42 participants and 15 companies— will focus its efforts on validating 85 prioritized opportunities with various of society’s stakeholders, including authorities, companies from other sectors, entrepreneurs and scientists, among others.

That validation is the point from which we intend to advance towards pilot projects or the scaling of the closest opportunities. Industrial symbiosis is possibly the most effective way to accelerate Chile’s transition to circular economy.

Mining

Our country has a great mining tradition. For this reason, this industry has played an important role for SOFOFA Hub. This is how, jointly with the Center for Copper and Mining Studies (CESCO), we created the Circular Economy Committee for Mining.

It is a space of articulation between companies interested in promoting circular economy from that sector. This committee is comprised of representatives from AngloAmerican, Codelco, Antofagasta Minerals, Teck, Glencore, the Ministry of Mining and Corporación Alta Ley.

This initiative has three subcommittees that articulate specific projects to advance industrial symbiosis from this sector’s specific by-products: Copper slags, tailings and tires. The aim is to scale up these opportunities for industrial symbiosis and overcome the pre-existing regulatory, legislative and cultural barriers to implement them.

Biotechnology: building bridges with industry

The Center for Translational Biotechnology (CBT) stood out in 2021 in its role as a liaison for collaboration between companies seeking biotechnological solutions and those capable of offering them, fostering the development of the biotechnology industry at the local level.

Through its assessments and assistance, the CBT generated important instances to support the development of biotechnology projects with scalability potential, that are attractive to the main productive sectors.

We highlight the Biotech Hemisphere call, issued in September, which was answered by 19 proposals for biotechnological solutions developed at the laboratory level, that seek to be implemented as pilots at the industrial scale.

The articulation of three public-private tables, the Biobanking Table, the Microorganisms and Algae Table, and the Cultured Meat Table, has been another of the CBT’s milestone. Each of them involved stakeholders from the research world, companies, and public sector representatives interested in developing regulatory frameworks in accordance with international standards and the latest industry developments.

These are just a few of SOFOFA Hub’s milestones during 2021. We invite you to review in further detail the work done last year in our Annual Report.

Download 2021 Annual Report in Spanish: Click here.

Download 2021 Annual Report in English: Click here.

Menu