Page 34 - Biorefinery 2030

Unique, Multi-generational Development: 1
A Lesson in Forward Planning

Summary
The Champagne Ardenne region was originally an agricultural area heavily
disadvantaged by its geological features. Today it is considered very produc-
tive thanks to the determination of its farmers, their ability to take advantage
of technical advances, to join together to adapt to economic, social and
environmental changes. The dynamism of the agricultural cooperative has
been a key factor for these advances and the development of the Bazancourt-
Pomacle site cannot be understood without looking back at its history.
This historical review will highlight the different factors that have led to the
construction of the Bazancourt-Pomacle site as we know it today:

– The Bazancourt-Pomacle biorefinery is the result of an incremental pro-
cess that was not pre-planned.
– The Bazancourt-Pomacle biorefinery is the fulfilment of an intergenera-
tional process.
– The Bazancourt-Pomacle biorefinery is the result of a long process that
perfectly illustrates the processes of innovation through which a weakness
can become a strength when circumstances are favourable.
– The Bazancourt-Pomacle biorefinery is an example of the Ricardian pro-
cess of capitalising on local comparative advantage.
– The Bazancourt-Pomacle biorefinery has grown organically thanks to the
presence of leaders, both of opinions and of men.

All these factors together have led both farmers and biorefinery managers to
think of new uses for plants and to launch new industrial projects, often
related to research, of which the Bazancourt-Pomacle site is a vivid
illustration.

# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 1
P.-A. Schieb et al., Biorefinery 2030, DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-47374-0_1