The European Society of Biochemical Engineering Sciences (ESBES) held its inaugural meeting on 21 April 2013 in Den Haag, Netherlands and is the successor body to the ESBES section of the European Federation of Biotechnology, which was established in 1995.

ESBES will be a membership body and open to European professional, scientific and technical societies, teaching, research and development institutions and other organisations concerned with the biochemical engineering sciences.

Speaking about the creation of the new body, IChemE chief executive, David Brown said, "We warmly welcome the creation of ESBES and the new opportunities it provides for academia, industry and biochemical professionals to work more closely together across Europe.”

He stressed the importance of international cooperation through the ESBES in achieving success and developments in the fields of applied biosciences, biochemical engineering, biotechnology, bioengineering and related engineering topics.

The new body will be led by its first president, Guilherme N M Ferreira, assistant professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Algarve. The society will receive secretariat support from the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE); the Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e.V. (DECHEMA), Germany; and Société Française de Génie de Procédés (SFGP), France.