Category: Awareness raising

FLEXIZYME project

FLEXIZYME project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 31/05/2028

Construction of a FLEXIble and adaptable enZYMatic biotechnological platform for sustainablE industrial production of bio-based fatty amines from side stream materials

FLEXIZYME project aims to develop a sustainable, scalable biotechnological platform to produce fatty amines from renewable biorefinery side streams. Through the integration of enzyme engineering, biocatalysis, and AI tools, the project will contribute to replacing traditional fossil-based production methods with sustainable and resource-efficient alternatives.

Contact:

Annabel Serpico, PhD: annabel.serpico@itene.com

website: https://www.flexizyme.eu/

FoodCoP project

FoodCoP project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 31/10/2026

Fuelling Startup Villages with Circular Bioeconomy Strategies

FoodCoP is an innovative venture to enhance interregional collaboration among Startup Villages, aligning stakeholder interests to catalyse sustainable growth through circular bioeconomy principles. It builds a collaborative framework, fosters food system transformation, and strengthens knowledge exchange among rural innovators across three Startup Village territories.

Contact:

Rita Barros: info@foodcop.eu

website: https://foodcop.eu; https://www.platform-foodcop.eu/

PROSPLIGN project

PROSPLIGN project

Posted on by Selenia Marinelli
This project ends on: 30/06/2027

Prospecting natural lignin biodiversity towards unlocking value-added bioactive motifs and molecules

PROSPLIGN aims to unlock the potential of lignin as a source of high-value bioactive molecules through an innovative bioprospecting approach combining chemical and enzymatic methods, statistical analysis and high-throughput screening. Using lignin derived from diverse plant species, the project investigates lignin-derived compounds for applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and fragrance sectors. Ultimately, PROSPLIGN seeks to contribute to a new generation of sustainable biobased bioactives while creating greater value from abundant and currently underutilised lignocellulosic biomass.

Contact:

Leanne Eve Frawley: malta@magfi.eu; leafra@magfi.eu

website: https://prosplign.eu/

Bio2PEs project

Bio2PEs project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/09/2029

Creating Sustainable Solutions for a Circular Future

Bio2PEs is an EU-funded project developing bio-based and biodegradable polyethylene (PE) and polyester from biomass waste to support Europe’s shift toward a circular plastics economy. Traditional plastics create long-lasting pollution, and Bio2PEs aims to tackle this by introducing scalable, sustainable alternatives aligned with the European Circular Economy Action Plan.

The project will design packaging prototypes in different sizes and assess their full lifecycle, including biodegradability in various European climates. To improve circularity, Bio2PEs integrates innovative features such as self-repairing coatings that extend product lifespan and fluorescence technology that makes products easier to sort and recycle.

Working closely with other EU initiatives, BIO2PEs also promotes consumer adoption of biodegradable materials through interactive labelling and contributes real-world data to an AI-driven tool that recommends the most sustainable material options.

Contact:

Debolina Paul, Digiotouch: debolina@digiotouch.com

website: https://www.bio2pes-project.eu/

MAGICBIOMAT project

MAGICBIOMAT project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/12/2028

Manufacturing Guiding Tool for Circular and Programmed Biodegradable Materials under Open Environment Conditions

MAGICBIOMAT aims to develop a portfolio of circular bio-based materials with programmed biodegradability, demonstrated through two applications with high littering rates: mulching films and paper-based packaging. The materials will be tested under different open-environment conditions, including soil, freshwater and marine environments, and across different European climates. The project will also develop a trustworthy AI-powered software tool to guide the design and manufacturing of novel bio-based materials according to application requirements and end-of-life conditions. Circularity is addressed through durability, reuse, remanufacturing and mechanical recycling, while behavioural studies and interactive labelling strategies will support consumer acceptance and appropriate use and disposal of biodegradable materials.

Contact:

Evi Stavrou: digital@isotech.com.cy

website: https://www.magicbiomat.eu/

ENABLS project

ENABLS project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/12/2026

ENABLS – education and Nature-Based Solutions: enable Society to bend the curve for biodiversity

ENABLS will set the basis of networking and collaboration to promote, embed and unfold Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) concepts and approaches within universities and vocational school, the professional sphere and society at large through transdisciplinary dialogue. ENABLS envisions the creation of 7 Living Labs (DE, NL, FI, AT, LT, EL, CZ), incorporating all ‘voices’ and leaving no one behind. The goal is to enable society to bend the curve for biodiversity in higher education and Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET). The ultimate objective is for ENABLS to contribute more

Contact:

Ann-Catrin Fender: anncatrin.fender@uni-hohenheim.de

website: https://enabls.eu

BIN2BEAN project

BIN2BEAN project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/11/2026

Boosting the market deployment of safe, effective and sustainable innovations for soil improvement from bio-waste, towards regenerative soil systems

BIN2BEAN aims to support EU cities in their transition towards healthy soils and soil regenerative systems, by optimising bio-waste recycling into soil improvers through innovative and economically viable value chains. Specifically, the project supports 3 Living Labs – Egaleo, Amsterdam and Hamburg – through the implementation of a multi-actor and participative approach to implement the following activities:

  • Map local contexts, in terms of state-of-progress, existing initiatives, needs, material and monetary flows.
  • Design a tailored evaluation framework to demonstrate the safety, environmental and socio-economic performance of bio-waste collection systems and soil improvers.
  • Develop a scoring system, fed by data from the evaluation framework, to help cities select the most effective and market-ready solutions adapted to their context.
  • Develop tailored and viable business and/or community models for the highest scored solutions, according to stakeholders’ willingness-to-adopt.
  • Draft local, national and EU policy roadmaps, including waste charging policies and citizen awareness campaigns.

Ultimately, the project will deliver a replication PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) toolbox enabling cities to create a continuous value-based improvement loop towards regenerative soil systems.

Contact:

Sara Daniotti, Consorzio Italbiotec: sara.daniotti@italbiotec.it

Marco Dreoni, ETA: marco.dreoni@etaflorence.it

website: https://www.bin2bean.eu/

ZELDA project

ZELDA project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/08/2029

ZEro-waste Lignocellulose-Derived biorefinery products for smArt plant protection

The ZELDA project aims to develop a new generation of entirely bio-based alternatives to chemical pesticides for crop protection.
Through a zero-waste biorefinery concept, ZELDA will fully valorise lignocellulosic biomasses such as birchwood, grape and tomato residues, and wheat straw into safe, sustainable formulations that combine cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, to produce immune-eliciting products.
Developed under a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework, ZELDA biosolutions will mimick a natural photogenic process to strengthen plant defences against fungal and bacterial pathogens, while promoting plant growth and acting directly as microbicides as secondary effects.
ZELDA also integrates digital and AI-based precision farming tools to optimise field application, reduce waste, and enhance environmental performance.
The efficacy of these bio-based solutions will be validated from lab to field on tomato, grape, and cereals across different Europe’s pedo-climatic agricultural regions.

Contact:

David Cannella: David.Cannella@ulb.be

website: https://zelda-project.eu/

NEBA Alliance project

NEBA Alliance project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/12/2026

New European Bauhaus Academy Alliance

The NEBA Alliance laid the foundation of the NEB Academy. Bringing together researchers and practitioners from 11 Member States, the Alliance mapped skills gaps and training opportunities in the European construction ecosystem and established the first five regional NEB Academy Hubs. The Hubs have piloted training models on bio-based materials, timber engineering, building design, circular economy, cultural heritage, digitalisation, and more. The NEB Academy’s initial collection of open trainings can be consulted in the online catalogue of courses.

Contact:

Uwe Kies, EU Outreach HUB Leader: Uwe.kies@innovawood.eu

https://neb.academy/ (website)

https://nebacademy.eu/ (educational platform)

https://www.linkedin.com/company/neb-academy/ (LinkedIn)

 

BIOPYRANIA project

BIOPYRANIA project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/09/2028

BIOBASED MONOMERS FROM SECOND GENERATION BIOMASS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE POLYMERS, COPOLYMERS AND BLENDS

Advanced polymers play a vital role in strategic European industries, particularly electric mobility and green hydrogen. Yet most high-performance polyamides and polybenzimidazoles are still made from fossil-based raw materials through energy-intensive processes. This increases greenhouse gas emissions and leaves Europe heavily dependent on imported petrochemical feedstocks.
Bio-based alternatives already exist, but many still struggle to meet the requirements of demanding industrial markets. As a result, there is still a clear gap between the availability of renewable resources and the development of advanced materials that can compete with established fossil-based products.
BIOPYRANIA was created to address this gap: the project is developing new circular value chains for the production of high-performance aromatic polymers from European waste wood and forestry residues. These renewable resources will be converted into sustainable molecular building blocks and, ultimately, into advanced polymer materials designed to replace fossil-based alternatives. In doing so, BIOPYRANIA will help reduce dependence on petrochemical resources, make better use of European biomass and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in advanced materials.
The project focuses on two key markets: electric mobility and green hydrogen. For the automotive sector, BIOPYRANIA will develop lightweight, durable and recyclable bio-based polyamides for use in electric vehicle components. For hydrogen technologies, it will develop innovative materials for anion exchange membranes used in electrolysers and fuel cells. These materials will be designed to meet demanding requirements for mechanical strength, thermal and chemical stability, durability and processability.
Rather than treating recycling as an issue to be addressed at the end, BIOPYRANIA considers material design, production, use and end-of-life together from the outset. The aim is to avoid downcycling and make it possible to recover valuable materials from complex, high-performance polymer products.
Overall, the project aims to reduce the use of fossil feedstocks, cut waste generation and CO₂ emissions, and improve the circularity of advanced polymer materials. At the same time, it will support the development of stronger and more competitive European value chains in strategic industrial sectors.
BIOPYRANIA brings together 13 partners from academia, research organisations, SMEs and industry, covering the expertise needed to develop, scale up, validate and assess the proposed solutions.

Contact:

Katrien Bernaerts: katrien.bernaerts@maastrichtuniversity.nl

website: https://biopyraniaproject.eu/