Category: Biomass availability, quality, supply and sustainability

RootLinks project

RootLinks project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/03/2029

Primary Sector Working Group Support Project

Despite their crucial role in the circular bioeconomy, primary producers across Europe struggle with participation in the bio-based sector’s research and innovation projects due to limited access to information, low awareness about bio-based solutions, and complex financial and regulatory environment. The RootLinks project addresses these challenges by enhancing capacity-building, training and collaboration across agriculture, forestry and the blue economy. The project helps primary producers engage in research and innovation funding programmes, adopt innovative business models, benefit from them, and contribute to energy and nutrient recycling, rural regeneration and generational renewal. Through knowledge exchange and partnerships, RootLinks aims to empower primary producers, and strengthen their role in the bio-based value chains.RootLinks will support the CBE JU working group on primary producers tasked to address the challenges and use the opportunities of the sector.

Contact:

Elena Reger: e.reger@fnr.de

website: https://rootlinks.eu/

HarWASTing project

HarWASTing project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 28/02/2029

VALORISATION OF HARVESTED AGROFORESTRY BIOMASS WASTE AS FEEDSTOCK FOR VALUE-ADDED BIO-BASED SOLUTIONS AS A GREEN DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY

HarWASTing aims to develop innovative business models based on circular economy (CE) principles to promote bioeconomy in rural areas, by implementing a set of scalable and replicable technological solutions to efficiently exploit underutilised biomass from forestry and agriculture to develop innovative and high-value products. These models will support sustainable management practices and will promote an efficient use of natural resources, reducing overall waste generation and post-harvest losses by implementing valorisation processes and fostering CE principles.
To this end, a methodology will be implemented to collect, treat and revalorize biomass from forest and agricultural harvest, pruning waste and bioethanol process side-streams, respecting the cascade principle for biomass use. A one-fits all technology, Hydrothermal Carbonization, for a higher energy efficient treatment of lignocellulosic biomass residues will be combined with Pressurized Hot Water Extraction and innovative post-treatment technologies, to develop high value added products and avoid any non-valorised side-stream. The whole concept will be demonstrated at small-scale pilot, built-upon existing wood, food and bioenergy value chains to further strengthen their economic and environmental sustainability through synergistic interlinkages between them. Mediterranean, Boreal and Continental bioregions will be studied.
The holistic concept is based on the central valorisation route of Hydrothermal Carbonization and its solid product, hydrochar, that is converted into hybrid wood-hydrochar panels with less than 10% of bio-adhesive for special applications such as fire protection or electromagnetic shielding. A novel support AI-based digital tool for forecasting agroforest feedstock availability will be developed. Innovative digital passports will help to commercialize the panels and bio-adhesives. The hydrochar will be offered on a new digital platform which also serves for networking and for publishing of best-practices.

Contact:

Irene Beleña: ibelena@aidimme.es

website: https://harwasting.eu/

BOOST4BIOEAST project

BOOST4BIOEAST project

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

BOOSTing the bioeconomy transformation FOR (4) the BIOEAST region

The BOOST4BIOEAST project was developed to support the BIOEAST Initiative and aims to empower national stakeholders in the Central Eastern European and Baltic countries for the development of national bioeconomy action plans and to build long-lasting structures and spaces of dialogue for national and macro-regional cooperation.
The project follows the footsteps of its predecessor, the BIOEASTsUP H2020 project, building upon its outcomes that laid the foundation for macro-regional networking among bioeconomy experts and policymakers through the development of its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (BIOEAST SRIA) and 11 Bioeconomy Concept Papers of 2022.

Contact:

Korinna Varga (Project Coordinator): korinna.varga@biokutatas.hu

website: https://bioeast.eu/

BIOECONOMY GIANTS project

BIOECONOMY GIANTS project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/12/2027

FosterinG collaboratIon among primAry producers and beyoNd to promoTe Sustainable growth

BIOECONOMY GIANTS aims to enhance collaboration between primary producers, rural actors and bio-based industries to accelerate Europe’s transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. Through a multi-actor approach, it promotes cooperative and circular bio-based business models (CCBBMs) that turn agricultural, forestry and agri-food by-products into new value. The project supports over 80 primary producers with tailored capacity-building, direct financial support via two Open Calls, and dedicated decision-making tools (Impact Shift and Coompy), aiming to deliver 30+ new bio-based products, cut life-cycle impacts by up to 20%, create over 130 jobs and generate more than €44M in annual sales.

Contact:

Carlos Pérez Montero (FOOD+i, Project Coordinator): cperez@clusterfoodmasi.es

website: https://bioeconomygiants.com

SYMBA project

SYMBA project

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

Securing local supplY chains via the development of new Methods to assess the circularity and symbiosis of the Bio-bAsed industrial ecosystem enhancing the EU competitiveness and resource independence.

Within the EU bio-based sector, disjointed information systems perpetuate inefficiencies, resulting in suboptimal value chains and an uneven distribution of economic benefits. This lack of cohesion hampers progress towards a circular economy and sustainable practices. In this context, the EU-funded SYMBA project aims to reshape the narrative by introducing an innovative industrial symbiosis methodology, backed by a user-friendly AI database. Specifically, the project will create a circular economy blueprint for the bio-based sector. Its innovative approach encompasses a user-friendly AI database and aims to enhance local supply chains, benefit stakeholders and elevate the economic value of final products.
The SYMBA project aims at creating a new and innovative IS method to be replicated within EU according to the local/regional bio-based industrial ecosystem. SYMBA will implement a user-friendly and accessible AI database suggesting regional IS innovative processes to create zero-waste value chains, ensuring more local supply chains; a better distribution of economic and social benefits among the stakeholders and an increase in the economic value of final products.
SYMBA solution, aligned with the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, is based on a threefold approach: i) Creation and validation of new IS methodology for the bio-based sector, starting from existing knowledge and lessons earned from SYMBA consortium partners. ii) Individuation of criteria to select regional hubs. iii) AI database including Monitoring tools, waste relation matrix, networking and cooperation with ongoing EU and local networks.
The partnership has been intentionally selected by its expertise, network with key external stakeholders and geographical reach, bringing together 5 EU countries (IT, ES, BE, NL, DE) to consolidate the maximum outreach of the initiative. It consists of 9 partners with complementary competences: 4 RTD centers (CIRCE, CTB, AIMPLAS; CET); 1 large industry (NVMT); 1 pilot facility (BBEPP); 1 innovative SME (ENCO) and 2 networks (CKIC and ICLEI) with a valuable background in applying IS approach in the bio-based sector, providing services to companies and creating awareness and networking among citizens, policy makers, EU initiatives. Through the involvement of different industrial sectors: agri-food (NVMT); packaging (AIMPLAS); wastewater (CET); textile (CTB); waste valorisation (BBEPP), SYMBA will demonstrate how to shift from a linear to a circular economy contributing to deliver bio-based solutions with reduced environmental impacts on soil, water and air quality.

Contact:

Antonietta Pizza: pizza@enco-consulting.it

website: https://www.symbaproject.eu/

thERBN project

thERBN project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/12/2027

THEMATIC EUROPEAN RURAL BIOECONOMY NETWORK

The objective of thERBN is to put into operation an EU-wide multi-actor (MA) thematic network (TN) for knowledge sharing on innovative solutions for sustainable circular bioeconomy (CB) applicable by small farms and foresters (practitioners) at a local scale in rural areas. Such a framework will contribute to empowering practitioners (PPs) to solve the gap between available and viable CB solutions and the problems they face in their everyday lives. Starting from their most urgent needs on the management and use of biological by-products and residues, thERBN will identify existing solutions from grassroots from PPs, innovations developed by Operational Groups (OGs), and research applied results from national and EU projects, to produce practice-oriented, easily understandable materials to be shared in national and EU demo days and training and through channels most consulted by PPs. thERBN TN will assure open access to long-term digital structures like EU-Farmbook and EU-CAP Network, complemented by the thERBN platform to facilitate multilingual access and a social environment to interact among and integrate CB-interested OGs, TNs & project communities, thus enhancing the cross-border dimensions and effects of thERBN TN, and reducing the fragmentation in knowledge and innovation. The MA thERBN TN will connect with the key actors (researchers, advisors, innovation brokers) and structures (national and regional AKIS, extension services, advisors networks) necessary to encompass the transition of small rural farms and foresters towards climate neutrality and more sustainable and resilient operation. Bottom-up MA-based dialogue will yield evidence on the current PPs’ needs, the remaining gaps for CB solutions that new innovative products and services can cover, and policy briefs proposing policies or instruments to support the adoption of small-scale CB solutions by small farms.

Contact:

Edelbis López Dávila (Project Coordinator): Edelbis.LopezDavila@UGent.be
Alexandra Gkouma (Communication Manager): gkouma@qplan-intl.gr
Flavia Fusconi (Dissemination and Networking): fusconi@apre.it

website: https://therbn.eu/

RBRF project

RBRF project

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

Small-scale Circular Green Biorefineries for increasing farmer sustainability and competitiveness and building resilient rural areas

Rural BioReFarmeries brings together farmers, industries and other partners across Europe, to demonstrate a farmer-centred bioeconomy model aimed at maximizing the potential of Europe’s vast grasslands. The project will demonstrate a novel small-scale, decentralized, rural green biorefinery value chain, which addresses the limitations of existing green biorefineries. This small-scale decentralized model places farmers at the centre of the biomass value creation close to their farms, allowing them to co-produce inputs for their farms, with additional high value-added intermediates and products, which will be further developed in collaboration with centralized facilities and downstream industry partners. The model provides a practical implementation of the bioeconomy among a large farmer cohort and builds on the existing farm enterprises and cooperative structures of our partners, enabling collaboration, scale-up, market access, and building synergies across primary and industrial sectors. The project advances state-of-the-art for green biorefinery in terms of operational model, logistics, processing, product development and assessment methods, which collectively deliver a more sustainable and profitable model for farmers and rural communities. The model will serve as a blueprint for farmers to sustainably diversify into the bioeconomy, reducing their farm emissions while creating new products which displace unsustainable alternatives in a range of agri-food markets. Rural BioReFarmeries model will be replicated to diverse regions of Europe, supported by the development of inclusive business models and hands-on training among multi-actor groups and communities in regions of high potential. The project represents a highly replicable model for Europe’s abundant grasslands, helping farmers to deal with sustainability and profitability challenges while helping rural communities to become more resilient while realizing the potential of their local bioresources.

Contact:

Giulia Pastor: refarm@australo.org

website: https://ruralbiorefarmeries.eu/

LAB Biofine project

LAB Biofine project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/05/2027

LAB Biofine

LAB Biofine is a bold innovation and development platform for the bioeconomy. We help companies turn bio-based ideas into sustainable business through agile piloting, cutting-edge research, and international collaboration. Our activities are centred around a pilot plant based on pressurised hot water extraction and deep eutectic solvents, with advanced separation capabilities.

Contact:

Dr. Antti Kapanen, Specialist for International Networks: antti.kapanen@lab.fi

website: http://www.biofine.fi/

CIRCULAR BIOCARBON project

CIRCULAR BIOCARBON project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/05/2027

Turning urban waste streams into added-value products

CIRCULAR BIOCARBON presents a first-of-a-kind flagship biorefinery designed to valorise the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) and Sewage Sludge (SS) into high-added-value end and intermediate products, including coating of direct consumer products, coating of mechanical moving parts, coating of plastic moulding tools, biodegradable and compostable waste bags, green graphene-based devices and products, biodegradable soil mulch films, solid organomineral fertiliser with biostimulant properties and liquid biobased biostimulant.

Contact:

Cristina Garcia-Vera (Project Coordinator): info@circularbiocarbon.eu

website: https://circularbiocarbon.eu/

LUCRA project

LUCRA project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/06/2027

Sustainable succinic acid production using an integrated electrochemical bioreactor and renewable feedstock

LUCRA will exploit the EUs underutilized and abundant, organic fraction of Municipal Solid Waste and wood sidestream as feedstocks for the largescale production of platform building block biobased chemicals with significant industrial end-user interest using a circular bioeconomy biorefinery approach.
It will provide optimized and scaleable breakthrough first of a kind innovative technology to create a step change from pilot to large scale integrated fermentation with novel electrochemical extraction of succinic acid that will facilitate its industrial implementation, business models and market feasibility. To fit the needs of the industrial level, LUCRA will optimize the hydrolysis process of the different feedstocks to obtain efficient cellulose and hemicellulose conversion. Enzymatic cocktails will be demonstrated aiming to maximize hydrolysis of fermentable carbohydrate content with low inhibitors production. The crude sugar-rich hydrolysates will be used as fermentation feedstock in an electrochemical membrane bioreactor for efficient extraction and production of SA. To demonstrate the produced SA that will be able to compete directly their fossil-based counterparts from petrochemical processes, different polyurethane dispersions and resins will be produced at semi-industrial scale.

Contact:

Tanja Meyer: tanja.meyer@bbeu.org

website: https://lucra-project.eu/