Category: Biomass availability, quality, supply and sustainability

INNOPROTEIN project

INNOPROTEIN project

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

New Sustainable Proteins For Food, Feed And Non-Food Bio-Based Applications

By 2050, with the global population expected to reach 10 billion, producing sustainable, high-quality protein becomes a pressing environmental, economic, and social challenge. The EU’s “protein gap”, importing 70 % of protein-rich crops and 90 % of soybeans, adds urgency to the quest for new, nutritious, and eco-friendly protein sources that cater to diverse markets.
InnoProtein will deliver new products for food, feed and non-food based applications that meet end-users’ needs and expectations. By using under-exploited and unexplored protein sources, including microalgae, fungi, bacteria and insects together with new advanced techniques for protein extraction, the project will contribute to reducing the EU protein gap and the pressure on natural resources.
The experienced consortium will provide an eco-business model, proving the economic availability of the solution and the social and environmental benefits. To improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of the protein extraction, InnoProtein will adopt a circular and zero waste approach by using the residual biomass and the streams of protein production processes to obtain bioplastics and biostimulants.

Giacomo Sini: giacomo.sini@eufic.org

website: https://www.innoprotein.eu/

RuralBioUp project

RuralBioUp project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/09/2025

Empowering EU Rural Regions to scale-Up and adopt small-scale Bio-based solutions: the transition towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular bioeconomy

Climate change will require concerted innovative ideas and actions at the local/regional level. A sustainable European bioeconomy will not only ensure the protection of the environment and biodiversity, but will also drive the renewal of European industries, the modernisation of primary production systems and lead to the creation of jobs, particularly in rural areas, through the active participation of all regional stakeholders in their local bioeconomies. RuralBioUp project will strengthen the cooperation among regional key actors and knowledge holders, empowering them to establish an inclusive and long-lasting ecosystem (the RuralBioUp Regional Hubs) to support the mainstreaming of bio-based business models in rural areas. In particular, RuralBioUp will establish 9 Regional Hubs (30 stakeholders per Hub) in 6 EU countries, that will co-design and implement 9 Action Plans on 18 value chains. Regional Hubs will be empowered by RuralBioUp’s partners with mentoring, coaching and training activities in the implementation of their Action Plans. Thanks to this, at least (a.l.) 1.000 innovators will be supported (through networking events and study visits) and a.l. 50 new collaborations fostered (e.g. partnership agreements between companies and/or farmers, solutions funded, etc.) to adopt small-scale bio-based solutions in rural areas. The project will leverage synergies between existing EU networks (EuBioNet, BioEast, etc.), clusters, and regional organisations and will build upon previous research results (Power4Bio, BE-RURAL, Enabling, Transition2Bio, Biovoices, etc.) by integrating and extending the existing knowledge and data in order to propose different rural business models and new bio-based value chains in the targeted regions, through the realisation of a digital tool (the RuralBioUp One-Stop-Shop) supporting regional actors to take sciencebased and informed decisions.

9 Regional Hubs :

  • Centru Region Romania
  • Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Hub France
  • Latvia Regional Hub Latvia
  • Ireland Regional Hub Ireland
  • Pays de la Loire France
  • Charles Spa Czechia
  • Marche Italy
  • Puglia ItalyContacts:

Karolina Jurkiewicz: info@ruralbioup.eu

website: https://www.ruralbioup.eu/

BioBoosters project

BioBoosters project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/12/2025

Boosting the Circular Transition

BioBoosters aims to advance the green transition of bioeconomy business by matchmaking competence with needs. By employing a proven business-driven Hackathon process, we can solve challenges that the bioeconomy businesses are facing in transitioning to circular economy business models.

BioBoosters Hackathon is connecting the bioeconomy innovation ecosystems of 9 regions across the Baltic Sea Region. By implementing the open innovation process in inter-regional co-operation, we can facilitate cross-sectoral knowledge transfer as well as connect SMEs, start-ups, and research groups with companies in an international context.

We will run 18 BioBoosters Hackathons together with target groups to validate the innovation process model to be adopted in the key bioeconomy innovation hubs of the participating regions. Furthermore, the model will be transferrable to any innovation hub that is looking to support their regional business networks in green or digital transition.
Our expected impact in numbers:

  • 18 Business-driven Hackathons will validate up to 70 solutions to circular transition challenges
  • 20 international RDI and business co-operations initiated
  • 500 specialist brought together to drive the circular transition of the bioeconomy in the Baltic Sea Region

Contacts:

Anna Aalto: anna.aalto@jamk.fi

website: https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/bioboosters/

CHEERS project

CHEERS project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/08/2026

Producing novel non-plant biomass feedstocks and bio-based products through upcycling and the cascading use of brewery side-streams

Biotechnology has the potential to reduce the impact of human activities in nature. By developing new bio-based production platforms towards a more efficient use of waste streams, a step forward in industrial circularity can be achieved.

CHEERS is a new biorefinery concept, inspired on nature biodiversity (insect and microbial platforms), to sustainably and efficiently upgrade underused or waste side-streams such as bagasse, wastewater, CO2 and CH4 from bio-based industries into innovative bio-based products. CHEERS will help bio-based industries to improve their feedstock use efficiency and overall sustainability and competitiveness via upcycling and cascading use of biomass produced from their side-streams. CHEERS is developed as a modular solution where bio-based industries can configure their optimal combination by selecting among 5 novel biotechnological routes which generate 5 bio-based products for industrial applications, with attractive market opportunities: insect protein, disinfectant, microbial protein, ectoine and caproic acid. All value chains are based on new bioprocesses and/or innovative biofermentors combined with sustainable downstream processes, which will be validated at demo-scale at an industrial brewery. A min. 45% carbon footprint reduction will be achieved in each value chain. The evaluation of CHEERS impacts will consider go beyond the classic LCA and will cover broader impacts such as biodiversity and land use. The beer company MAHOU is project coordinator and exploitation leader jointly with 11 partners of 5 European countries, including technology suppliers, end-users and research entities. CHEERS will contribute to a “zero waste” biorefinery approach, fully aligned with the EU Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan and Bioeconomy Strategy, and foster the understanding of biotechnology-based value chains through the engagement of relevant actors, from small bio-based industries to consumers.

Contacts:

Andrea León Tarife: andrea.leon@innovarum.es

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

Model2Bio project

Model2Bio project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 21/09/2023

MODELLING TOOL FOR GIVING VALUE TO AGRI-FOOD RESIDUAL STREAMS IN BIO-BASED INDUSTRIES

Every year, 41 million tonnes of food are wasted in the European Union during processing. This affects the economy, the environment and our communities. Transport, treatment at waste sites and landfilling drive up management and operational costs, while rotting food at landfills emits greenhouse gases.

What is considered waste and discarded, often still contains industrially valuable compounds. Model2Bio will develop a predictive model to help agri-food companies identify, select and reuse organic waste streams. To identify the most economic and environmentally friendly solutions for waste streams, the model will consider stream composition, volume, transformation as well as logistics, business cases and social aspects. The project started in May 2020 and will run until October 2023.

Behind this EU-funded project are think-tanks, research centres, technology developers, universities, industry (mainly small and medium-sized businesses) and clusters from across Europe.

Contacts:

Tamara Fernández, Coordinator: tfernandez@ceit.es

website: https://www.model2bio.eu/

BIOLOC project

BIOLOC project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/09/2025

Biobased and social innovation to revitalise European local communities

BIOLOC project is funded by European Commission, and it promotes social innovation and inclusion as enabling factors to accelerate the transition to circular bioeconomy and thus contributes to revitalizing local communities in 12 European regions in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Through extensive interdisciplinary research and cross-sectoral analyses, BIOLOC will elaborate on concepts and solutions that will trigger positive cascading effects on communities by fostering a participatory and inclusive approach to develop resilient innovative biobased activities open to the contribution of socially disadvantaged or marginalised groups. In this way it will deliver innovative and inclusive business models and drive the establishment of permanent public-private multistakeholder hubs to pioneer a social trialogue on innovative and inclusive circular bioeconomy as a leveraging factor for sustainable and resilient local communities.

Contacts:

Mr. Peter Canciani, Project Manager: canciani@cei.int

website: https://bioloc.eu/

BIOTRANSFORM project

BIOTRANSFORM project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/03/2025

Circular BIOeconomy TRANSFORMation for regions by enabling resource and governance networks

BIOTRANSFORM provides European policymakers with an adequate assessment and policy development framework, knowledge base and expert support ecosystem to accelerate the transition from linear fossil-based systems to circular biobased systems. It is therefore operating at the interface between the circular economy and the bioeconomy transitions. In this way, BIOTRANSFORM equips policymakers with the tools to set informed priorities that serve environmental, economic, and social goals, being actionable, future-proof, and align with supply-and-demand trends in related industries and value chains. BIOTRANSFORM’s “assessment package” will be tested by and provided for European policymakers, which will include 3 complementary tools: (i) resource flow analysis tool including circular innovations, (ii) a cutting edge quick environmental, social and economic assessment tool, and (iii) a logistics management tool. To achieve this, BIOTRANSFORM develops and tests its framework to establish and roll out circular bio-based systems by applying a multi-actor approach around 6 regional cases: Andalusia (Spain), Northern Burgenland (Austria), Western Macedonia (Greece), Finland, Charles Spa Region (Czech Republic) and North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). These regional case studies represent several important industries and scenarios for Europe such as: forestry, agri-food, lake ecosystems, lignite and minerals, and chemicals. Action roadmaps will consider specific regional available resources and infrastructures, conversion pathways, logistics, current policies, strategies, and access to finance. In other words, BIOTRANSFORM builds on the concept of regenerative bioeconomy value cycles by tapping into what is there already and connecting the dots. In this concept, carbon is stored and nutrients are recovered. This concept shall be upscaled and replicated to many further European regions to achieve Europe’s ambitious goals.

Contacts:

Jussi Lahtinen: jussi.h.lahtinen@vtt.fi

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

SCALE-UP project

SCALE-UP project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/08/2025

Concepts, tools and applications for community-driven bioeconomy development in European rural areas

The overall goal of SCALE-UP is to support regional multi-actor partnerships, consisting of private businesses, governments and policymakers, civil society organisations, and researchers in identifying and scaling-up innovative and sustainable bio-based value chains that build on regional resources.

Through its approach, SCALE-UP will adapt, implement and evaluate tools to help regional actors to overcome the apparent bottlenecks towards fully exploiting bioeconomy potentials in their region.

A four-phase methodology will:

i) establish existing knowledge and set the stage for further research, as well as create six regional platforms with local stakeholders;

ii) facilitate cross-regional transfer of knowledge and demand-driven capacity building, and provide support to multi-actor partnerships to carry out market assessments and business model designs;

iii) create a pan-European ‘Community of Practice’ to facilitate sharing good practices and lessons learned across European regions; and

iv) disseminate and exploit project results in collaboration with key stakeholders.

In addition to the focus on increasing capacity and knowledge on the bioeconomy among relevant actors in the regions, a key feature of SCALE-UP is the business development programme to be applied by the local communities.

With an emphasis on the principles of co-creation, transparency and open innovation, the project will provide advisory support to innovators and regional stakeholders to assess market conditions, elaborate business plans and identify compatible funding sources for 12 bio-based solutions.

Contacts:

Holger Gerdes: holger.gerdes@ecologic.eu
Zoritza Kiresiewa: zoritza.kiresiewa@ecologic.eu

website: http://scaleup-bioeconomy.eu/

BlueRev project

BlueRev project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/08/2025

Revitalisation of European local communities with innovative businessmodels and social innovation in the blue bio-based sector

The aim of the EU-funded BlueRev project is to encourage innovation in local communities by focusing on “blue” sustainability and creating positive environmental impacts.

To that end, it will establish three pilot regions in Europe, where it will focus on introducing meaningful changes across specific value chains in the blue bio-based sector.

The project will employ existing or advanced monitoring systems to assess the effectiveness of the value chains and come up with ways to improve governance frameworks and business models in the blue bio-based sector.

Engaging all relevant actors via awareness-raising communication campaigns, BlueRev will promote socially and environmentally responsible behaviour, facilitating the transition of local communities towards sustainable blue economy models that can be adopted across Europe.

Contacts:

Alessio Livio Spera: spera@apre.it
Claudia Iasillo: iasillo@apre.it

website: https://www.bluerevproject.eu/

BIOCIRCULARCITIES project

BIOCIRCULARCITIES project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/09/2023

Exploring the circular bioeconomy potential in cities. Proactive instruments for implementation by policy makers and stakeholders

The BIOCIRCULARCITIES project is designed to help identify and develop innovative and comprehensive regulatory frameworks and roadmaps that are well aligned with circular bioeconomy principles. The project will focus on the interactions between the circular and bio-economies, using insights derived from multi-stakeholder participatory processes. It will consider both supply-side and demand-side aspects of policymaking to maximise the effectiveness. It will determine these through four strands. The first will be by exploring the circular economy potential of unexploited bio-based waste streams generated around three European cities – Barcelona in Spain, Naples in Italy and Pazardzhik in Bulgaria. The second will be to identify and analyse those circular bioeconomy best practices in the EU that could be successful in the pilot areas. Third, opportunities and obstacles to for introducing such processes. It will then use the learnings from the three areas to propose proactive instruments and policy roadmaps that can be applied in a wider European context.

Contacts:

Rosaria Chifari: rchifari@ent.cat

website: https://biocircularcities.eu/