Water2REturn proposes a full-scale demonstration process for integrated nutrients recovery from wastewater from the slaughterhouse industry using biochemical and physical technologies and a positive balance in energy footprint. The project will not only produce a nitrates and phosphate concentrate available for use as organic fertiliser in agriculture, but its novelty rests on the use of an innovative fermentative process designed for sludge valorisation which results in a hydrolysed sludge (with a multiplied Biomethane Potential) and biostimultants products, with low development costs and high added value in plant nutrition and agriculture. This process is complemented by proven technologies such as biological aeration systems, membrane technologies, anaerobic processes for bio-methane production and algal technologies, all combined in a zero-waste-emission and an integrated monitoring control tool that will improve the quality of data on nutrient flows. The project will close the loop by demonstrating the benefits associated with nutrients recycling through the implementation of different business models for each final product. This will be done with a systemic and replicable approach that considers economic, governance and social acceptance aspects through the whole chain of water and targets essentially two market demands: 1) Demand for more efficient and sustainable production methods in the meat industry; and 2) Demand for new recycled products as a nutrient source for agriculture. As a summary, Water2REturn project adopts a Circular Economy approach where nutrients present in wastewaters from the meat industry can be recycled and injected back into the agricultural system as new raw materials. The project foster synergies between the food and sustainable agriculture industries and propose innovative business models for the resulting products that will open new market opportunities for the European industries and SMEs in two key economic sectors.

CRONUS aims to accelerate on the path to sustainable bioenergy and play an important and constructive role in achieving the UN SDGs by incorporating in the biofuels value chain carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CUS) techniques promoting the decarbonisation of the EU economy in accordance to European Green Deal goals. A wide spectrum of biogenic gases CUS technologies (enzymatic capture of CO2, autotrophic algae cultivation, biological CO2 hydrogenation, syngas biomethanation, in-situ biomethanation, biogenic carbon storage by biochar production and soil application) will be validated in lab-scale (TRL4). The proposed technologies will be upscaled to 5 functional prototypes that will operate in relevant environments of biofuels production plants (TRL5). Evaluation of the technical, economic, environmental and social sustainability of the project solutions and services will be performed by exploitation of the latest up-to-date tools, with special emphasis on the sustainability and circularity of the project. A roadmap to market the technologies and services with a strategy to address market segmentation, penetration barriers and opportunities will be drawn. Public and scientific awareness of the project will be raised and all relevant stakeholders will be actively involved in the co-design, co-development and co-implementation of the possible pathways for biogenic effluent gases capture and utilization within the biofuels value chain. CRONUS’ impactful exploitation plan will facilitate the strategic planning of net-negative biofuel production supply chains considering the integration of CRONUS technologies and the results of the sustainability assessment, emphasizing the CO2 footprint, cost-efficiency, and scalability.

The main objective of BioRural is to create a pan-European Rural Bioeconomy Network under which related stakeholders will cooperate to promote the currently available small-scale bio-based solutions in rural areas to increase the share of Bioeconomy, giving increased value in such remote areas. Such framework will contribute in bridging the gap between the available novel high-end bio-based solutions and the everyday European rural life by assessing the existing situation of European rural Bioeconomy, capturing grassroots-level needs and ideas, promoting effective exchange of knowledge and information and investigating the possible opportunities for regional development through the expansion of bio-based solutions integration in rural Europe. This way, BioRural will develop a transition framework towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular Bioeconomy across all Europe at local and regional scale and support innovators to scale-up inclusive and small-scale bio-based solutions in rural areas. To do so, the project will: (i) Assess and evaluate the current performance of the European rural Bioeconomy in the EU and identify factors affecting innovation adoption and diffusion of bio-based solutions in rural areas; (ii) Create four regional Rural Bioeconomy Platforms (RBPs) that will form a European Rural Bioeconomy Network (ERBN); (iii) Assess and promote success stories of bio-based solutions in rural areas; (iv) Develop and continuously optimise an online open stakeholders’ tool, named BioRural Toolkit; (v) Facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building for the European rural Bioeconomy through a series of workshops in local, regional and European level; (vi) Create rural development blueprints for regional and business scale-up of resilient and circular bio-based solutions in rural areas and (vii) Disseminate and communicate all activities for maximum visibility and rural Bioeconomy expansion.

NAMOR project pioneers a next-generation water treatment solution that combines the co-cultivation of microalgae and bacteria with advanced membrane filtration in a modular plug-and-play system. This innovative approach enables decentralized treatment of diverse water and wastewater streams and supports a sustainable and resilient urban water cycle. NAMOR's hybrid system is designed for maximum adaptability, with demonstrations across three different climate zones — high, medium and low temperatures — under different lighting conditions to ensure robust performance in a variety of environmental scenarios. The system will deliver high quality, fit-for-purpose effluents with minimal energy consumption and environmental impact, improving urban water management. It will integrate seamlessly into existing centralized water networks and enable local, site-specific treatment. In addition, the biomass produced will be efficiently valorized for nutrient and energy recovery, contributing to a circular economy. At the heart of NAMOR’s innovation is the development of a digital twin model equipped with a sensor network and predictive analytics to monitor and predict system performance in real time. This is complemented by a Decision Support System that optimizes energy efficiency and maximizes water and nutrient recovery, tailored to the specific local requirements. NAMOR also places great emphasis on citizen engagement and social acceptance of decentralized water solutions. Through an inclusive, participatory approach, citizens are actively involved from planning to implementation. Social science methods will assess public opinion and willingness to adopt these systems, while targeted policy recommendations will encourage greater public participation. NAMOR is also researching the global market and regulatory landscape to find ways to adapt its solutions to international contexts, thus positioning itself as a pioneering solution for future urban water systems worldwide.

The aim of the project is to implement and demonstrate at large scale the long-term technological and economic feasibility of an innovative, sustainable and efficient solution for the treatment of high salinity wastewater from the F&D industry. Conventional wastewater treatments have proven ineffective for this kind of wastewater, as the bacterial processes typically used for the elimination of organic matter and nutrients are inhibited under high salinity contents. Therefore, generally combinations of biological and physicochemical methods are used which greatly increase the costs of the treatment, making it unaffordable for SMEs, who voluntarily decide not to comply with EU directives and discharge without prior treatment, causing severe damage to the environment. The solution of SALTGAE to this issue consists in the implementation of innovative technologies for each step of the wastewater treatment that will promote energy and resource efficiency, and reduce costs. Amongst these, the use of halotolerant algae/bacteria consortiums in HRAPs for the elimination of organic matter and nutrients stands out for its high added value: not only will it provide an effective and ecological solution for wastewater treatment, but also it will represent an innovative way of producing algal biomass, that will subsequently be valorized into different by-products, reducing the economic and environmental impact of the treatment. Moreover, the project will also address cross-cutting barriers to innovation related to wastewater by developing a platform for the mobilization and networking of stakeholders from all the different sectors related to wastewater, and for the dissemination of results, enabling the development of a common roadmap for the alignment of legislation, regulation and pricing methodologies and promoting financial investment and paradigm shift in perception from ‘wastewater treatment’ to ‘resource valorisation’.