The GreenSolRes project demonstrates the levulinic acid (LVA) value chain of lignocellulosic feedstocks to high-value products in a 3-step approach on TRL 6. First, a demonstration plant in Biorefinery of RWTH Aachen will be designed and build for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to the platform chemical levulinic acid. Levulinic acid hydrolysate separation enables more efficient and purer levulinic acid production. In a 2nd step the versatile platform chemical levulinic acid is hydrogenated to 2-methyltetrathydrofuran (2-MTHF), gamma-valerolactone (GVL) and 1-methyl-1,4-butanediol (MeBDO) in a direct process developed by RWTH Aachen. These can be produced in the same reactor with a single catalyst by tuning the process conditions. In parallel, BASF will investigate the conversion of LVA esters to MeBDO and GVL. Third, the application of the products as solvents is validated in adhesives and the pharma sector as substitute of their less sustainable C4-analogues. Additionally, HENKEL studies the development of respective new polymers with improved properties. The basic engineering of first commercial plants for these steps supports rapid upscaling and exploitation after the project. This will release these products from the niche markets they are confined to due to ineffective existing production routes. At competitive prices compared to their petrochemical C4-counterparts these chemicals and related products will boost the bio-based market as they have a high greenhouse gas emission avoidance of at least 70% and an additional value to society via better health & safety properties. The whole value chain from e.g. forestry residues to consumer products is assessed for environmental sustainability, risks and health & safety to support business case development and market implementation.

The INTERfaces program will train 14 ESRs within an EID network jointly designed by European academic and industry partners in innovative research projects dedicated to developing clean bioprocesses for the production of chemicals. The assembly of biocatalysts to reaction sequences allows avoiding steps for isolation and purification of intermediates and thus a significant improvement of the environmental footprint of catalytic processes. The main goal of INTERfaces is the extension of this concept towards multi-step biocatalytic reactions in immobilized form. These “Heterogeneous Biocatalytic Reaction Cascades” will greatly facilitate re-use of the catalysts and further simplify downstream-processing. INTERfaces combines material science and protein engineering to design tailored enzymes and (bio-based) materials that will complement each other to obtain optimized heterogeneous biocatalysts. These tools will be applied to solve synthetic challenges in the use of two biobased monomers as starting materials to synthesize products for application fields like antioxidants and biopolymers. Process optimization and up-scale in industry will reveal key factors for synthetic utilization of the biocatalysts. INTERfaces emphasizes particularly the engineering of the designed cascades in solid phase. This includes the design of reactors, use of computational modeling tools, application of the right operational modes, and reaction medium needed for desired space-time-yields and product titers. Commercial relevant processes will be up-scaled together with industry for technical implementation. 13 Non-academic partners ranging from high-tech SMEs to large producing companies and 9 academic institutions offer an intersectoral and interdisciplinary environment to provide 14 Ph.D. candidates with outstanding employability profiles for the European Biotech Sector. Dedicated workshops and well-balanced supervisory team aim at increasing the gender diversity in biotech research.

EU society needs new sustainable biobased feedstock in order to meet the growing population needs and to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. In terms of potential market requirements in EU, the food and fuel demand is mainly covered by foreign import, achieving the 68% of total proteins supply. Aquatic feedstock can be a solution to these necessities, however, European algae feedstock market is still facing immature production technologies, and which are not specifically designed for algae biorefinery. The overall objective of BIOSEA is the development and validation of innovative, competitive and cost-effective upstream and downstream processes for the cultivation of 2 microalgae (Spirulina platensis and Isochrysis galbana), and 2 macroalgae (Ulva intestinalis and Saccharina latissima) to produce and extract at least 6 high value active principles at low cost (up to 55% less than with current processes) to be used in food, feed and cosmetic/personal care as high-added value products. For achieving this objective, BIOSEA consortium consists of specialists in specific area/s or discipline/s involved in the project (IGV, AT SEA and CTAQUA in Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; VITO and FEYECON in Chemical Science and Engineering; CNTA, BIOPOLIS, DIBAQ, SORIA NATURAL and CPCFEED in Food/Feed Technology; VLCI and HENKEL in Cosmetic Science; AITEX in Materials Science and TABU in Environmental Science). The total budget of BIOSEA is up to €4,633,447, so it is totally aligned with the range considered in the topic. It can be added that the industrial contribution will be up to €2,611,321, representing a percentage of 44% of the total budget and indicating the strong weight and involvement of the industry in the proposal.

The project targets the incorporation of advanced functional materials to deliver customised conductive inks and flexible adhesives compatible with high volume manufacturing platforms. Specifically the development of these enabling materials will support high speed roll to roll integration of hybrid and large area electronics to address internet of things opportunities The consortium will integrate materials development with end application requirements in terms of technical performance (thermal/electrical conductivity, processing conditions, materials integrity and adhesion) and unit cost of production to facilitate market adoption. The project will utilise and build on existing CPI pilot facilities (R2R print line) to demonstrate technology integration, manufacturability and produce components for end user evaluation to enable the direct comparison of production techniques. The project delivers a supply chain to support future commercialisation: incorporating materials suppliers of inks and adhesives, supporting RTO in Formulation and nano-particle production, established high fidelity print equipment manufacturers, electronic device manufacturers, established pilot line facilities and potential end users from the apparel, packaging and healthcare sector – relating to the internet of things.