The HOOP Project will help to unlock bio-based investments and deploy local bio economies in Europe through a systemic and cross-cutting approach. It will offer Project Development Assistance (PDA) to a group of 8 lighthouse cities and city clusters - to build the technical, economic, financial and legal expertise needed to develop concrete investments to valorise OFMSW (Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste) or UWWS (Urban Wastewater Sludge) with the aim of obtaining safe and sustainable bio-based products. Each PDA will contain detailed implementation assistance and a defined Circular Business Model tailored to each participating lighthouse city, as well as financing mechanisms to be used for mobilising investment. Moreover, HOOP will launch stakeholder engagement and citizen science initiatives to allow for the co-design of an improved collection of OFMSW for its later optimum valorisation. It will promote behavioural change and acceptability of biowaste-based products, as well as food waste prevention. The HOOP Project will also feature the HOOP Urban Circular Bioeconomy Hub (UCBH), an online platform that will provide opportunities to replicate the PDAs of the lighthouse cities in other follower cities (currently composed by 26 committed cities from all around Europe) – under the launch of the Network of Follower European Cities. HOOP continues the work of the projects VALUEWASTE, Scalibur and WaystUP!, funded under topic CE-SFS-25-2018 and coordinated by the three technical leaders of HOOP. The HOOP Consortium covers the whole value chain, from biowaste recovery to valorisation and characterization of the final products and unites complementary stakeholders with the deep multi-disciplinary knowledge crucial to PDA creation and the achievement of project objectives. It includes partners from 10 EU member countries, 5 municipalities and 3 clusters of cities.

On average, each European citizen produces approximately 200 kg of municipal biowaste per year, representing between 118 and 138 million tonnes of biowaste annually arising in the EU. The main municipal biowaste management systems currently existing in Europe represent one-way flow systems in which materials and resources are underused, limiting its potential recovery into high-value products. VALUEWASTE proposes an integrated approach in urban biowaste upcycling for the production of high-value biobased products, developing the first complete solution to fully valorise biowaste that can be replicated across Europe. We will implement three new value chains that will use urban biowaste as raw material for its valorisation into high-value end products in a cascading process, generating economic, social and environmental benefits: food & feed proteins and other ingredients, and biobased fertiliser. VALUEWASTE will be developed at two very different European locations, Murcia (ES) and Kalundborg (DK) with the purpose of finding a solution both technical and socially adapted to the different socio-economic contexts exiting across Europe. Social initiatives will be created to increase consumer awareness and acceptance of urban biowaste-derived products. End-user products applications and new market opportunities will be demonstrated. Outcomes of the project will contribute to new standardisation, and will be useful information for EU policy makers in terms of waste management and in the adoption of new policies.

FERTITEC builds upon the knowledge gained from previous EU-funded projects, such as Novafert, FER-PLAY, MainstreamBIO, SOILUTIONS, SuMaNu, AgroTechnology ATLAS, B-FERST, NOVAFERT, CINURGI, Manure Standards, SUSFERT, NUTRI-KNOW, NUTRIMAN etc. which have explored the potential of waste management and nutrient recovery from various perspectives. By integrating the insights and technological advancements from these previous initiatives, FERTITEC is positioned to deliver a comprehensive solution for waste recycling and sustainable fertiliser production from secondary raw materials. The principal objectives of this group of related projects, that FERTITEC aligns with and supports, are to transform waste into high-quality fertilisers, promote a circular economy, and mitigate environmental impact, thereby aligning with the EU's goals of sustainable agriculture, waste reduction, and bioeconomy enhancement. FERTITEC is commited to develop competitive fertilisers that are not only benefit agricultural yield but also promote a circular economy model, aligning with the EU's strategic focus. This dual focus of environmental sustainability and economic viability resonates with the objectives of our previous projects, which aimed to boost the marketability of bio-based products and harmonise global sustainability certification systems respectively. By involving key actors from the agriculture sector and facilitating multi-stakeholder discussion through our KEP, FERTITEC fosters a community-driven approach to boost sustainable innovation in the fertiliser sector. We seek to make a tangible impact at national and regional levels, by deploying our best availalbe fertilising techniques in several EU countries, as well as extrapolationg our outcomes to the African Union landscape by providing practical recommendations and guidelines. Overall with FERTITEC we aim the adoption of our alternative fertilising products and the wider transformation of the agricultural sector globally.

Adopting effective technologies and practices to improve the management of N/P flows remains a challenge. Additionally, the local dimension of N/P sources and the diversity of water and soil ecosystems across different locations limit the impact of uniform policy measures and related governance models. Addressing this is a priority of EU environmental governance. NPower will create four Regional Clusters (RCs), to guarantee representativity, replicability and impact of developed solutions at EU level: RC1 in Spain (representing South Europe), RC2 in Belgium (Central Europe), RC3 in Finland (North Europe), and RC4 in Ireland (West/Insular Europe). We will act in the paradigmatic region of Murcia, Spain, in which the main challenges of the management of N/P flows are represented, and involve the other 3 RCs to assure the solutions developed are applicable in as many European realities as possible, helping restore ecosystems across the EU. To do so, NPower will 1) model N/P flows across the 5 key sectors to create a regional N/P budget for RC1, 2) demonstrate 6 recovery technologies, 8 recovered fertilizers and 20 BMPs within and among covered sectors that reduce and promote circular economy schemes, 3) design and showcase region-tailored governance measures to halt air, water, and soil N/P pollution, 4) guarantee EU representativity via knowledge transfer among RCs, and 5) disseminate effective N/P limiting solutions to practitioners and policy makers at local, regional, national and EU level. NPower solutions will be assessed on their environmental, socio-economic and behavioural effect. NPower will avoid the emission of 483 k ton N and 2.1 M ton P, saving the EU 14.3B€. Guidance for practice and recommendations will contribute to harmonised regional policies and regulations in line with the key EU directives and strategies (Water Framework Directive, Nitrates Directive, European Green Deal, Clean Environment & Zero Pollution ambition, and Bioeconomy Strategy.