Thanks to the development and implementation of several innovative technologies which focus strongly on the efficient use of energy, water and chemicals, a ubiquitous complex multi-material product, the fresh meat packaging consumed by the millions every day, will be thoroughly redesigned to make it fully biobased, smart and recyclable at conventional paper recycling mills. To achieve such remarkable goal, every intermediate product contained in that complex product, i.e., the tray, the barrier coating, the absorbing pad and the transparent film, will be made almost exclusively of wood constituents (fibres, micro-nanofibres, lignin and sugars, which have been chemically or enzymatically modified) and integrated with two food-quality sensors (rotting and cold-chain). Finally, several innovations will be brought to the existing recycling stages, both oriented to increase the overall efficiency of the process: incorporation of specific identification markers to allow precise sorting of the bio-contaminated products, advanced oxidation treatments to both sanitize and decrease energy consumption of the process and chemo-enzymatic revalorization of the recalcitrant fractions.

Micro-Algae offer a solution to many of the European bioeconomy needs. Nevertheless, significant challenges still exist to their acceptance on the market, including organoleptic and functionality challenges. CleanAlgae2Value seeks to unlock such potential via a cascading approach to white-microalgae-derived medium-price ingredients, including protein isolates, oils, natural pigments and starch. The project will build and operate a replicable “upgrading-module” to drastically enhance relevant biorefineries performance via a cost-competitive, sustainable, and scalable microalgae fractionation and valorisation process for producing food-grade, medium-value, carbon-negative ingredients that exceed market standards. More specifically, the project will prove the effectiveness and efficiency of a “Micro-Algae Biorefinery Upgrade Module” (MABUM), able to unlock productions of protein isolates, protein concentrates, starch-rich fraction and oils (respectively 2, 1.3, 3.98 and 1.8 tons) to be validated into 15 prototypes, 13 for food and 2 for bio-packaging markets. The project will do so while increasing operative margins, by decreasing “value-normalised” CAPEX and OPEX, also thanks to modelling optimisation, contributing to market penetration. Importantly, CleanAlgae2Value would also benefit from synergies with a recently granted EIC Accelerator project, which focuses on upstream algae production from CO2 via SOL two-step fermentation, using solely CO2 as carbon source. The project brings together 16 organizations from 9 European countries, collaborating with end-users to produce added value ingredients. Holistic evaluations, including both empirical (surveys, workshops) and horizontal considerations (LCA, TEA, SSbD), will allow for the assessment of market acceptance and environmental, economic and societal sustainability, as well as further support and boost the project DCE activities and pathways towards EFSA positive opinion for those ingredients that still require it.

Only in the EU, we generate every year around 89M tonnes of Food Loss and Waste (FLW), accounting for 20% of the total food produced, with costs estimated at ?143 Bn, impacting each stage of the Food Value Chain. In SISTERS, we propose a set of systemic innovations addressed to reduce FLW generated in every stage of the Food Value Chain in Europe that will solve main existing challenges in Production, Processing, Marketing (retailing/wholesaling), Consumption, and the Logistics among stages. SISTERS will design the 1st European Short Chain Platform for farmers to sell their discarded production, favouring local economies, providing access to nutritious and healthy food to the less favoured consumers. Smart and reusable food containers will be designed to diminish food losses during transportation, maintain bulk and packed food in ideal conditions with new accurate sensors allowing immediate reaction. Moreover, to improve the preservation and quality of food a set of bio-based and home-compostable packaging solutions will be created reducing their potential negative impacts in the environment. A novel SISTERS Seal of Excellence will promote sustainable practices among retailers. While the information provided to the consumers with QR and dynamic labelling incorporated in the packaging is expected to impact on retailers and consumers sustainable awareness, thus reducing the discard of food and associated FW. With these cross-sectorial innovations, we will achieve an ambitious environmental & economic impact of the current dynamics in the food system, contributing to the reduction of FLW and to change the unsustainable consumer behaviours. With the support of the EC, SISTERS will be a key EU project addressing the problem in a holistic way, reducing FLW by 27.4% and CO2 emissions by around 20% in the case studies. Our interdisciplinary SISTERS consortium consists of 18 partners from 8 European countries, with wide expertise in fighting FLW from Farm

MOEBIOS is an application of the circular (bio)economy concept: the development of three value chains incorporating separate recycling streams for bioplastics (BP’s) to improve waste management efficiency throughout Europe. It is a systemic innovation: it will create linkages addressed at the different key stages of the whole chains to solve a hierarchical challenge, from the collection of the bioplastic waste (simulated streams), up to the upcycling and validation of the final recycled end-products (holistic and coordinated solution). The new value chain will imply sorting, conditioning and valorising three types of waste streams from the packaging, agriculture and textile industries into three end-products, targeting to reach at least the same quality and functionality than the original grades, while the end users’ acceptance will be assessed as well. As cornerstone targets for maximizing project’s impact, the upscaling of the recycling processes will: (1) be integrated in pilot plants on the premises of actual industrial recycling lines currently operating in waste management companies, not disrupting them, and reaching a final TRL = 6/7 or even beyond. (2) focus on bioplastics for which recycling processes are still not in place, excluding bio-based analogues (“drop-ins”): PLA and PLA blends, PHA and its blends, PBS and PEF, accordingly with the market. The use of PBAT will be assessed as well. A Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) and a transdisciplinary methodology will engage waste producers, waste managers, bio-based and (bio)plastics industry, public authorities, standardization agencies, citizens and media multipliers, creating a co-creation and co-ownership innovation environment of + 50 participants.

UPCYCLE aims to demonstrate novel circular value chains that transform currently non-recyclable mixed plastic waste into biodegradable and recyclable materials for packaging applications. Building on the promising results of the H2020 UPLIFT project, UPCYCLE addresses specific scalability hotspots to reach economic viability. The project scales up its novel plastic biorefinery and ecopolymers with a strategy that leverages: (1) A Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design framework to ensure safety (i.e., non-toxic materials), a reduction in GHG emissions (-30%), and economic viability (<40% selling price); (2) AI-powered fast-track innovation for process intensification; (3) A versatile biorefinery process to valorise mixed plastic waste (both fossil- and bio-based) and secondary biomass residues; (4) A smart polymerisation and formulation strategy using bio-based, degradable additives to tune biodegradability and enhance technical performance for four selected packaging use cases. Leveraging a multidisciplinary consortium of top-tier academic institutions and industry leaders, UPCYCLE is poised to create significant impact in the packaging industry. UPCYCLE’s ecopolymers, derived from plastic and biomass waste streams, promote a viable circular business model for European recyclers, polymer processors, compounders, and packaging producers. Moreover, our strategy demonstrates how renewable and upcycled building blocks and additives can be blended into commercially available polymers to delivers novel PHA-, PLA- and Furan-based packaging formulations, to successfully modulate degradability and technical performance, based on the application. By providing the tools to improve properties and economic viability of polymers systems that are already in the market, we provide a fast-track pathway towards impact.