The main objective of the BECOOL (EU) and BioVALUE (Brazil) projects is to strengthen EU-Brazil cooperation on advanced lignocellulosic biofuels. Information alignment, knowledge synchronization, and synergistic activities on lignocellulosic biomass production logistics and conversion technologies are key targets of both projects and will bring mutual benefits. Both projects are structured in 3 main pillars covering in a balanced way the whole range of activities of the biofuels value chain (biomass production, logistics, conversion and exploitation). The BECOOL consortium is composed by 14 partners from universities, research institutes, large industries/SMEs, from 7 EU countries. Together with improved logistics, the establishment of the BECOOL innovative cropping systems will enable to increase biomass feedstock availability by at least 50% without negatively impacting food production, soil quality, and customary land uses. The improvements in gasification process efficiency of new feedstocks will allow to achieve an optimal gas quality from non-conventional sources (e.g. lignocellulosic crops and residues). The use of energy carrier in gasification will allow to overcome a major logistics barriers for low-energy density feedstock, while the valorization of lignin-rich residues will dramatically improve the energy efficiency of the overall value chain. Technological breakthroughs on pre-treatment, hydrolysis and enzymatic saccharification and fermentation steps will increase the competitiveness of biochemical advanced ethanol. The cross-project model benchmarking, carried out between EU and Brazil, will decrease present limitations on growth, logistics and process academic models, making them more reliable, opening opportunities for business, new jobs, reduced land pressure, and enhanced environmental benefits in EU and Brazil.

Sustainable bioenergy production and use in the EU should be further developed in order to support Member States (MS) achieving 20-20-20 targets and foster rural development as set out in EIP AGRI. FORBIO will demonstrate the viability of using land in MSs for non-food bioenergy feedstock production without interfering with the production of food or feed, nor with land currently used for recreational and/or conservational purposes. Competition with other uses of the land is only one component of the sustainability of bioenergy and a number of cross-cutting environmental, social and economic aspects may present challenges to the extended deployment of these value chains, while assuring that biofuel sustainability standards are met. FORBIO will develop a methodology to assess bioenergy production potential on available “underutilised lands” in Europe (contaminated, abandoned, fallow land, etc.) at national and local level. In addition, in this context the project will provide multiple feasibility studies in selected case study locations in three countries that that aim to set the basis for building up local bioenergy value chains that meet the highest sustainability standards and improve efficiency and sustainability of those already available in the case study sites through the provision of roadmaps for bioenergy development.

The RESYNTEX project aims at designing, developing and demonstrating new high environmental impact industrial symbiosis between the unwearable blends and pure components of textile waste and the chemical and textile industries. The project comprises: - a strategic design of the whole value chain from textile waste collection, until the new marketable feedstock for chemical & textile industrie, by which the symbiosis opportunities are evaluated (by public authorities and the private sector) in terms of their social, technical, economic, environmental and legislative aspects - the improvement of collection approaches particularly for non-wearable textiles for recycling by changing citizen’s behaviour and creation of tools for higher social involvement and recycling promotion. This will ensure a greater accessibility to textile waste as resource and increase the textile waste rates destined for recycling. With 50% collection rate all over Europe would be a significant improvement in order to provide large quantities of feedstock - a data aggregation system that will be developed and implemented in order to ensure waste traceability and also provide relevant data for economic and environmental assessment; - the development of new business models adapted for different synergies identified and for new markets. In addition, environmental LCA and LCC for different scenarios and identification of the most promising routes and synergies will support this objective - automation of the macro separation and sorting for pure or blended textiles, in order to enhance productivity and competitiveness of the whole recycling process - a new demonstration process based on a synergistic chemical and biotechnological cascading separation/transformation approach of textile basic components (proteins, cellulose, polyamide and polyester) from textile blends as basic feedstock materials for chemical & textile industries. Liquid and solid waste treatment and valorisation will close the loop