Bio-Economy

Demo Cases

Microalgae are amongst the most promising sustainable feedstocks that can be used as ingredients for a large range of sectors (e.g. food, feed, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, pharma, chemistry, energy), offering specific advantages with respect to their synthetic and traditional alternatives. Unfortunately production costs of microalgae bio products are still relatively high in comparison to chemical synthesis or extraction from plants as the main technical challenge lies in the scaling up of the whole production process. The demo case will focus on the production of food supplements/nutraceuticals and other pharma bioactive compounds, which have important markets worldwide for human and animal use The goal of this pilot is to set up a demonstration site for cultivation and scaling up of microalgae cultures in photobioreactors, using purified industrial CO2 as carbon source, in order to produce at large scale food (nutraceuticals), feed (protein) and pharma compounds (antibiotics).

The specific objective for 2017 is to set up the technical requirements for the Demo Case at the pilot level, identified the appropriate partners and search for funding resources to develop it in the coming years. Based on the demo case’s implementation in 2018 (based on a successful funding application), a scale-up is foreseen which will be prepared and implemented throughout 2019 and 2020.

Participating regions

Wallonia     Navarre     Emilia-Romagna     Flanders     Galicia     Scotland

Demo Cases

The main goal of this demo case is to accelerate the development of the biogas industry towards less dependency on public incentives and a larger range of market products, including energy, fuels, chemicals and materials by developing and implementing projects which either focus on the improvement of the techno-economic performance of biogas production or the improvement of valorization routes for the digestate.

The future steps for the coming year is to explore the opportunities for the development of one or several projects targeting the improvement of the techno-economic performance of biogas production, set up a network of companies, research centres, stakeholders and public authorities committed to the implementation of this strategy, based on a shared vision, explore the opportunities for the development of one or several projects targeting the improvement of valorization routes for the digestate.

Participating regions

Skåne  Lombardia  Navarre  North Rhine-Westphalia  Małopolska  Baden – Württemberg  Emilia-Romagna  Randstad Region  Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)

Demo Cases

The future availability of bio based jet fuel in all European airports will be a challenge, involving the production of biomass, conversion and distribution. A gradual scale up of conversion capacity and biomass supplies over the coming decades will be required to meet the aviation requirements. Biomass production and supply capacity needs to be developed in balance with improved agricultural and forestry management to avoid conflicts with food supply and biodiversity. To meet the needs of the competitive aviation industry regional, existing facilities and strengths have to be utilized and new business models developed. The long-term goal of the pilot is to develop a European interregional value chain that focuses on promoting larger scale aviation biofuel production.

The ambition is to upscale the demo case (TRL 5/6), which requires different steps on both project and process level, as described in the OGSM table. For each step, the specific objectives for 2017 are defined as follows:

To assess the most promising routes for the production of bio-aviation fuels based on pilot results obtained so far.
To prepare for a demonstration plant based on the most promising bio-aviation fuel technologies.
To create a market for bio-aviation fuels and prepare for a commercial scale plant.

Participating regions

Skåne    North Rhine-Westphalia    Flanders    South-Netherlands    Scotland

Demo Cases

The general goal of the pilot is to showcase the potential of the use of industrial waste gases to produce chemicals via (syn)gas conversion with a particular focus on new technologies for the conversion of industry’s waste gases into synthetic chemicals with high added value.

The future steps for the coming year is to set up a network of key research infrastructure, gathering unique and highly specialized infrastructures and expertise related to gas fermentation to create a culture of cooperation and information/knowledge sharing, develop an action plan/strategy to build a consortium capable of setting up a pilot and/or demo facility for the conversion of industrial solid waste into chemicals via (syn)gas fermentation in the Flanders region, set up a new value chain to make the best out of the pilot system, and tokick-start the elaboration of an Innovation Deal.

Participating regions

North Rhine-Westphalia     Emilia-Romagna     Baden – Württemberg     Navarre     Scotland     South-Netherlands     Norte

Demo Cases

The long term objective is to set up several value chains, starting at the feedstock side (lignocellulose refineries), moving via thermochemical biomass treatment, sugar conversion or lignin de-polymerization lines to drop in and innovative molecules (large attention to functionalities), and finally to new applications in the field of chemicals, materials and products. Applications are in the field of polymers, textile, resins, glues, coatings, surfactants, emulsifiers, anti-oxidants, dispersants, adhesives, panel boards/laminates, tires, cosmetics, paints/inks and with applications in aromas and fragrances, food and feed, pharma, fine chemicals, panel boards/laminates, tires, paints and inks, polymeres and finally composites.

The future steps for the coming year is to set up a business plan for new companies and new products, production of test samples with existing facilities in Europe for biobased aromatics, set up of an application lab, set up of pilots for production (5 tons/year), demonstration plants and commercialization

Participating regions

Emilia-Romagna    Scotland    Wallonia   Värmland    Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)

Activities & Long Term Goals

From Demonstration to Commercial Success.

Our focus extends to encouraging projects, in particular less mature ones, at the demonstration stage to upgrade and fully exploit their business potential. Through targeted initiatives, funding, and expertise, we assist in designing robust business models and identifying financing opportunities from European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to venture capital firms, business angels and blended finance approaches. Our objective is twofold: to accelerate the commercialisation of bioeconomy innovations and increase their replicability across new use cases.

Shaping Policies for Sustainable Growth.

We actively engage in shaping policies to create an enabling environment for bioeconomy growth. By advocating for favourable market and policy frameworks and collaborating with policymakers, we drive the development of sustainable bio-based solutions, addressing societal challenges and supporting a sustainable and prosperous future.

Pilot Contacts

Ilaria Re

Lombardy region, primary contact person ilaria.re@italbiotec.it