Project description
Holistic biotechnology platform replacing petroleum and plant oil feedstocks with fungal biomasss
As the demand for biomass intensifies in our global shift toward a low-carbon economy, challenges arise, particularly in balancing bioresource use. The EU-funded VALUABLE project will focus on non-plant-based biomass valorisation. As such, VALUABLE aims to demonstrate the economic viability of producing yeast oils from Aspergillus niger biomass, an underutilised waste stream of industrial production of citric acid. Moreover, valorisation of fungal biomass waste streams rich in chitin as non-animal sources of chitosan derived enzymatically, which can be used in the production of cosmetics and bio-based chemicals such as adhesives. By efficiently using fungal biomass waste streams, VALUABLE paves the way for a sustainable bioeconomy, preserving land for biodiversity and food production, while reducing the use of fossil raw materials.
Objective
Biomass is at the core of the bioeconomy and the demand for it is increasing worldwide as we transition to a low-carbon economy. Biomass is predominantly used for feed and food products (~55% of global biomass available) followed by bioenergy, with only 8% to date used for bio-based materials despite offering an alternative to fossil-derived chemicals. To promote the development and commercialisation of bio-based materials, an abundance of feedstocks (i.e. sugar, starch, vegetable oil and ethanol) are required. However, this may lead to biodiversity and land use change as potentially more land would be needed to enable the replacement of fossil raw materials, estimated at an additional 2.8 billion tonnes (Bt) Dry Matter (DM) biomass per year, which competes with food and feed production.
To achieve a sizeable and economically feasible bioeconomy, new technologies are therefore needed in order to diversify and deliver processes that can use available, underutilised and more sustainable biomass feedstocks to leave more land available for biodiversity protection and food production, whilst facilitating the substitution of fossil-based resources with bio-based ones.
VALUABLE will focus on the demonstration of a platform non-plant-based biomass valorisation process for the production of yeast oils as a viable substitute for fossil-based and plant-based products (such as palm oil) in applications such as cosmetics, adhesives and resins. More specifically, the VALUABLE process will valorise Aspergillus niger biomass feedstock to demonstrate:
1. Techno-economic viability of producing oils as a substitute for fossil based and plant-based products for applications in cosmetics and bio-based chemicals (e.g. resins for coatings) markets.
2. Better valorisation of fungal biomass waste streams rich in chitin for the production of non-animal derived chitosan and chitosan oligomers for use in applications such as cosmetics and bio-based chemicals (e.g. adhesives) markets.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- social sciences economics and business economics bioeconomy
- agricultural sciences agricultural biotechnology biomass
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.2.6 - Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
HORIZON.2.6.6 - Bio-based Innovation Systems in the EU Bioeconomy
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
80333 Muenchen
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.