Periodic Reporting for period 2 - P2GreeN (Closing the gap between fork and farm for circular nutrient flows)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2024-06-01 al 2025-11-30
P2GreeN's goal is to foster a paradigm shift from a linearly organized resource and nutrient system to a circular material flow system thereby reconnecting nutrients flows between urban wastewater infrastructure with the rural agri-food production.
P2GreeN aims to:
(1) Provide multi-sectoral governance solutions that halt and eliminate Nitrogen (N) & Phosphorus (P) pollution for fresh and maritime waters, soils and air from N and P losses and emissions by connecting existing blue urban with green rural infrastructure to convert linear urban wastewater streams in circular bio-based systems for agricultural production in rural areas;
(2) Close nutrient cycles of N & P flows to foster the transition towards a circular and clean economy (green transition) as well as supporting sustainable food systems from farm to fork offering viable alternatives to reduce the current usage of mineral fertilizers by replacing them with innovative bio-based fertilizers from urban human waste streams (urban wastewater, urine and faeces);
(3) Enable policy makers to replicate P2GreeN’s sustainable regional circular economy models in all regional settings across Europe.
P2GreeN achieves these goals by:
(1) Establishing, demonstrating and validating three different circular N & P nutrient flow systems in three pilot regions in Sweden, Germany and Spain, which are all located at the interface of rural/coastal and urban areas and use urban human waste streams to convert them into valuable bio-based fertiliser for food production in agriculture;
(2) Developing blueprints on how to scale up these innovative circular N & P nutrient flow systems for already defined follower regions in France, Italy Greece and Hungary, and how these could be utilized across other EU regions as well;
(3) Creating new circular business models that will ensure the long-term economic viability of these newly established value chains in the pilot regions;
(4) Producing different sets of policy recommendations for regional and national public authorities and for the EU Commission defining required changes to establish a uniform legislative framework that supports innovative circular bioeconomy products and innovative small businesses developing these products.
P2GreeN aims to:
(1) Provide multi-sectoral governance solutions that halt and eliminate Nitrogen (N) & Phosphorus (P) pollution for fresh and maritime waters, soils and air from N and P losses and emissions by connecting existing blue urban with green rural infrastructure to convert linear urban wastewater streams in circular bio-based systems for agricultural production in rural areas;
(2) Close nutrient cycles of N & P flows to foster the transition towards a circular and clean economy (green transition) as well as supporting sustainable food systems from farm to fork offering viable alternatives to reduce the current usage of mineral fertilizers by replacing them with innovative bio-based fertilizers from urban human waste streams (urban wastewater, urine and faeces);
(3) Enable policy makers to replicate P2GreeN’s sustainable regional circular economy models in all regional settings across Europe.
P2GreeN achieves these goals by:
(1) Establishing, demonstrating and validating three different circular N & P nutrient flow systems in three pilot regions in Sweden, Germany and Spain, which are all located at the interface of rural/coastal and urban areas and use urban human waste streams to convert them into valuable bio-based fertiliser for food production in agriculture;
(2) Developing blueprints on how to scale up these innovative circular N & P nutrient flow systems for already defined follower regions in France, Italy Greece and Hungary, and how these could be utilized across other EU regions as well;
(3) Creating new circular business models that will ensure the long-term economic viability of these newly established value chains in the pilot regions;
(4) Producing different sets of policy recommendations for regional and national public authorities and for the EU Commission defining required changes to establish a uniform legislative framework that supports innovative circular bioeconomy products and innovative small businesses developing these products.
Key work activities and main achievements of the project so far are:
• Fully implemented and demonstrated the nutrient capture of N & P, and circular reuse at rural/coastal and urban/industrial interfaces in 3 pilot regions (GER, SWE, ESP)
• Established standardized data collection and finished LCA modelling applicable to all pilot regions allowing for coherent data collection and analysis across the different geographical conditions in the field trials thus enabling the pilot regions to show and provide evidence that the implemented circular nutrient capture and reuse technologies halt and prevent N&P pollution
• Implemented 4 different technological solutions in the pilot regions that convert human waste streams into safe bio-based fertiliser, validation via agricultural production of barley, rye, buckwheat, mango and avocados thus demonstrating balanced N/P flows
• Developed 4 tailor-made business models, and identified key enabling drivers for circular value chains as a foundation for blueprints contributing to the replicability in the project regions and beyond
• Conducted multiple workshops, focus groups, interviews with relevant stakeholders along the waste-water-food nexus across all pilot and follower regions to identify key criteria as well as gaps for the establishment of successful governance frameworks
• Created a toolbox for awareness raising
• Performed an analysis of the current urban planning framework, local challenges, and opportunities for all pilots as a basis for upscaling in the pilot regions and beyond
• Delivered a scoping review that identifies and comprehends the broader legal and regulatory frameworks that govern from fork to farm and fork again
• Delivered a report that sums up the results about the benchmark of governance frameworks adopted in existing European projects related to circular N & P solutions
• Developed a network hub that contains more than 600 key stakeholders across the EU and ongoing networking and clustering activities across Europe, e.g. as an active member of ESPP and CCRI
• Contribution to the review and development of relevant EU strategies and policies (CEA, FPR, Bioeconomy Strategy)
• Completed the feasibility study in Hungary and progressed with the feasibility studies in France, Greece and Italy
• Ongoing publication of project results via P2GreeN’s Innovation Platform for P2GreeN stakeholders
• Design of target group specific communication material based on the P2GreeN’s results and distribute them across social media, website and physical events.
• Developed an Exploitation Roadmap to maximise project impact
• Fully implemented and demonstrated the nutrient capture of N & P, and circular reuse at rural/coastal and urban/industrial interfaces in 3 pilot regions (GER, SWE, ESP)
• Established standardized data collection and finished LCA modelling applicable to all pilot regions allowing for coherent data collection and analysis across the different geographical conditions in the field trials thus enabling the pilot regions to show and provide evidence that the implemented circular nutrient capture and reuse technologies halt and prevent N&P pollution
• Implemented 4 different technological solutions in the pilot regions that convert human waste streams into safe bio-based fertiliser, validation via agricultural production of barley, rye, buckwheat, mango and avocados thus demonstrating balanced N/P flows
• Developed 4 tailor-made business models, and identified key enabling drivers for circular value chains as a foundation for blueprints contributing to the replicability in the project regions and beyond
• Conducted multiple workshops, focus groups, interviews with relevant stakeholders along the waste-water-food nexus across all pilot and follower regions to identify key criteria as well as gaps for the establishment of successful governance frameworks
• Created a toolbox for awareness raising
• Performed an analysis of the current urban planning framework, local challenges, and opportunities for all pilots as a basis for upscaling in the pilot regions and beyond
• Delivered a scoping review that identifies and comprehends the broader legal and regulatory frameworks that govern from fork to farm and fork again
• Delivered a report that sums up the results about the benchmark of governance frameworks adopted in existing European projects related to circular N & P solutions
• Developed a network hub that contains more than 600 key stakeholders across the EU and ongoing networking and clustering activities across Europe, e.g. as an active member of ESPP and CCRI
• Contribution to the review and development of relevant EU strategies and policies (CEA, FPR, Bioeconomy Strategy)
• Completed the feasibility study in Hungary and progressed with the feasibility studies in France, Greece and Italy
• Ongoing publication of project results via P2GreeN’s Innovation Platform for P2GreeN stakeholders
• Design of target group specific communication material based on the P2GreeN’s results and distribute them across social media, website and physical events.
• Developed an Exploitation Roadmap to maximise project impact
Results beyond the state of the art that have been achieved during the first 36 months are:
• Demonstrated and validated novel governance solutions in all 3 pilot regions for using urban human waste streams and turning them into bio-based fertilisers for application in agricultural production
• Full closing of circular N & P nutrient flow systems by using P2GreeN’s 4 innovative technological processes to produce bio-based fertilisers for growing new food
• Development of scientifically sound standardized monitoring methodologies, which are crucial for the validation of the overall new circular systems approach
• Agro-ecological monitoring providing evidence for the safety and suitability of the bio-based fertilisers for agricultural food production, supported by a risk assessment for each of the 4 bio-based fertilisers
• Identification of the most promising financing options for the scale up of P2GreeN’s 4 circular business models
• First-time assessment of all different applicable legislation identifying key gaps for the uptake of the 4 different technologies leading to specific recommendations for P2GreeN’s pilot and follower regions
• A concise briefing note to inform EU policy makers about the key benefits of P2GreeN’s circular solutions and actions required for their wide-spread uptake
• PESTEL SWOT framework analysis of the pilot regions leading to the creation of flash cards for stakeholders that summarise 12 upscaling strategies and associated challenges and opportunities
• Development of innovative unisex urinals in the Swedish pilot region that allow to collect urine from events whilst ensuring high user acceptance
• P2GreeN Innovation Platform (https://p2green.eu/open-sources/(si apre in una nuova finestra)) hosting all project results and ensuring long-term accessibility via the P2GreeN Zenodo Community (https://zenodo.org/communities/p2green(si apre in una nuova finestra))
• Demonstrated and validated novel governance solutions in all 3 pilot regions for using urban human waste streams and turning them into bio-based fertilisers for application in agricultural production
• Full closing of circular N & P nutrient flow systems by using P2GreeN’s 4 innovative technological processes to produce bio-based fertilisers for growing new food
• Development of scientifically sound standardized monitoring methodologies, which are crucial for the validation of the overall new circular systems approach
• Agro-ecological monitoring providing evidence for the safety and suitability of the bio-based fertilisers for agricultural food production, supported by a risk assessment for each of the 4 bio-based fertilisers
• Identification of the most promising financing options for the scale up of P2GreeN’s 4 circular business models
• First-time assessment of all different applicable legislation identifying key gaps for the uptake of the 4 different technologies leading to specific recommendations for P2GreeN’s pilot and follower regions
• A concise briefing note to inform EU policy makers about the key benefits of P2GreeN’s circular solutions and actions required for their wide-spread uptake
• PESTEL SWOT framework analysis of the pilot regions leading to the creation of flash cards for stakeholders that summarise 12 upscaling strategies and associated challenges and opportunities
• Development of innovative unisex urinals in the Swedish pilot region that allow to collect urine from events whilst ensuring high user acceptance
• P2GreeN Innovation Platform (https://p2green.eu/open-sources/(si apre in una nuova finestra)) hosting all project results and ensuring long-term accessibility via the P2GreeN Zenodo Community (https://zenodo.org/communities/p2green(si apre in una nuova finestra))