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RECOVERY OF TREE RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE USE IN RENEWABLE CHEMISTRY

Objective

Forests cover nearly 40% of the EU’s land, generating about 80.7 million tonnes of forestry residues annually. These residues, such as small branches, bark, treetops, are rich in fibres, lignin, and bioactive compounds with high-value potential, but only 3% are utilized. Their management varies across regions, highlighting the need for site-specific removal thresholds supported by robust ecological assessments, due to a mix of technical, economic, logistical and policy-related barriers. ReTREEaSURE will develop a forestry-specific ecological assessment framework to define sustainable residue removal threshold, deploy a modular, mobile on-site collection and preprocessing system with optimize local logistics strategies to reduce transport costs and emissions, and develop a machine learning-powered valorisation tool to guide forest owners in sustainable biomass harvesting and reforestation. ReTREEaSURE will pioneer integrated biorefinery approaches to convert residues into high-value products including PHB/PHBV biopolymers, bioleather, biopigments, bioactive compounds, lignin-based platform chemicals and epoxy, biobased and biodegradable packaging, cloth hangers, and substrates for mushroom cultivation. Five innovative business models are co-developed and validated with relevant industrial partners, aligning valorisation pathways with market needs to ensure economic viability and scalability. ReTREEaSURE will foster inclusive stakeholder engagement by activating regional hubs, dynamic knowledge-sharing platforms, and collaborative multi-actor events that accelerate the uptake of sustainable forestry residual valorisation. By integrating ecological assessments, advanced processing, and market-oriented strategies, the project aims to transform underutilized forestry residues into valuable bio-based materials, supporting a circular bioeconomy, climate resilience, and sustainable forest management across Europe.

Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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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.

HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025

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Coordinator

Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 770 359,00
Address
Moylish Park Campus
V94 EC5T Limerick
Ireland

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Region
Ireland Southern Mid-West
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 822 030,00

Participants (9)

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