Objective
Propylene Glycol (PG) is a non-toxic alcohol that is used in various consumer and industrial applications, such as food and beverage, feed, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, plastics, electronics, etc. Its unique combination of properties makes it a valuable solvent, emulsifier, stabiliser, freezing point reducer and much more.
Still, dependency on oil prices, as well as costly and environmentally unfriendly production processes make PG today an expensive additive compared to alternative Ethylene Glycol (EG), a toxic chemical with similar properties and uses, but a tenfold larger market. EG has a sweet taste and is often accidentally ingested, leading to hundreds of fatal intoxication cases around the world annually.
Estonian SME Nano OÜ has developed a novel process to produce bio-based PG from agricultural waste in a fermentation process similar to ethanol fermentation. Innovative production process and our choice of raw materials bring down the produc agricultural waste tion cost and make PG price-competitive with hazardous EG, enabling to replace the latter in various high-value applications where human exposure is inevitable.
The BioPG project helps Nano to assess the business potential and economic feasibility of the proposed innovation, and focuses on:
• Creating a business plan to define the best strategy for the commercialization of the method;
• Conducting a freedom-to-operate study to ensure no other patents are infringed by the proposed innovation project;
• Preparing a preliminary design of a pilot plant for PG manufacturing.
As the result of the feasibility assessment, Nano will have necessary high-quality input to compose a competitive proposal for SMEI Phase 2 project, where detailed blueprints for the pilot plant are engineered and preparations for building the plant are made. After successful commercialisation, the expected annual turnover of Nano reaches €93 million by 2023.
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 environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- engineering and technology other engineering and technologies food technology
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry organic acids
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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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.
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H2020-EU.3.5. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
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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.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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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) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017
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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.
10621 TALLINN
Estonia
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.