Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MOSSWOOL (Sustainable growing media for vegetable cultivation) Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2019-12-31 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project A Finnish SME, Novarbo Oy, has developed a sustainable and cost-effective way to manufacture hydroponics growth medium Mosswool® as a sustainable, recyclable and compostable drop-in replacement for the non-biodegradable stonewool growth media for the hydroponic cultivation of vegetable crops. There is a strong desire for sustainable alternatives to stonewool and other mineral-based growing media.The innovation is to utilize sphagnum moss, harvested in Nordic EU countries by using a new unique technique that skims only a top layer of moss. Ecological and hydrological balance of the bogs are preserved and they return to fully sphagnum covered former state within 3 years. Patented manufacturing techniques are used to fabricate Mosswool® slabs. Novarbo has built a demonstration-scale manufacturing plant and supplied test customers with Mosswool® slabs.The overall objectives are production scale-up from pilot to demonstration plant scale, cost and eco-optimization of Mosswool® slabs and performance testing at test institutes and commercial greenhouses. Life-cycle assessment of Mosswool slabs compared to competing products have been made. Benefits of Mosswool® are communicated by augmented Novarbo’s sales network.Conclusions of the action are that Mosswool® is a sustainable alternative for stonewool and coconut coir growing slabs. Feedback from both non-commercial testing greenhouses and commercial greenhouses has been very positive, and Mosswool® performance has been equal or better than stonewool and coconut coir. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far Demonstration-scale Mosswool® manufacturing plant has been successfully designed, constructed and commissioned. Mosswool® slabs have been manufactured and distributed to testing customers.Mosswool® slabs have been optimized economically and ecologically.Mosswool® performance tests have been conducted at non-commercial testing greenhouses and commercial greenhouses. Feedback from customers has been very positive.Benefits of Mosswool® have been communicated by augmented Novarbo’s sales network in customer meetings and workshops, exhibitions and fairs. There seems to be a lot of demand for Mosswool® on the market. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) Reliable production cost and capacity calculations have been developed to include in a robust business plan with reliable investment calculations for industrial scale production, and private or SME-instrument Phase 3 funding will be prepared.
