Sustainable growing media for vegetable cultivation

Informations projet

MOSSWOOL

N° de convention de subvention: 778341

DOI

10.3030/778341

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 9 Août 2017

Date de début 1 Septembre 2017

Date de fin 31 Decembre 2019

Financé au titre de

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Coût total

€ 3 488 781,25

Contribution de l’UE

€ 2 442 146,00

Coordonné par

NOVARBO OY
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MOSSWOOL (Sustainable growing media for vegetable cultivation)

Période du rapport: 2018-09-01 au 2019-12-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

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.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

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.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

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.

Mosswool® slab visual appearance