Project description DEENESFRITPL A smart way of transforming lignin into added-value bio-aromatics Biorefineries convert biomass into products such as biopolymers, food and cosmetic ingredients, etc. As the cornerstone for the transition to a sustainable and circular bioeconomy, biorefineries rely on nature's catalysts: enzymes. However, conventional enzyme engineering methods are slow and inefficient. The EU-funded SMARTBOX project applies computational enzyme engineering methods to screen for the most promising oxidative enzyme variants leading to reduction in time and costs for the conversion of lignin into bio-aromatics such as vanillin, FDCA and polycarbonate building-blocks. This makes oxidative biocatalysis an effective approach in biorefining. For the first time ever, SMARTBOX will combine oxidative biocatalysis with reductive catalytic fractionation technology, which will allow the economically and environmentally sustainable production of added-value lignin applications. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Although they have the potential to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of biorefineries, oxidative enzymes have not experienced a complete breakthrough yet in the biobased industries. This is mainly caused by the high cost and long time associated with traditional enzyme engineering methods such as directed evolution. SMARTBOX will develop an advanced computational engineering platform specifically for oxidative enzymes, which can automatically screen for improved enzyme variants with minimal human intervention. This is achieved by implementing several innovations into current computational screening methods, most importantly machine learning, which allows to train the algorithms with experimental results. As this significantly improves computational predictability, the time and costs associated with oxidative enzyme engineering will be reduced 10-fold compared to state-of-the-art (SOTA) directed evolution methods. Relying on the advanced engineering platform, SMARTBOX will develop the one-enzyme conversion of HMF into FDCA and intermediates, and the one-enzyme conversion of lignin monomers into a potential biobased building block for polycarbonates and vanillin. By adopting a 1-enzyme FDCA production process, the associated production costs and carbon footprint are expected to decrease significantly compared to SOTA chemical oxidation methods. The unique feature of SMARTBOX is that reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) will be used to selectively produce specific lignin monomers from biomass in near theoretical yields. The structural similarity of the resulting monomers with the SMARTBOX building blocks allows the development of high-yielding processes with only one enzyme. Due to the smart combination between oxidative biocatalysis and RCF, the production of bio-aromatics will proceed with higher yields than the state of the art. Fields of science natural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistryelectrolysisnatural scienceschemical sciencescatalysisbiocatalysisnatural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learningnatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymesagricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass Programme(s) H2020-EU.2.1.4. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Biotechnology Main Programme H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Topic(s) BBI.2018.SO2.R2 - Develop techniques and systems to improve the performance of biocatalysts Call for proposal H2020-BBI-JTI-2018 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme RIA - Research and Innovation action Coordinator BIO BASE EUROPE PILOT PLANT VZW Net EU contribution € 885 375,00 Address Rodenhuizekaai 1 9042 Desteldonk gent Belgium See on map Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent Activity type Other Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 98 375,00 Participants (10) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN Netherlands Net EU contribution € 418 867,00 Address Broerstraat 5 9712CP Groningen See on map Region Noord-Nederland Groningen Overig Groningen Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 46 540,50 ZYMVOL BIOMODELING SL Spain Net EU contribution € 206 125,00 Address Calle roc boronat 117 planta 2 modulo 6 08018 Barcelona See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Este Cataluña Barcelona Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 36 375,00 UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA Portugal Net EU contribution € 325 521,00 Address Campus de campolide 1099 085 Lisboa See on map Region Continente Área Metropolitana de Lisboa Área Metropolitana de Lisboa Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 36 169,00 UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA Italy Net EU contribution € 303 750,00 Address Strada nuova 65 27100 Pavia See on map Region Nord-Ovest Lombardia Pavia Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 33 750,00 KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN Belgium Net EU contribution € 807 750,00 Address Oude markt 13 3000 Leuven See on map Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Vlaams-Brabant Arr. Leuven Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 89 750,00 AVA BIOCHEM BSL AG Switzerland Net EU contribution € 494 375,00 Address Rothausstrasse 61 4132 Muttenz See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Nordwestschweiz Basel-Landschaft Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 164 791,66 B4PLASTICS Belgium Net EU contribution € 159 900,00 Address Iq-parklaan 2a 3650 Dilsen-stokkem See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Limburg (BE) Arr. Maaseik Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 35 100,00 COVESTRO DEUTSCHLAND AG Germany Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address Kaiser wilhelm allee 60 51373 Leverkusen See on map Region Nordrhein-Westfalen Köln Leverkusen, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 BORREGAARD AS Norway Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address Hjalmar wessels vei 6 1721 Sarpsborg See on map Region Norge Oslo og Viken Viken Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 58 215,00 QUANTIS Switzerland Net EU contribution € 322 500,00 Address Parc scientifique epfl pse d 1024 Ecublens vd See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Région lémanique Vaud Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00