SUSTAINEXT

NEXT GENERATION, ZERO-WASTE, DYNAMIC, MULTIVALORIZATION ROUTE BIOREFINERY FOR SUSTAINABLE BOTANICAL INGREDIENTS:SHOWCASING A REPLICABLE AND VERSATILE MODEL FROM EXTREMADURA TO BIO-BASED INDUSTRY IN EU

Project details

Type of project: Innovation Action – Flagship
Project focus: Food, feed & cosmetics
Feedstock origin: Agri-food waste
Feedstock type: Crop residues
Dedicated crops
Food industry sidestreams

Project period: 1 June 2023 - 30 November 2027
Status: In progress
CBE JU Contribution: € 13 996 379,25
Call identifier: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2022

Summary

SUSTAINEXT aims to transform the production plant of lead partner, Natac, at Hervás, Spain, into a multi-product biorefinery with an industrial-scale processing capacity of 20 000 tonnes a year. Based on a circular model integrating the whole supply chain, the refining process will be optimised according to feedstock composition in order to deliver maximum value with minimum environmental impact.

The refinery will create healthy plant-based extracts and functional ingredients from six locally sourced feedstocks: three medicinal and aromatic crops – rosemary, camomile and lemon verbena – will be cultivated in disused tobacco fields, with solar panels installed to enhance soil use and provide clean energy; three agricultural side streams – olives, cardoons and pomegranates – will be used to showcase upcycling of underexploited feedstocks.

The general objective of SUSTAINEXT is to develop a first-of-its-kind biorefinery producing plant-based extracts and ingredients from sustainable feedstocks. It also looks to transform Extremadura, where the refinery is located, from a region with an outdated cropping system into a circular economy reference point.

To this end, the project aims to:

consolidate links with the agri-food industry in order to ensure a reliable supply of agricultural side streams;
validate the industrial-scale integration of 12 value chains so as to obtain 46 extracts and ingredients from six feedstocks;
enable end-users of the extracts and ingredients to deliver 12 product formulations to market;
demonstrate climate change mitigation measures and moves towards zero-waste, zero-emission operations;
maximise the exploitation of the results and public awareness of bio-based solutions.

SUSTAINEXT is expected to:

deliver 46 plant-based extracts and functional ingredients – of which 13 will be new to the market and 12 will be produced for the first time in Europe;
allow the marketing of sustainable, high-quality formulations for food, food supplements, animal feed, fertiliser, cosmetics and chemicals;
provide new business opportunities for primary producers, including by offering healthy alternatives to tobacco to allow tobacco companies to remain viable;
have a decisive socio-economic impact in Extremadura – a region severely affected by demographic challenges – in terms of job creation, attracting investment and unlocking new value chains, while positioning the region at the forefront of the green transition at European level;
enhance the resource efficiency and circularity of the production plant within a zero-waste, zero-pollution strategy;
support market uptake of the products and replication of the model, including implementation of digital solutions that will change how biorefineries work and application of photovoltaics to improve land use.

Consortium map

Project coordination

NATAC BIOTECH SL HERVAS, Spain

Consortium

NUTRARESEARCH 2011 SL Hospitalet De Llobregat, Spain
ACEL PHARMA SRL Beinasco To, Italy
ECODESIGN COMPANY ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY GMBH Wien, Austria
INDUSTRIAS Y PROMOCIONES ALIMENTICIAS SA Hospitalet De Llobregat, Spain
ASOCIACION EMPRESARIAL DE INVESTIGACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO NACIONAL AGROALIMENTARIO EXTREMADURA Villafranco Del Guadiana (Badajoz), Spain
MIAVIT GMBH Essen, Germany
FUNDACION FUNDECYT - PARQUE CIENTIFICO Y TECNOLOGICO DE EXTREMADURA Badajoz, Spain
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO Torino, Italy
BIOPLAT Madrid, Spain
CONSEJO REGULADOR DENOMINACION DE ORIGEN PROTEGIDA TORTA DEL CASAR Casar De Caceres, Spain
ENEL GREEN POWER SPA Roma, Italy
ENEL GREEN POWER ESPANA, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA Madrid, Spain
ARRAM CONSULTORES SL Bajadoz, Spain
ENDESA GENERACION SA Sevilla, Spain
STAR INDUSTRIALE SRL Agrate Brianza, Italy
TABACOEX SOCIEDAD COOPERATIVA LIMITADA DE SEGUNDO GRADO Rosalejo Caceres, Spain
IRIS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT, Spain
BIOMASA PENINSULAR S.A Madrid, Spain