WASTE2FUNC: Project Overview
WASTE2FUNC is a BBI-JU funded project. It kicked off on June 1st 2021 and ended on November 30th 2024.
It brought together 12 partners from 5 countries. More information about the partners can be found on the Partner page.
The aim of WASTE2FUNC was to tackle 5 main Objectives:
- Objective 1: “Create a new sustainable biomass waste supply chain with large volumes derived from the food value chain and integrate it into new value chains for 2G lactic acid and 2G microbial biosurfactants as functional ingredients for higher value home- and personal care applications.”
- Objective 2: “Demonstrate (1-15m³) optimized cost-efficient (with relevant productivities and yield on substrates that go beyond the state-of-the-art) and sustainable (minimum 20% less CO2 emissions compared to the 1G state-of-the-art bioprocesses) converting regional food (crop) waste streams into purified and characterized functional biochemicals (2G lactic acid and microbial biosurfactants)”
- Objective 3: “Demonstrate the sustainable integration of the WASTE2FUNC biomass waste feedstock supply chain with the WASTE2FUNC bioconversion and purification technologies to formulate and demonstrate at least four B2C prototype consumer products such as laundry detergent and hand wash applications extracting more value from the feedstocks and emitting at least 20 % less overall CO2 compared to the state-of-the-art”
- Objective 4: “Establish the market readiness and consumer acceptance of innovative, green and performant functional ingredients for the B2B and B2C industries (2G lactic acid and 2G microbial biosurfactants) equalling or outperforming fossil-based counterparts and compliant with EU regulation on chemical risk management, toxicity and safety”
- Objective 5: “Design multi actor business models with financial models ready for an integrated biorefinery concept for the conversion of food waste into biogas, heat, lactic acid and microbial biosurfactants meeting all market requirements for home- and personal care market applications”
To reach these Objectives the project was structured in several interconnected Work Packages (WPs):
- WP1: Project Management
The aim of this WP was to make sure all planned work was performed as described in the project and enabled recurring meetings between the partners, innovation management, risk mitigation, budget management etc.
- WP2: Mapping, de-risking and optimising biomass waste feedstock supply chains
The aim of this WP was on one hand to map feedstock availability and to discuss the most optimal 2G feedstocks with the technology owners. On the other hand the aim was to create a web application for registration and collection of food waste streams by a waste collection company
- WP3: Demonstration and optimization of biosurfactant and lactic acid production
The aim of this WP was the optimization and demonstration of the 2G lactic acid and 2G microbial biosurfactant production, as well as the establishment of the 2 WASTE2FUNC DEMO facilities. Herewith the overall goal was to reach TRL6-7
- WP4: Development and testing of end product prototypes
In this WP, the molecules produced in WP3 were initially characterized and subsequently also formulations and protoypes were created and launched. Linked to this, also consumer studies were conducted.
- WP5: Environmental and regulatory analysis
The aim of WP5 was to look into all regulatory requirements to enable market penetration and additionally also a full Life Cycle Analysis was performed.
- WP6: Multi-Actor Business model development and roll-out
The aim of this WP was to do a market and technology cost appraisal study, as well as looking into job creation opportunities. One of the main objectives is to create business models for both technology owners and investment teasers for potential private investors.
- WP7: Communication and dissemination
In the framework of this WP, several workshops were organised, both with primary sector representatives and also seperate workshops with more general stakeholders in bioeconomy. Additionally, this WP enables general project communication and dissemination activities as well as the creation of an out-of-the-box project video.
Are you curious about the project results? The main project results are summarized on this page.
