Sustainable fibres biorefineries feedstock

A successful proposal will contribute to the European Green Deal, the EU Bioeconomy strategy and its action plan, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Sustainable Textiles strategy, the Zero pollution action plan^[1], as well as the New European Bauhaus initiative and the EU Industrial Strategy, as well as the upcoming Sustainable Product initiative^[2]. The growth of European fibrous bioeconomy is also a powerful tool for revitalising marginal areas suffering from desertification or experiencing socio-economic difficulties.

Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:

• Sustainable provision of green biomass for the industrial biorefining process, with environmental and social co-benefits (e.g., increased valorisation of green biomass, large-scale high-carbon sequestration, improved understanding and application of biodiversity enhancing potentials (e.g., nature-based solutions), improved ecosystem services^[3], recyclability, as well as skilled green jobs, especially in the rural contexts).
• This topic includes underexploited feedstocks for making alternative, sustainable fibres, from crop plants, trees, agricultural and forestry residues, fungi and algae, or marine/freshwater plants (e.g., Salicornia);
• Development of fibre substrates, e.g., textiles, non-woven materials, composite bio-based materials, to foster innovation across industrial ecosystems, ranging from fashion, automotive, construction, to furniture sectors, enabling several possible end applications with future benefits for consumers based on the selected green fibre feedstocks. This may look on the potential of innovative biotechnology, synthetic biology and related technology, supporting development of circular bio-based end products.
• Improved sustainable exploitation, cultivation and, where relevant, processing methods based on promising selected green feedstocks.
• Increased competitiveness of European bio-based sector underpinned by biotechnology, in particular, SMEs, as well as of the primary biomass producers (agriculture actors), with socio-economic benefits in the engaged participation in the bio-based systems.
• Increased public awareness of links between biodiversity/natural resources and its potentials, leading to increased trust in the scientific approaches based on informed and robust communication and mutual-learning efforts.

Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see Horizon Europe General Annex B.

Expected EU contribution per project: It is estimated that a contribution of EUR 4.5 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.

Dedicated, purposely grown industrial crops and novel terrestrial and aquatic sources of biomass to deliver specific precursors for further processing into chemicals and materials such as textiles, or composites present an attractive route to high value applications. Examples include promising European green fibre crops, such as well-known species as flax and hemp, or trees, but the proposals could also focus on less developed fibrous species e.g., nettle or perennial grasses, or aquatic plants like Salicornia. The proposals should focus on the identification of those promising low-input crops with associated ecological benefits (biodiversity enhancement, soil quality and retention potential, low requirement for water and nutrient use, pollinator friendliness, as relevant depending on the specific source).

In addition to the aforementioned crop selection, the projects should include research on breeding / cultivation and harvesting optimisation steps, and other agronomic options necessary for the subsequent scale-up into the industrial use, in the context of an urgent need to improve EU agriculture innovation potentials, including its bio-based rural element, as related to e.g., fibre quality traits (mechanical properties and overall performance), e.g., fibre length, strength, stress resistance etc., in addition to addressing high yield, considering the need for efficient biomass processing. This should consider a representative variety of European soil and climatic conditions, allowing the replication and subsequent take-up by the bio-based industry and rural actors, especially to identify the conditions suitable for cultivation on unused, marginal, or contaminated land that is currently not in use, in line with the biodiversity protection. Proposals addressing this point could also contain remediation actions for marginal or contaminated soils in order to convert or return these lands to use for agricultural purposes, and/or that can be cultivated in novel and highly resource-efficient conditions.

Proposals under this topic should:

• Enable any of several possible end applications, based on the developed fibre substrates, e.g., textiles, non-woven materials, composite bio-based materials, to foster innovation across industrial ecosystems, ranging from fashion, automotive, construction, to furniture sectors etc.
• Develop a plan for a subsequent up-scaling at biorefinery level, which should include the role of all actors in the value chain, from the feedstock supplier to the actors on the end-market. Furthermore, the model should show that the bio-based system does not interfere with the food chain (feedstocks not suitable for food production/marginal lands etc.).
• Proposals may apply and/or adapt existing/mature or novel digital technologies if they are instrumental to achieving the project’s outcomes and scope. Applications of digital technologies that should be considered in the scope are among the following areas: i) chemicals, materials and process design & modelling ii) process monitoring and optimisation and iii) data analytics and data management of the activities in the scope.
• Social innovation (e.g., mutual-learning methods), inclusive communication and dissemination measures must form part of the proposals in mapping understanding, drivers and barriers from the view of public opinions. This will serve to promote an increased trust in the scientific approaches among the stakeholders.

International cooperation is encouraged as a win-win solution (for instance, regarding the biotechnology aspects, but also on improved environmental impacts, especially biodiversity protection^[3]), while taking care of the European industrial competitiveness.

Among the past and ongoing EU funded research projects, on which the project should build activities, proposals should include specifically: the ones under the BBI JU^[5], Horizon Europe calls^[6], and other EU partnerships^[7].

Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate involvement of all key actors in the value chains relevant for this topic, including primary producers, in the bio-based system. Please see the section Additional requirements in the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2022^[8] for more details.

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0400&from=EN

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12567-Sustainable-products-initiative_en

[3] for a description of the term, see annex Glossary in the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2022 (https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents)

[4] for a description of the term, see annex Glossary in the CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2022 (https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents)

[5] Examples include: Horizon 2020, CE-FNR-14-2020 call: Innovative textiles – reinventing fashion - IA (projects HEREWEAR, MY-FI and New Cotton), as relevant. Also BBI JU past and ongoing projects: H2020-BBI-JTI-2016: GRACE GRowing Advanced industrial Crops on marginal lands for biorefineries GRETE H2020-BBI-JTI-2018- ‘Green chemicals and technologies for the wood-to-textile value chain’, GLAUKOS H2020-BBI-JTI-2019- ‘Sustainable clothing and fishing gear’, SSUCHY H2020-BBI-JTI-2017- Sustainable structural and multifunctional bio-composites from hybrid natural fibres and bio-based polymers

[6] See calls HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-05: Novel, non-plant biomass feedstocks for industrial applications, HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-06: Increasing the environmental performance of industrial processes in bio-based sectors: construction, woodworking, textiles, pulp and paper and bio-chemicals, and any further upcoming calls.

[7] E.g., European Innovation Partnership on Sustainability in Agriculture (EIP AGRI)

[8] https://www.cbe.europa.eu/reference-documents