WAS

Application of biochar in regenerative agriculture. BIOSAL applies biochar in regenerative agriculture, promoting the circular bioeconomy and improving soil health. This initiative addresses significant environmental challenges, such as poor soil quality, dependence on chemical fertilisers and inefficient management of organic and forestry residues. Biochar, produced through the pyrolysis of plant residues, has the capacity to enhance soil quality, increase soil biodiversity and reduce the need for chemical inputs. Furthermore, it contributes to climate change mitigation by capturing carbon and improving soil structure. The project evaluates the properties of biochar and other organic amendments in compliance to [...]

Development of a substrate with properties similar to conventional substrates, made from the by-products of the agri-food industry as an alternative to peat and/or coconut fiber. AGRIVAL identifies which by-products and mixtures from the agri-food industry have similar properties to peat and coconut fiber in order to generate sustainable and efficient substrates. Once characterised, the new substrates will be used in crops of local agricultural producers, particularly in strawberry and tomato crops, to assess their technical, economic, and environmental application. Currently, peat and coconut fiber are key components in the production of agricultural substrates, as they [...]

Nutrient management strategies for regional ecosystems across Europe. GREENHOOD pioneers a comprehensive approach to address the global challenge of unbalanced nutrient flows in regional ecosystems, tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. Specifically, GREENHOOD reduces nutrient losses in soil, air and water; develops scalable solutions for nutrient management, and enables cross-sector collaboration across all stakeholders. The rebalancing actions are being tested in four different demonstrators, representing different cases of unbalanced regions and focusing on diverse emitting hotspots, including diffuse and point-based emitting sectors. As outcomes of the project, GREENHOOD will implement nutrient flow mapping by analysing and [...]

Building a water-smart economy and society. The CIRSEAU cluster consists of five sister projects granted within the Horizon 2020 call topic CE-SC5-04-2019 “Building a water-smart economy and society” demonstrating the feasibility of a water-smart economy and society, including B-WaterSmart, Wider Uptake, Rewaise, ULTIMATE and WATER-MINING. These five projects share the objectives of identifying alternative water sources, reducing water consumption, and increasing use efficiency, recovering valuable materials from wastewater, producing carbon-free water cycles, and increase their resilience in the face of climate change. The initiatives of the CIRSEAU alliance help mobilise water-related investments and synergies with other [...]

Production of vehicular biomethane from agro-food waste in rural areas. The LIFE CHANDELIER project demonstrates an innovative solution for the production of high-quality vehicular biomethane in rural areas, using agro-food waste. LIFE CHANDELIER addresses one of the great environmental challenges of our time: the mitigation of climate change through the efficient and traceable production of biomethane, a renewable fuel with a significantly lower environmental impact than traditional fossil fuels. The project focuses on the integration of advanced technologies to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of biomethane production, while ensuring the economic and environmental sustainability [...]

Turning agri-food waste and biomass into sustainable polymers. The Polymers-5B project develops novel alternative biological polymers synthesized from biobased monomers sourced from underexploited second-generation feedstocks, such as agri/food waste and biomass, obeying the food first and cascading principle. Polymers-5B brings together cutting-edge technologies and knowledge to develop and drive innovation in biocatalysis and green chemistry processes, generating novel bio-based polymers like polyesters and polyamides with pendent functional groups (e.g. hydroxy, carboxylic, amine, epoxy, thiol, etc.), polyphenols and polyfurans, which mimic fossil-based polymers properties, targeting improved biodegradability. These new polymers will be blended to provide valuable bio-composites [...]

Hybridization of smart energy networks, from components to system. The HIBRIDe project reinforces technological capabilities for sustainable energy autonomy, addressing the challenge of generating an innovative technological solution that allows optimization, hybridization, storage and network management for the integration of renewable energies. HIBRIDe responds to the challenge of optimizing the design and comprehensive management of a local energy network with the research and development of advanced digital tools for optimal planning and operation of hybrid networks; that is, with coupling between electrical and thermal energy, to maximize the use of primary energy from different renewable energy [...]

Artificial intelligence to reuse wastewater and nutrients in the agricultural sector. The iRAIN project investigates an innovative advanced water resource management system to optimize water resources applied in precision agriculture. iRAIN's system combines new treatments for water regeneration and nutrient recovery from urban wastewater with hybrid technologies based on monitoring, artificial intelligence and spectroscopy by fusing data from satellites, drones , agricultural robots, sensor networks and smart multispectral cameras. The initiative's work plan is divided into four activities: research into water regeneration techniques and nutrient recovery for agricultural use; research into advanced techniques for monitoring water [...]

Thermochemical processes for the valorization of forest resources. BIOFORIN is a strategic project to promote the regional bioeconomy and climate resilience through the boost of research and the development of new applications of added value in the market. BIOFORIN brings together the entire value chain, from forest owners to end users, to generate a sustainable forest management model oriented towards industrial use. The initiative promotes a boost in the use of forest biomass, in the first instance for thermal use, generating at the same time an opportunity for a sustainable and resilient management of forest masses, [...]

Reliability and effectiveness of integrated alternative water resources management for regional climate change adaption. The RECREATE project improves the resilience of water supplies and protects the status of natural water resources by facilitating the assessment and inclusion of Alternative Water Resources (AWR) in water management planning for water-scarce regions. RECREATE will compile existing information and will use existing and newly developed models and tools to support the evidence-based, quantitative assessment of different water management strategies under different socio-economic scenarios and climate change projections. The project will improve the cost efficiency of selected AWR solutions by demonstrating [...]

Green, low-cost, and environmentally friendly recycling processes for end-of-life batteries. The REVITALISE project offers a holistic solution for green, low-cost and low environmental impact recycling of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC Hi-Ni), lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and sodium-ion (Na-Ion) batteries, representing 85% of battery waste streams up to 2025. REVITALISE develops low-cost and green processes to recover a full range of battery materials, including NMC, LFP, aluminium, copper, lithium, graphite, fluorides, phosphates and plastics. The project proves overall recycling rates of over 91% at TRL4 for waste processed from post-production scrap and end-of-life battery black [...]

Development of an Innovation Booster Package to accelerate and foster transformation through Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). The NATALIE project addresses the risks posed by climate change and its impacts and advances ecosystem-based adaptation in Europe. To this end, NATALIE offers 25 innovative solutions through cocreation processes, financial innovation, stakeholder participation, modeling, testing, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, pre-feasibility studies and evidence-based results. NATALIE demonstrates 18 Nature-Based Solutions in eight pilot sites located in five different biogeographic regions of Europe. Its replication is studied in four follower sites located in the same biogeographic regions. Eurecat participates in the project [...]

Generation, storage and use of renewable H2 through biowaste recovery. The VAL2H2 project develops technologies that allow the use of biowaste that is difficult to manage in the form of renewable H2. VAL2H2 adopts a decentralized approach to produce H2 that can be used as fuel in waste transport vehicles for local and circular use. The project covers the entire H2 value chain: production, purification and analysis, storage and use. In the case of production, on the one hand the combination of microwave pretreatment with fermentation and reforming, and on the other hand thermochemical processes, are [...]

Concentration and rectification of grape must in situ to replace imported sugars in the production of sparkling wines. The MCR LOCAL project demonstrates the technical and economic feasibility of a compact and mobile process for the concentration of rectified concentrated must (RCM) in the wineries of the Penedès area, reducing economic costs and the associated carbon footprint in comparison to the use of sugar, or to the RCM produced outside the territory of application. The pilot will consist of three technological modules: ultrafiltration, ion exchange resins, and evaporation. The presence of the pilot at the cellars [...]

Development of a technology that can allow a circular economy model for precipitated silica wastes. The LIFE ZEROSILIBRINE project aims to apply an innovative technology for the treatment of precipitated silica wastes, an environmental challenge with no feasible current solution. The project has the following objectives: Demonstrate technical feasibility of reverse osmosis stage with 40 m3/h installation recovering 80% volume of the production process effluent of precipitated silica, reusing the water recovered in the same production process. Validate the operating costs of the reverse osmosis process and the economic feasibility of the manufacture of high-purity anhydrous [...]