TEREOS PARTICIPATIONS

Their core work

Tereos is one of the world's largest agro-industrial cooperatives, specializing in sugar beet and starch processing, with major operations in France. In H2020 projects, they contribute industrial-scale expertise in converting agricultural biomass — particularly sugar beet and lignocellulosic residues — into bio-based chemicals, polymers, and materials. Their R&D participation spans two distinct tracks: valorizing biorefinery side-streams into advanced bio-based plastics (PEF, polyesters), and understanding the health and consumer dimensions of sweeteners. As a large-scale processor of agricultural raw materials, they bring real feedstock supply chains and production infrastructure to research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

With only three projects starting between 2016 and 2018, the evolution window is narrow. However, there is a visible broadening: their earliest project (Zelcor, 2016) focused on waste valorisation from lignocellulosic biorefineries, while subsequent projects expanded into advanced bio-based materials like PEF as PET replacements (PEFerence) and into the consumer and health dimensions of sweeteners (SWEET). The trajectory suggests a shift from upstream biomass processing toward downstream product development and market-facing research.

Tereos is moving from pure biomass processing toward bio-based product development and consumer-facing research, suggesting growing interest in market readiness and end-use applications.

How they like to work

Tereos participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — consistent with a large industrial company contributing feedstock expertise and industrial validation rather than leading the research agenda. With 77 unique partners across 15 countries in just three projects, they operate in large, multi-national consortia (averaging ~26 partners per project). This suggests they are comfortable in complex, multi-party collaborations and valued for their industrial-scale contributions.

Across three projects, Tereos has collaborated with 77 unique partners in 15 countries, indicating broad European reach. Their consortia are large and multinational, typical of BBI-JU and major RIA projects in the bioeconomy space.

What sets them apart

Tereos brings something most research partners cannot: industrial-scale sugar beet and starch processing infrastructure combined with real biomass supply chains. This makes them a credible validation partner for any consortium working on bio-based chemicals, materials, or food ingredients at scale. For consortium builders, Tereos offers the bridge between lab-scale biorefinery research and commercial feedstock reality — a critical gap in many bio-based innovation projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PEFerence
  Flagship BBI-JU project developing PEF as a bio-based alternative to PET plastic, with Tereos receiving their largest single grant (EUR 320,688) — directly relevant to the circular bioeconomy.
• Zelcor
  Ambitious zero-waste biorefinery concept targeting complete lignin valorisation from cellulosic residues, addressing one of the biggest unsolved challenges in biomass processing.
• SWEET
  Unusual for Tereos — a health and consumer-focused study on sweeteners, showing the company's interest in understanding market and regulatory dimensions beyond pure processing.