THE NATIONAL NON FOOD CROPS CENTRELBG

Their core work

The National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) is a UK-based bioeconomy consultancy and research centre specializing in finding industrial uses for agricultural crops, waste streams, and biological resources beyond food production. They help translate agricultural by-products — crop residues, municipal bio-waste, fish waste — into valuable bio-based chemicals, bioenergy, and biofertilisers. Their work sits at the intersection of farming, waste valorisation, and industrial biotechnology, making them a practical bridge between agriculture and the chemical/materials industry.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

NNFCC's early H2020 work (2016–2017) centred on practical agricultural waste management — recycling crop by-products into bioenergy, biofertilisers, and biocompounds through established biorefinery techniques. By 2019, their focus shifted markedly toward advanced biotechnology: synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and microbial cell factories for producing high-value bio-based chemicals. This progression from "what can we do with farm waste" to "how can we engineer organisms to make specific molecules" shows a clear upstream move in the bioeconomy value chain.

NNFCC is moving from waste-focused consultancy toward advanced industrial biotechnology, positioning itself as a partner for projects that need both practical bioeconomy knowledge and connections to synthetic biology capabilities.

How they like to work

NNFCC consistently joins as a participant rather than leading consortia, suggesting they bring specialist knowledge or network access rather than driving project design. With 65 unique partners across 21 countries from just 5 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia — averaging 13+ partners per project. This breadth indicates they are well-connected across the European bioeconomy and comfortable operating in complex multi-partner environments.

Broad European network spanning 65 partners across 21 countries — remarkably wide for an organisation with only 5 projects. This suggests NNFCC is a well-known connector in the bioeconomy space, frequently invited into large consortia across different sub-sectors.

What sets them apart

NNFCC occupies a distinctive niche as a non-food crops specialist — most bioeconomy players focus on either the agricultural side or the industrial biotech side, while NNFCC bridges both. Their evolution from waste valorisation into synthetic biology means they understand the full chain from field residue to engineered molecule. For consortium builders, they bring practical bioeconomy market knowledge, connections to pilot facilities, and a track record of working in large diverse teams.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SHIKIFACTORY100
  Their most recent and highest-funded project (EUR 360,500), representing a strategic shift into synthetic biology and modular cell factories for producing 100 compounds.
• AgroCycle
  Core to their identity — a comprehensive agricultural value chain project addressing waste recycling, bioenergy, biofertilisers, and biocompounds from farm by-products.
• Pilots4U
  A networking project that built a directory of bioeconomy pilot and demo facilities across Europe — giving NNFCC unique visibility into available infrastructure.