ZERO EMISSIONS ENGINEERING BV

Their core work

Zero Emissions Engineering is a Delft-based SME specializing in sustainable materials engineering and circular bioeconomy process design. They provide engineering expertise for bio-based material development — from bioplastics and food packaging to valorization of agricultural side streams like olive leaves and vegetable oil refining byproducts. Their work spans process engineering for extraction, biotransformation, and supercritical CO2 technologies, bridging the gap between laboratory-scale bio-based innovations and industrial-scale implementation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Zero-E entered H2020 in 2019 with a broader materials and energy focus — working on advanced ceramics, lightweight construction materials, and supermarket energy efficiency retrofitting. From 2020 onward, their portfolio shifted decisively toward circular bioeconomy: bioplastics, vegetable oil byproduct valorization, and olive leaf biorefinery. This pivot from construction materials and energy toward bio-based chemistry and agricultural waste processing represents a clear strategic reorientation.

Zero-E is moving firmly into bio-based materials and agricultural waste valorization, making them a strong candidate for future biorefinery, green chemistry, and sustainable packaging projects.

How they like to work

Zero-E operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as coordinator, which suggests they contribute specialized engineering services rather than driving project strategy. With 79 unique partners across 15 countries in just 5 projects, they work in large consortia (averaging ~16 partners per project). This broad partner network indicates they are a flexible contributor comfortable integrating into diverse international teams rather than building tight, recurring partnerships.

Despite being a small company, Zero-E has built a remarkably wide network of 79 partners across 15 European countries through 5 large consortium projects. Their base in Delft places them in a strong Dutch innovation ecosystem, but their collaboration reach is pan-European.

What sets them apart

Zero-E brings a rare combination: engineering capability applied to circular bioeconomy challenges, housed in an agile SME format. While many bio-based material projects rely on universities for process design, Zero-E offers industry-oriented engineering for scaling up green extraction, biotransformation, and bioplastic processing. Their Delft location and SME status make them an attractive consortium partner for projects needing practical process engineering without the overhead of a large corporation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LightCoce
  Their highest-funded project (EUR 306K) and earliest H2020 involvement, focused on advanced ceramics — a departure from their later bioeconomy focus.
• IRODDI
  Demonstrates deep green chemistry capability across multiple separation technologies (supercritical CO2, ionic liquids, enzymes) for valorizing vegetable oil waste.
• OLEAF4VALUE
  Their most recent project, representing the culmination of their biorefinery pivot — cascade valorization of olive leaf biomass into multiple product streams.