Imagine taking the 'trash' from sewage plants and fish factories and turning it into a slow-release vitamin pill for plants. Instead of using chemicals made from oil and gas, this process extracts nutrients from waste to feed crops more efficiently. It's like a recycling system that keeps nutrients in the soil and out of the water.
EU agriculture is dangerously dependent on fossil-fuel based nitrogen and imported phosphorus/potassium. This creates food security risks and causes soil pollution through microplastics and nutrient runoff.
A suite of 8 extraction technologies to recover N, P, and biopolymers from sewage, fish, and food waste. This includes the production of up to 2 tonnes of controlled-release bio-based fertilizers.
If you are a farming cooperative dealing with high costs of fossil-based mineral fertilizers — this project developed controlled-release bio-based fertilizers that can reduce fertilizer use by 30% by 2035. This allows for precise application tailored to growth stages while reducing nutrient losses by 25%.
If you are a waste manager dealing with expensive sewage sludge disposal — this project developed extraction technologies that can increase nutrient recycling from bio-waste streams by up to 70%. This transforms a waste liability into a high-value ingredient for fertilizer production.
If you are a chemical company dealing with the environmental backlash against microplastics in soil — this project developed PHA-based biopolymers for fertilizer coating. This prevents microplastic pollution while increasing the bioavailability of nutrients.
The project aims to produce and commercialize up to 100 tonne/y of bio-based fertilizers by 2035. By the end of the project period, it intends to produce up to 2 tonnes of compliant controlled-release fertilizers.
Based on available project data, the goal is to ensure the affordability and availability of fertilizers by using locally produced bio-wastes, reducing dependency on expensive foreign supply chains for Phosphorus and Potassium.
Based on available project data, the project involves 8 different extraction technologies being demonstrated, but specific licensing terms are not provided in the summary.
The project runs until May 2031, with specific impact targets for fertilizer reduction and commercialization set for 2035.
The fertilizers are tested in four different climate conditions (Mediterranean, Atlantic, Continental, and sub-Alpine) to ensure they work across various soil ecosystems and can be easily adopted by farmers.
The consortium is heavily weighted toward industrial application, with 8 industry partners (44% ratio) and 8 research organizations. The presence of 3 SMEs and a second-tier farming cooperative indicates a strong focus on the commercial supply chain, moving from waste feedstock owners to the end-user farmer.
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