The overall objective of the project is to support the European biogas/biomethane industry by preparing markets for the export of sustainable biogas/biomethane technologies from Europe to developing and emerging countries. This will be achieved by the development and application of innovative digital and non-digital support tools and actions, by knowledge transfer and capacity building as well as by the preparation of demo cases up to the investment stage. This will increase the share of renewable energies, both in Europe and in importing countries. More specifically, the DiBiCoo proposal aims to support the European biogas industry in diversifying its sales market and therefore increasing the deployment of biogas technologies in emerging markets across Latin America, Africa and south east Asia, helping mitigate GHG emissions and increasing the share of global renewable energy generation. The project aims to synthesise and develop country-specific technologies and solutions in the import markets. The target countries (importing countries) selected for the DiBiCoo proposal are Argentina, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, and South Africa. These countries have been selected because of the high market potential for biogas projects in the country, along with favourable regulatory environment and support schemes in each of these countries. The already existing cooperation between some of the consortium members in these countries is seen as an additional asset for the successful implementation of the DiBiCoo project. All target countries lack capacities for optimal deployment of biogas technologies from domestic sources. The potential for the common learning and the sharing of knowledge and experience between actors in these countries and in the EU is very high, which can be triggered and facilitated by the project partners based on their joint networks, knowhow and experience.

Total farm livestock population in Europe excrete around 1400 Mt of manure annually. More than 90% of manure produced is returned to agricultural fields. However, this is not being done in the most efficient and least leaky way. FERTIMANURE will develop, integrate, test and validate innovative Nutrient Management Strategies to efficiently recover mineral nutrients and other products with agronomic value from manure, to finally obtain reliable and safe fertilisers that can compete in the EU fertilizers market. FERTIMANURE focuses on “How to improve the agronomic use of recycled nutrients from livestock manure” to reconnect nutrient flows between plant and livestock production. Nutrient recycling relies not only in the technologies for producing bio-based fertilisers, but also in a better understanding and managing nutrients at the farm. The ambition of FERTIMANURE is to cover both technological approach for nutrient recovery and nutrient management. To this end, the technological approach will be covered by the implementation of 5 innovative & integrated nutrient recovery on-farm experimental pilots in the most relevant European countries in terms of livestock production (Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands), whereas the nutrient management will be addressed through 3 different strategies adapted to mixed and specialised farming systems: (Strategy #1) On-farm production and use of Bio-Based Fertilisers (BBF), (Strategy #2) On-farm BBF production and Centralised Tailor-Made Fertilisers (TMF) production and (Strategy #3) On-farm TMF production and use. A total of 31 marketable end-products (11 BBF & 20 TMF) will be obtained. The agronomic & environmental performance and their potential to replace conventional fertilisers will be assessed. Ultimately, FERTIMANURE seeks to provide an innovative circular economy model to favour rural development in agricultural sector by creating real synergies and links within farmers and other industrial activities.