MOEBIOS is an application of the circular (bio)economy concept: the development of three value chains incorporating separate recycling streams for bioplastics (BP’s) to improve waste management efficiency throughout Europe. It is a systemic innovation: it will create linkages addressed at the different key stages of the whole chains to solve a hierarchical challenge, from the collection of the bioplastic waste (simulated streams), up to the upcycling and validation of the final recycled end-products (holistic and coordinated solution). The new value chain will imply sorting, conditioning and valorising three types of waste streams from the packaging, agriculture and textile industries into three end-products, targeting to reach at least the same quality and functionality than the original grades, while the end users’ acceptance will be assessed as well. As cornerstone targets for maximizing project’s impact, the upscaling of the recycling processes will: (1) be integrated in pilot plants on the premises of actual industrial recycling lines currently operating in waste management companies, not disrupting them, and reaching a final TRL = 6/7 or even beyond. (2) focus on bioplastics for which recycling processes are still not in place, excluding bio-based analogues (“drop-ins”): PLA and PLA blends, PHA and its blends, PBS and PEF, accordingly with the market. The use of PBAT will be assessed as well. A Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) and a transdisciplinary methodology will engage waste producers, waste managers, bio-based and (bio)plastics industry, public authorities, standardization agencies, citizens and media multipliers, creating a co-creation and co-ownership innovation environment of + 50 participants.

Carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) has been recently recognised as a key technology to reduce carbon emissions, especially in hard-to-abate sectors, and significantly contribute to EU carbon neutrality targets for 2030 and 2050. Accelerating the upscaling and subsequent market introduction of CCUS research results and technologies is becoming thus increasingly urgent. The Horizon 2020 Programme (H2020) has contributed to the development of innovative technologies, including CCUS. The Innovation Fund Programme (IF) on the other hand, focuses on commercial demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. The transition from mature H2020 projects to the IF is a logical pipeline along the TRL line. Synergies between these and other EU funding programmes can contribute substantially to overcome the hurdles and de-risk large scale investments in first-of-a-kind CCUS flagship projects, but still much remains to be done in accelerating go-to-market strategies for publicly funded innovations. LEADS aims at bridging the gap from research to deployment for CCUS projects in Europe by building an innovation pipeline of promising H2020/HEU projects and supporting project owners to overcome the main bottlenecks and reach final investment decision. Building on their outstanding experience in innovation and EU programmes, as well as leveraging on their strong EU networks, LEADS partners will implement a well-designed methodology and set of measures to assess and select the most promising H2020 projects, coach them and enable them to apply to IF. LEADS methodology will be tested with six H2020 CCUS project cases. A set of reusable IF tools will be created and made available to CCUS stakeholders. Synergy mechanisms between H2020 and IF will be also created by aligning the CCUS up-scaling potential with IF targets. At LEADS project end, at least three H2020 projects are expected to have completed the full LEADS cycle and have submitted a full IF application.

Motivated by an urgent need to mitigate climate change and, particularly, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food value chains, REDWine focuses on the utilization of biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) from the wine fermentation process for microalgae biomass production and valorisation. A powerful synergy across bio-based industries results in REDWine’s innovative circular business model, which allows wine manufacturers to efficiently treat their liquid and gaseous effluents while profitably diversifying their revenues through the valorisation of Chlorella biomass into multiple high-value ingredients. The REDWine concept will be realized through the establishment of an integrated ‘Living Lab’ demonstrating the technical and economic viability of a system for collection and storage of the off-gas and liquid effluents of a 20,000L wine fermenter and its adaptation to microalgae cultivation and energy efficient harvesting technologies, in order to use 90% of the CO2 collected, to produce biomass. REDWine will demonstrate a circular concept through the development of a simple biorefinery to be deployed in the winery which will yield sustainable and cost competitive ingredients for food formulations (protein and fatty acids), cosmetics (peptides, carotenoid rich oils and active polysaccharides), agriculture (carbohydrates as vine biostimulants) and wine production (proteins for wine clarification). The proposed REDWine solution is expected to reduce the GHG emissions of the entire wine production value chain by at least 31% while potentially generating over €15M in revenues and creating 45 new jobs for a 7ML size winery on a 3-year time horizon. REDWine is led by primary producers, the AVIPE wine producers’ association, in partnership with 11 other very committed entities, including 7 SMEs, 1 LE, 2 RTOs and 1 UNI. The proposed consortium assures the all the needed multidisciplinary knowledge and a level of redundancy required for effective implementation of the project.

The Fabulose project seeks to transform the production of animal-free leather alternatives by developing sustainable, circular materials derived from biotech processes. Our goal is to create high-performance, fully biodegradable leather substitutes from bacterial cellulose (BC) and cyanophycin, replicating the properties of traditional leather while reducing environmental impact. By employing advanced fermentation techniques and AI-driven optimizations, we will scale the production of these bio-based materials to meet the demands of industries such as automotive, footwear, and upholstery. To ensure these materials are sustainable throughout their lifecycle, digital tools such as the Digital Twin (DT) and Digital Product Passport (DPP) will monitor, optimize, and track production processes and material performance. This will also support transparency and enable efficient recycling management, aligning the project with circular economy principles. Fabulose will significantly contribute to the European Green Deal by offering alternatives that are not only animal-free but also minimize resource consumption and environmental harm. By focusing on innovation, we aim to enhance Europe's competitive position in sustainable materials, delivering eco-friendly products that meet stringent technical and regulatory standards. The project outcomes will help replace fossil-fuel-based materials with a scalable, environmentally responsible solution, promoting healthier ecosystems and sustainable consumption.

About 40% of modern disposable baby diaper consist of super absorbent polymer (SAP), a component that is neither skin friendly nor biodegradable. As a result, each year 21 bn used diaper generate 10M tons of plastic waste in Europe. This waste ends up either in incinerations, where it does not provide a good calorific value due to the high liquid content of the used diapers, or in landfill (about 2.6M tons yearly). The industry as well as the consumers have been searching for eco-friendly alternatives for years, but the material mix in diapers and the high quality and safety requirements for baby products have made this undertaking impossible so far. There are biodegradable alternatives for the outer non-woven fabrics of the diaper, but these do not yet reach the comfort and skin-friendliness of standard PP-based materials. The situation is even worse for the superabsorbent core, for which no fully biodegradable alternative with satisfying absorbency is available. In the PAWN project, we will bring to the market the first disposable baby diaper that fulfils al requirements. For this aim, the consortium brings together Polygreen (Israel), a start-up company that has developed a biodegradable SAP, Avgol (Israel), a market-leader in non-woven materials, who will integrate a technology to make PolyPropylene materials biodegradable, Celltex (Slovakia), a producer of baby diapers, Wilogis (Germany), a distributor of eco-friendly hygiene products and Novis (Germany), specialists in waste valorization and life cycle analysis. Over 5 years, the PAWN project will generate €136M of revenues and €30M of profit. The project is highly profitable and will deliver a ROI of 6.66.