Converting plant-based residues into valuable bio-based products will in the future become cleaner, smarter and more energy-efficient thanks to a new Horizon Europe project.
The food, agriculture, and forestry industries produce valuable biomass by-products known as lignocellulosic biomass, for example, straw, wood, or crop residues. These consist of the three building blocks; cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. However, creating products from these biomass residues is energy-intensive and requires fossil fuels.
The new EU-funded project BioCORE addresses this challenge. It will combine advanced biorefining technologies, renewable electricity, circular water and solvent recovery, and AI-enabled digital control to create bio-based products. The project envisions two main product routes for wheat processing residues from industrial food processing: products for applications in agriculture, and renewable food packaging materials, which can help replace fossil-based materials in packaging.
At the kick-off meeting in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, project coordinator Dr. Fernando Russo Abegao from Newcastle University says that “BioCORE is exciting because it brings together biorefining, renewable energy and AI process control in one integrated project. Our goal is to develop pilot-scale technologies using real feedstocks that can help shape the industrial processes of the future.”
The project brings together partners from research, industry, renewable energy, digital technology, membrane separation, biotechnology, food production and science communication. The consortium includes organisations from the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Greece and Germany. BioCORE runs from June 2026 until May 2030.
For more information, visit the website at biocore-project.eu.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Dr. Daniel Hölle
European Science Communication Institute
Email: dh@esci.eu