The SUSTAINEXT project, funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), gathered on March 5 representatives of European, national, regional, and local authorities to show them the first progress in constructing the flagship plant. This plant, which once completed is expected to industrially deploy a versatile and multi-product digital biorefinery with a net zero carbon ambition, is set to become the most innovative in the world within the botanical extracts sector and an inspiration for other biobased industries.
The circular and disruptive model that the pioneering 54-month project SUSTAINEXT proposes is based on the DYANA concept, i.e. a smart, dynamic and analytical biorefinery that integrates the entire supply chain, from feedstock to end users, and enables cascading feedstock valorization that is optimized by batches based on the initial feedstock composition to deliver maximum value with the dual objective of zero waste and zero emissions.
SUSTAINEXT will be deployed industrially with six European feedstocks of sustainable and local origin. Three medicinal and aromatic crops (rosemary, chamomile, and lemon verbena) will be grown in Extremadura in disused tobacco fields as an alternative towards healthier crops, and also between solar panels, enhancing land use. In addition, three agro-industrial side-streams (olive, artichoke/cardoon, and pomegranate) will show how biomass upcycling represents an opportunity to give new life to certain under-exploited biological raw materials.
The consortium is made up of 20 partners spread across Europe: Natac, TABACOEX, CTAEX, BIOPLAT, Enel Green Power España, ARRAM Consultores, INPRALSA, Biomasa Peninsular, Consejo Regulador Denominación de Origen Protegida Torta del Casar, Nutraresearch, FUNDECYT-PCTEX, Endesa and IRIS Technology Solutions, all from Spain; Enel Green Power, Star Industriale, ACEL Pharma and Università degli Studi di Torino, from Italy; ECODESIGN Company GmbH, from Austria; MIAVIT GmbH, from Germany and Mibelle Biochemistry, from Switzerland.
The event, which offered the authorities a tour of Natac's current plant facilities, and the progress of the new plant's construction works, was attended by representatives of the 20 European entities that make up the consortium, and local public figures; by the executive director of the CBE JU, Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore; the commissioner for the Circular Economy at the Ministry for Ecological Transition, and the Demographic Challenge, Alejandro Dorado Nájera; and the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, María Guardiola Martín, among other authorities.
Each one of them agreed in highlighting the importance of a project as SUSTAINEXT having chosen an agro livestock farming region such as Extremadura, with the benefit that this implies both in terms of job creation and opportunities, unlocking new value chains and developing the industrial and innovation network in the region.
Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, CBE JU Executive Director, said that "SUSTAINEXT shows the power of collaboration in the circular bioeconomy, transforming a visionary idea into a future groundbreaking biorefinery that will drive sustainability, innovation, and economic growth in the Extremadura region. This flagship project not only showcases Europe's leadership in bio-based industries but also creates new opportunities for rural regions through zero-waste, zero-emission solutions.”
Learn more about this project here.
