Sister projects

Exploiting Modular Biochar and board production plants to locally transform waste from traditional agrifood, feed and forestry industries into bio-materials with rEgional DEmanD.

The EMBEDED project aims to demonstrate alternative business models in 36 months by transforming waste from Europe traditional agrifood industries into biochar and construction boards, with a long-term carbon sink effect and short resilient value chains. The validation of the km.0 application of biochar on primary producer plantations and the regional market characterization will be conducted. Valorisation streams aim to combine marginal revenues from mainstream residues (olive pomace, olive stones, grape mark) with overlooked or underutilised ones (cork bark left on field, press-cake from fresh grass, grape stems), with five demonstration pilots planned in Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Czech Republic. Four of the pilots will have pyrolysis for the manufacture of biochar, using a modular method that fits pre- and post-conditioning phases into a single–maned portable unit. In two of the pilots, extractive methods aimed at bio-active chemicals will be evaluated to determine the added benefit of a cascade valorisation. Using a modular but stationary pilot, the Board production plant will capitalize on the cork outputs geographical.

Valorisation of harvested agroforestry biomass waste as feedstock for value-added bio-based solution as a green development pathway.

The HarWASTing project aims to boost rural bioeconomy through bioeconomy and circular economy business models that efficiently exploit underutilised biomass. It uses Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) and Pressurized Hot Water Extraction (PHWE) to convert this biomass into valuable products, ensuring no waste. The primary output is hydrochar, which is made into hybrid wood-hydrochar panels for high-value uses like fire protection and electromagnetic shielding, with potential use for the construction sector, and many others. The project concept is supported by an AI-based digital tool for feedstock forecasting and a new digital platform for commercialization.