European projects
Unlock
Term: May 1, 2021 – April 30, 2025
Project
In Europe alone, 3.6 million metric tons of feathers are generated annually as waste from the poultry sector. About 25% is used for animal feed or fertilizer, while the rest is disposed of in landfills or incinerated. Feathers contain nearly 90% keratin, a valuable protein that can serve as a source for biodegradable materials, such as bioplastics for agriculture. However, to unlock the full potential of feathers as a raw material for functional molecules, there are many technical, logistical, and market hurdles to overcome in the supply chain to enable the launch of profitable value chains and the widespread market adoption of keratin-based products. UNLOCK will design and demonstrate economically and environmentally sustainable value chains led by the primary sector, which will generate innovative bio-based functional products for agricultural applications: forest/seed trays, nonwoven geotextiles, mulch films, and hydroponic foams. Keratin-based materials will outperform their fossil-based counterparts by providing additional functionalities throughout the product’s lifespan and environmental benefits at the end of its life (controlled biodegradability, enrichment of organic nitrogen in the soil, and zero waste generation).
UNLOCK will create four new bio-based value chains, four new agricultural consumer goods, and at least three cross-sector interconnections among the primary sector (poultry sector), the bioplastics industry, and the agricultural sector, opening up new innovation-led market and job opportunities in the EU bioeconomy. UNLOCK’s conversion technologies will advance from TRL 5 to 7, demonstrating the full potential of keratin for circular bio-based plastics, through a multidisciplinary consortium of 15 partners (8 SMEs), supported by a strong stakeholder board. UNLOCK will enable the establishment of two first-of-their-kind commercial biorefineries after the project concludes. Co-creation and replication will be reinforced through a specific regional cluster approach to amplify the impacts during and after the project.
Coordinator
CIDETEC (Spain)
Partners
CEDROB (Poland), GHE (France), Bioextrax (Sweden), BIO-MI (Croatia), TECNOPACKAGING (Spain), FarrellyMitchel (Ireland), OWS NV (Belgium), INKOA (Spain), Ł-IBWCh (Poland), AIMPLAS (Spain), PROCESSUM (Sweden), UNIMOS (Poland), G!E (Belgium), ACUDAM (Spain)
Tasks of Normec OWS
- Characterize the biodegradation potential of the developed materials in different environments (soil, home composting, industrial composting, marine environment, and freshwater).
Contact
Mr. Steven Verstichel
steven.verstichel@normecgroup.com
This project has received funding from the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No. 887398. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the Bio-based Industries Consortium.