Produce on a large scale competitive bio-based building blocks, polymers and materials that outperform existing alternatives in identified market applications - BBI.2018.SO3.F1

Deadline: Sep 6, 2018  
CALL EXPIRED

Specific Challenge:

Research and demonstration activities have applied innovative technologies and processes to obtain novel bio-based building blocks, polymers and materials with improved functionalities and performances for packaging, coatings, resins and paints, additives, composites, fibres, cosmetics and others.

These innovative products can outperform state-of-the-art products, both fossil-based and current bio-based in comparable applications, in terms of performance and sustainability. However, despite their better performance and the high interest from the market in benefiting from this, their higher production costs and consequent higher prices slow down market uptake.

The specific challenge of this topic is to realise the high market potential of innovative bio-based building blocks, polymers and materials at a competitive level with benchmark products.

Scope:

Produce, at commercial level, bio-based building blocks, polymers and materials that outperform existing alternatives in comparable applications on performance and sustainability, by scaling up an optimised value chain, with demonstrated technologies and systems in an operational environment.

This topic builds on a successful demonstration of an optimised value chain at TRL 6-7, producing building blocks, polymers and materials with the potential to scale up. Proposals can also exploit natural bio-polymers where feasible.

Proposals should deliver a first-of-a-kind biorefinery, fully integrating feedstock supply and processing technologies to deliver products with target functionalities to meet identified market demand at competitive prices. The biorefinery should demonstrate effective and cost-efficient operation at a commercial level, applying where relevant the cascading use of biomass to maximise resource efficiency.

This topic includes any biomass feedstock that can be supplied sustainably to a large-scale biorefinery while providing economic, social and environmental benefits along the supply chain.

This topic may include any processing technology that has been demonstrated in an optimised value chain, and should encompass all processing stages leading to intermediate and end-products.

Proposals should address the elimination of hurdles and bottlenecks regarding the logistics, transport modes and associated infrastructure in the targeted biomass feedstock supply systems. These include collection systems, intermediate storage and safety aspects (see introduction – section 2.2.5 - published in the BBI JU AWP 2018).

Proposals should include a performance validation of the obtained products in their respective applications, whether applied by themselves or combined with other products, to demonstrate better performance of the applications versus state-of-the-art alternatives.

Proposals should be based on a sound business case and business plan.

Proposals should include a full assessment of the environmental, economic and social impacts of the developed products or processes, using LCSA methodologies based on available standards, certification, accepted and validated approaches (see also introduction – section 2.2.5 - published in the BBI JU AWP 2018).

Any potential hazards associated with the developed processes and products should be analysed to ensure that the products comply fully with REACH(1) legislation and other toxicity requirements, safety requirements and any relevant EU legislation.

If relevant, proposals should also allow for pre- and co-normative research necessary for developing the needed product quality standards.

The technology readiness level (TRL)(2) at the end of the project should be 8. Proposals should clearly state the starting TRL.

Indicative funding:

It is considered that proposals requesting a maximum contribution of EUR 21 million would be able to address this specific challenge appropriately. However, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

1 The Regulation for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, effective since 1 June 2007.

2 Technology readiness levels as defined in annex G of the General Annexes to the Horizon 2020 Work Programme: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/wp/2018-2020/annexes/h2020-wp1820-annex-ga_en.pdf

Expected Impact:

• contribute to KPI 1: create at least two new cross-sector interconnections in bio-based economy;
• contribute to KPI 2: establish at least three new bio-based value chains;
• contribute to KPI 5: create at least three new bio-based materials;
• contribute to KPI 6: create at least two new demonstrated ‘consumer’ products based on bio-based chemicals and materials that meet market requirements.

Type of action: Innovation action – flagship action.

Cross-cutting Priorities:

Cross-cutting Key-Enabling Technologies (KETs)
Socio-economic science and humanities