H2020 AgriMax Project: Agricultural and food waste valorization cooperatives based on flexible biorefinery processing technologies with multiple feedstocks for new high-value applications

During the first reporting period (up to M18), the consortium focused its efforts primarily on the design of the two pilot biorefineries. The first six months of the project were used to establish the framework for the consistent and effective development of subsequent activities. First, the state-of-the-art in the conversion of agricultural food waste was reviewed and feedstock availability was defined. Market benchmarks and applicable regulations were also identified and considered for successful implementation and market introduction of the project results. From month 6 to month 18, the consortium developed the conceptual design of the pilot plants. In addition, aspects related to the storage capacity of the different feedstocks, as well as the properties of the main products from both pilot plants, were evaluated. A Joint Stakeholder Platform was established to engage a relevant number of stakeholders and open the biorefineries to potential local users.

During the second reporting period (M19-M30), the consortium focused its efforts on the construction and commissioning of the two biorefineries. Upon completion of RP2 (M30, March 2019), the Italian Pilot Plant building was completed, and the project consortium unofficially inaugurated the biorefinery, ready to begin functional testing. The Spanish Pilot Plant remained under construction in M30, with an estimated completion date of M36 (September 2019). Simultaneously, the consortium began preparing for the optimization of the biorefinery processes and the valorization of its products. Finally, the consortium continued its outreach and communication activities by developing and publishing several videos, launching the first version of the Joint Stakeholder Platform for internal testing within the consortium, and continuing work on a comprehensive exploitation strategy and developing new circular business models.

During the third reporting period, from M31 (04/01/2019) to M60 (09/30/2021), the consortium focused its efforts primarily on commissioning two pilot biorefineries and conducting functional trials to test the implemented novel technologies. In parallel, data and information from the pilot trials were used to continuously improve the valorization performance of by-products and waste streams, evaluate the use of derived biocomposites as feed additives, food ingredients, or edible coatings, conduct LCA and techno-economic assessments of the plants, define cooperative business models, and achieve the rest of the Agrimax outcomes. The aforementioned activities also enabled the partners working on the valorization of the pilot results and waste streams to receive feedback and samples on the pilot results and proceed with preliminary material characterization and processing activities, the results of which fed into their preparation for scale-up once the pilots were operating at full capacity. Importantly, with the exact pilot capacities and production dates/quantities known with a high degree of certainty, it was possible to create a detailed supply and demand plan where supply was determined by the pilot plants based on their capacities and raw material availability (i.e., seasonality).