How to redefine our resources – and create value

In the circular and bioeconomy, one can find many examples of resources re-valued by finding the right organism, the right technology, and the right pathway to create value from someone else’s residue stream. In our last webinar “Redefining Resources – High-Value Chemicals from Side Streams” on 30 September, we looked into three different approaches to use side and residual streams to create valuable products and discussed with the participants how those technologies can become successful.
Learning from the non-sustainable but highly efficient linear and fossil economy how to make the most of a feedstock was one of the key messages of our first speaker Prof. Christopher Wallis from the Cardiff Metropolitan University. Just like every fraction of crude oil is used to produce value, we need to start and use every part of the biomass we are producing. In this multi-harvest-approach, he suggests to not only harvest food or one chemical from a plant grown but harvest the same plant for a second or third time to create more value.
Dr. Petra Vossenberg from Greencovery presented, how upcycled food can be a secret weapon against food waste. Just like whey protein used to be a waste stream of the cheese production before becoming a valuable product itself, Greencovery wants to create valuable new products from waste streams. Their unique separation technology allows them to generate a fibre, a protein and a flavour fraction from different food wastes, which all can be used for different applications.
The last speaker presented, how they can substitute palm oil with a sustainable alternative, saving 96% on the carbon footprint. Prof. Jeroen Hugenholtz presented how NoPalm Ingredients can turn a variety of food production side streams like whey permeate, potato peels, or even rotten fruits and vegetables into a palm oil substitute using oleaginous yeasts. They plan to start building their demo plant in the second half of 2025, which will be able to produce one kilo ton of oil annually. Together with the audience the speakers thought about the most important success factors for high-value chemicals from side streams. Among them were availability, regulations, and financial support. The speakers also emphasised how important communication can be, as well as logistics and facilities to scale-up the technology. As an innovator, knowing your customer and market is equally crucial to turn a great idea into a business with impact. As most ideas start as local approaches, regional value networks were highlighted as important knowledge hubs, reliable partnerships for feedstock supply and important sandboxes to refine technologies and grow businesses. This point was underlined by the insights given by our co-host Maaike Büchner from Oost NL and the presentations of Dutch and German cross-border collaborations.
With these and many more bites for thought to develop the next product from side streams, we concluded the webinar. We thank all speakers and especially our co-organiser Oost-NL for their contribution. This webinar was supported by the Interreg Deutschland-Nederlands project Realise-Bio.