Summary:
Urban biowaste and post-consumer absorbent hygiene products will provide the raw materials for SOWISE+, a five-year European project that will demonstrate a first-of-its-kind multipurpose biorefinery at Technology Readiness Level 8. The initiative began with a two-day consortium meeting in Treviso, Italy, where partners aligned on the technical programme, implementation plan and initial work for the flagship facility.
SOWISE+ will scale up the conversion of urban biowaste into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), particularly PHBV, while integrating the recovery of cellulose from post-consumer absorbent hygiene products. The project targets annual production of 230 tonnes of PHBV and up to 700 tonnes of virgin-like cellulose. These outputs will be used to demonstrate advanced bio-based materials and products at industrial scale.
The project will also assess safety, sustainability and circularity through Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) frameworks. By combining established technologies, industrial infrastructure and expertise in waste management, biotechnology and materials science, SOWISE+ aims to demonstrate an urban-industrial symbiosis model with potential for replication in other European regions.
— Press Release —
Turning city waste into sustainable end-products
Urban waste represents one of Europe’s most pressing circular economy challenges, but also one of its most promising sources of sustainable raw materials. To address this opportunity, the SOWISE+ project officially kicked-off with a two-day meeting in Treviso, Italy, hosted at Palazzo San Leonardo Great Hall / Campus Treviso, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia.
SOWISE+ ‘Solid Organic Waste Into Sustainable End-products’ aims to demonstrate a first-of-its-kind multipurpose biorefinery for the valorisation of urban biowaste and post-consumer absorbent hygiene products into advanced bio-based materials and products.
Kick-off meeting overview
The kick-off meeting brought together the SOWISE+ consortium to align on the project’s shared vision, technical approach, work plan and first implementation steps. During the two days, partners discussed the project’s scientific, technical, industrial and societal dimensions, setting the foundations for the five-year collaboration.
Throughout the meeting, the consortium:
- Presented the SOWISE+ concept, value chains and expected contribution to circular bio-based innovation.
- Discussed the technical pathway for the development, start-up and operation of the SOWISE+ flagship plant.
- Visited the Contarina plant in Trevignano and the i-Foria plant in Spresiano, strengthening partners’ understanding of the project’s industrial and operational context.
- Reviewed the project’s Work Packages, covering permits and engineering, flagship plant realisation, bio-based polymers (PHBV) and cellulose-based material production, product validation, sustainability assessment, stakeholder engagement, communication, exploitation, replication and project management.
- Defined the first implementation phase and next steps for the months ahead.
The agenda also included an inspiring intervention by the CBE JU Project Officer, Ms Paola Paiano, as well as dedicated sessions for partner presentations, technical concept discussions and financing overview.
SOWISE+ objectives
SOWISE+ will demonstrate how urban waste streams can be transformed into sustainable end-products through a flagship biorefinery model. The project will:
- Scale up the production of bio-vased polymers (PHBV) from urban biowaste to industrially relevant level.
- Integrate the valorisation of cellulose recovered from post-consumer absorbent hygiene products.
- Develop and validate advanced bio-based materials and products using bio-based polymers (PHBV), cellulose and related formulations.
- Assess safety, sustainability and circularity through the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Safe and Sustainable by Design frameworks.
- Engage stakeholders, citizens, waste operators, industry representatives and policy actors to support social acceptance and long-term uptake.
- Evaluate the replication potential of the SOWISE+ model in other European regions.
By combining waste management, biotechnology, material science, industrial demonstration and stakeholder engagement, SOWISE+ aims to create a lighthouse example for integrated urban-industrial symbiosis across Europe.
“SOWISE+ brings together the expertise needed to turn urban waste into sustainable bio-based materials at industrially relevant scale,” said Marco Mattielo, project manager at Contarina and coordinator of SOWISE+. “By integrating innovative technologies with real waste management systems, the project will support a new model of circular urban-industrial symbiosis for Europe.”
Read also: Europe’s waste could supply over half of critical raw material demand by 2050
Next steps
In the coming months, SOWISE+ partners will focus on the first implementation phase, including permitting, engineering and design activities for the flagship plant, the development of the project’s communication and dissemination strategy, stakeholder mapping, sustainability scoping, and the preparation of the technical work required for future scale-up and validation activities.
The project will also begin building its stakeholder community, creating synergies with relevant European initiatives and preparing the foundations for exploitation and replication.
Project consortium
Coordinator: Contarina SpA
Partners: Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia; Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia; SiPHA Società a Responsabilità Limitata; i-Foria Italia SRL; Paques Biomaterials BV; Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology; ena Development Consultants; Novamont SpA; SPRING – Sustainable Processes and Resources for Innovation and National Growth; AquaInSilico LDA; Soprema; CSI – Soprema; SMC Group SRL; Združenie obcí Holeška na triedenie a nakladanie s odpadmi; Empresa Municipal de la Innovación y Desarrollo Tecnológico SA; Ponikve Eko Otok Krk d.o.o.; Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management; Bionanopharma Sociedad Limitada; Normec OWS; Biotrend – Inovação e Engenharia em Biotecnologia SA; Pezy Group; Renewi; Sabio; Ecorys.
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The SOWISE+ project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme through the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) under Grant Agreement No. 101292578. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CBE JU. Neither the European Union nor CBE JU can be held responsible for them.
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Article Source:
Press Release/Material by SOWISE+
Featured image credit: SOWISE+
