AgriMax

Agri and food waste valorisation co-ops based on flexible multi-feedstocks biorefinery processing technologies for new high added value applications

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Project details

Type of project: Innovation Action - Demonstration
Project focus: Packaging
Feedstock origin: Agri-food
Feedstock type: Food industry sidestreams

Project period: 1 October 2016 - 30 September 2021
Status: Completed
CBE JU Contribution: € 12 484 461,46
Call identifier: H2020-BBI-PPP-2015-02

Summary

Around a third of all food produced globally is wasted each year. This waste occurs throughout the whole value chain, from farmers to consumers. However, there are significant amounts of valuable compounds contained in the wasted food that could and should be recovered.

The AgriMax project is designed to establish the technical and economic viability using bio-refining process on waste from crops and food processing to deliver new bio-compounds for the chemical, bio-plastic, food, fertilisers, packaging and agriculture sectors.

The project will combine affordable and flexible processing technologies, including ultrasound assisted and solvent extraction, filtration, thermal and enzymatic treatments for the valorising side streams from horticultural and food processing industries that can be used in a cooperative approach by local stakeholders.

Agrimax will combine flexible processing technologies to valorise residues and by-products from the agriculture and food processing industry to extract valuable biocompounds used to produce active ingredients, packaging and agricultural materials among others. The objectives are:

To map the available Agricultural and Food Processing Waste (AFPW) and their features
To set up two flexible pilot plants for processing bio-wastes to process AFPW into value added biocompounds
To validate and demonstrate the use of derived biocompounds in packaging applications, food and agricultural applications
To demonstrate the safety & regulatory compliance, as well as environmental & economic sustainability of the developed processes and products
To implement a joint stakeholder platform for cooperatively operating the processing plants and propose suitable business models

Minimise the impact of agriculture and food processing industry on the environment by reducing the amount of waste that is not properly treated and by reducing the raw materials and fossil fuel usage. The overall environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions (methane, nitrous oxide and CO₂) will be decreased along the new value chains.
Produce economic benefits through the new business opportunities generated in the commercialisation of the new products and complementary biogas.
Maximise agriculture and food industry growth and competitiveness.

Turning food and crop waste into new products
18 February 2019
Every year, around one-third of all food produced across the world is wasted before it even reaches the consumer. Our AGRIMAX project is tackling the problem by turning crop and food-processing waste into high-value products. Read more

From agricultural and food-processing waste to bio-products
24 May 2018
How can we use agricultural and food-processing waste to create useful products for a sustainable Europe? Read more

Consortium map

Project coordination

IRIS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT, Spain

Consortium

GAVIPLAS, S.L. Alfarrasi, Spain
INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DEL EMBALAJE, TRANSPORTE Y LOGISTICA Paterna, Spain
FACHVERBAND DER NAHRUNGS UND GENUSSMITTELINDUSTRIE WIEN, Austria
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN Dublin, Ireland
LASER CONSULT MUSZAKI-TUDOMANYOS ES GAZDASAGI TANACSADO KORLATOLT FELELOSSEGU TARSASAG Szeged, Hungary
MOGU SRL Inarzo, Italy
FEDERACIO DE COOPERATIVES AGRARIES DE CATALUNYA Barcelona, Spain
UNIVERSITEIT GENT Gent, Belgium
BIOVALE LIMITED York, United Kingdom
CHIESA VIRGINIO E C SOCIETA' SEMPLICE AGRICOLA Canneto Sull'Oglio, Italy
FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV Munchen, Germany
BIOPROCESS PILOT FACILITY BV Delft, Netherlands
AIMPLAS - ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE MATERIALES PLASTICOS Y CONEXAS PATERNA VALENCIA, Spain
INDULLEIDA S.A. Alguaire, Spain
LEBENSMITTELVERSUCHSANSTALT Wien, Austria
CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO NAZIONALE PER LA SCIENZA E TECNOLOGIA DEI MATERIALI Firenze, Italy
ARCHA SRL Pisa Pi, Italy
TRIVIUM PACKAGING ITALY SRL Montecchio Emilia, Italy
NOFIMA AS Tromso, Norway
BARILLA G. E R. FRATELLI SPA Parma, Italy
GOSPODARSKO INTERESNO ZDRUZENJE GROZD PLASTTEHNIKA - GIZ GROZD PLASTTEHNIKA Celje, Slovenia
FERTINAGRO BIOTECH SL Teruel, Spain
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE Roma, Italy
INSTITUT DE RECERCA I TECNOLOGIA AGROALIMENTARIES Caldes De Montbui Barcelona, Spain
UNIVERSIDAD DE ALMERIA Almeria, Spain
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA Bologna, Italy
STAZIONE SPERIMENTALE PER L'INDUSTRIA DELLE CONSERVE ALIMENTARI AZIENDA SPECIALE Parma, Italy
NORMEC OWS GENT, Belgium
FEMTO ENGINEERING SRL San Casciano In Val Di Pesa, Italy