SUPREME-PILOTS

SUstainable development of advanced coPolymers through Reactive Extrusion and Material Evaluation on industrial platforms

Project details

Type of project
Innovation Action - Demonstration
Feedstock origin
Other and new
Feedstock type
Food industry sidestreams
Project period
1 June 2026 - 31 May 2030
Status
Upcoming
CBE JU Contribution
€ 6 822 071,25
Call identifier
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025

Summary

The global polylactic acid (PLA) market is rapidly growing. This  biodegradable, bio-based thermoplastic is used across diverse industrial sectors, from sustainable packaging to textiles and agricultural applications. Europe is a major consumer with over 40% share, yet it relies on Asia-Pacific for production. In addition, standard PLA’s technical limits restrict its use in high-value sectors such as food packaging, consumer goods, textiles, agriculture, and 3D printing, hindering its wider uptake in diverse EU markets. 

SUPREME-PILOTS aims to address this challenge by developing high-performance bio-based copolymers using advanced European feedstocks and a scalable production method, reactive extrusion. This approach improves PLA’s elasticity, strength, heat resistance, and versatility, while reducing energy use, waste, and production costs.  

Beyond improving PLA, and demonstrating the material uptake in sectors, such as sport, urban furniture, flooring and industrial stretchable signage, the project ensures its innovations are replicable across multiple sectors, from biomedicine to electronics and transport, unlocking new market opportunities while supporting environmental sustainability and Europe’s economic competitiveness. 

  • Develop polyester-polyols and bio-based polytetramethylene glycol from renewable European feedstocks (e.g. agro-industrial residues and sustainable oil crops). 
  • Develop and validate PLA-based copolymers via reactive extrusion, improving flexibility and toughness with bio-based precursors and supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) design. 
  • Evaluate and optimise copolymer processability across industrial platforms to identify formulations as viable and competitive “drop-in” bio-based materials. 
  • Scale up the production of bio-based copolymer compounds to a pre-industrial level, ensuring that technical performance and cost are competitive with fossil-derived polymers. 
  • Manufacture and validate four full-scale product demonstrators: lightweight foamed sports equipment (e.g., protective gear), street furniture components, high-performance resilient flooring, and industrial stretchable signage films. 
  • Ensure safe-and-sustainable-by-design framework compliance for bio-based polymers and plastics, providing recommendations. 
  • Validate high-efficiency end-of-life  treatments for the target use cases, including both mechanical recycling to produce new plastic pellets and chemical recycling. 
  • Create robust business cases, exploitation plans, as well as standardisation and policy roadmaps to support the commercial deployment of project products and unlock new market opportunities. 
  • Disseminate and communicate key project results to promote the adoption and social acceptance of new bio-based copolymers and cluster past and ongoing projects.

  • Develop new applications and market sectors, creating access to €23 million in additional markets and enhancing EU industrial competitiveness. 
  • Unlock multi-billion-euro markets for products such as playground equipment, street furniture, and industrial components, generating new revenue streams totalling €165.5 million across the markets targeted by the SUPREME-PILOTS use cases. 
  • Contribute to the creation of over 1,000 new green jobs in the European bioeconomy. 
  • Reduce plastic and microplastic pollution in Europe by approximately 10,000 tonnes per year. 
  • Reduce GHG emissions of the production process by 50% compared to CO₂-equivalent benchmarks. 

Consortium map

Project coordination

  • FUNDACION AITIIP ZARAGOZA, Spain

Consortium

  • NOVAMONT SPA NOVARA, Italy
  • COMERCIAL EDIZAR SA ZARAGOZA, Spain
  • FH OO FORSCHUNGS & ENTWICKLUNGS GMBH Wels, Austria
  • FUNDACION GAIKER ZAMUDIO, Spain
  • UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA Lisboa, Portugal
  • Competence Center CHASE GmbH Linz, Austria
  • ARTIGO S.P.A. CAIRO MONTENOTTE, Italy
  • ENVICO RESEARCH SL TERRASSA, Spain
  • LC Innoway Nonprofit Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag Szeged, Hungary
  • ASOCIATIA DE STANDARDIZARE DIN ROMANIA BUCURESTI, Romania
  • AM3D METALICA SL ZARAGOZA, Spain
  • MOSES PRODUCTOS SL Zaragoza, Spain
  • EIDGENOSSISCHE MATERIALPRUFUNGS- UND FORSCHUNGSANSTALT Dubendorf, Switzerland