SUSTAINEXT

The general objective of SUSTAINEXT is to develop a first-of-its-kind biorefinery producing plant-based extracts and ingredients from sustainable feedstocks. It also looks to transform Extremadura, where the refinery is located, from a region with an outdated cropping system into a circular economy reference point. 

To this end, the project aims to: 

• consolidate links with the agri-food industry in order to ensure a reliable supply of agricultural side streams; 

• validate the industrial-scale integration of 12 value chains so as to obtain 46 extracts and ingredients from six feedstocks; 

• enable end-users of the extracts and ingredients to deliver 12 product formulations to market; 

• demonstrate climate change mitigation measures and moves towards zero-waste, zero-emission operations; 

• maximise the exploitation of the results and public awareness of bio-based solutions. 

SUSTAINEXT is expected to: 

• deliver 46 plant-based extracts and functional ingredients – of which 13 will be new to the market and 12 will be produced for the first time in Europe; 

• allow the marketing of sustainable, high-quality formulations for food, food supplements, animal feed, fertiliser, cosmetics and chemicals; 

• provide new business opportunities for primary producers, including by offering healthy alternatives to tobacco to allow tobacco companies to remain viable; 

• have a decisive socio-economic impact in Extremadura – a region severely affected by demographic challenges – in terms of job creation, attracting investment and unlocking new value chains, while positioning the region at the forefront of the green transition at European level; 

• enhance the resource efficiency and circularity of the production plant within a zero-waste, zero-pollution strategy; 

• support market uptake of the products and replication of the model, including implementation of digital solutions that will change how biorefineries work and application of photovoltaics to improve land use.