V-FOREST

VALORISATION OF UNTAPPED FOREST RESIDUE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS

Project details

Type of project
Research & Innovation Action
Project focus
Food, feed & cosmetics
Feedstock origin
Forestry waste
Feedstock type
Lignin & wood residues
Project period
1 July 2026 - 30 June 2030
Status
Upcoming
CBE JU Contribution
€ 3 207 003,75
Call identifier
HORIZON-JU-CBE-2025

Summary

Currently, only a small portion of the valuable forest wood biomass is used to its full potential in Europe. Pests, storms, fires, and other disturbances lead to damaged, low-value, or heterogeneous material that is often left unused. This highlights the need for innovative, sustainable, and economically viable valorisation pathways capable of transforming underutilised forest biomass into higher-value bio-based products and applications.

V-FOREST aims to develop woody biomass transformation approaches tailored for decentralised, mobile, and small-scale units that can be deployed at or near biomass sources. These units will support the efficient conversion of low-value biomass, including damaged wood (from storms, wind, and fire) and contaminated wood (from pest infestation), into high-value bio-based ingredients for cosmetic products.

To ensure sustainable and responsible biomass sourcing, the project will collaborate closely with forest managers in Romsilva, in Romania, whose input will be vital for aligning biomass removal practices with biodiversity conservation and soil health protection.

  • Implement sustainable harvesting and pre-treatment of underutilised forest biomass under certified forest management.
  • Develop and demonstrate scalable fractionation of low-value wood biomass into functional components.
  • Develop bio-based microbial products from wood-derived sugars.
  • Validate cosmetic applications of derived bio-ingredients.
  • Assess logistics, market potential, and value chain sustainability.
  • Foster a cooperation framework among key stakeholders.

  • Reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by ≥40% compared with current biomass incineration and fossil-based ingredients, with approximately 600 kg CO₂ prevented per tonne of biomass processed.
  • Unlock €5 billion of annual economic potential from underutilised wood in Romania and potentially many times more in Europe, as well as reduce cosmetic ingredient production costs by 15–20%.
  • Create local jobs and develop skills in harvesting, logistics, and decentralised biomass processing, while providing validated processes and cooperative models for long-term rural resilience.
  • Generate transferable knowledge and processes across forestry, green chemistry, and biotechnology sectors.
  • Reinforce competitiveness in sustainable cosmetic ingredients and broader bio-based industries.

Consortium map

Project coordination

  • ABO AKADEMI ABO, Finland

Consortium

  • REGIA NATIONALA A PADURILOR ROMSILVA RA Bucuresti, Romania
  • INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DEL EMBALAJE, TRANSPORTE Y LOGISTICA Paterna, Spain
  • STRATECO OG Graz, Austria
  • CO2 DRY BV WEESP, Netherlands
  • VERTORO BV Geleen, Netherlands
  • Ecomaat OOD Mirkovo, Bulgaria