Welcome
to Bionanopolys Open Innovation test bed
Development of safe nano-enabled bio-based materials &
polymer bionanocomposites
The challenge
Climate protection, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and saving of fossil resources are key elements for a more sustainable future.
Potential alternatives to fossil-based materials are so called biomaterials. However, these substances must offer functional properties for high-volume applications and need to perform even better in order to drive their adoption by industry and end users. Besides, fossil-based materials are still cheaper – a barrier for a successful market entry strategy.
The Solution
In order to provide biomaterials with the requested properties and make them more interesting for industrial use, the team of the project Bionanopolys gets active.
Bionanopolys unites European experts in this field to transform these bio-based materials to nano-scale and, moreover, develop an Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) environment. The aim is to manufacture innovative bionanocomposites from sustainably sourced feedstocks in Europe as well as bio-based nano-products for packaging, textile, agriculture, cosmetics, pharma or food.
For this purpose, Bionanopolys will use high lignocellulosic feedstocks for the production of cellulose nanofibers, cellulose nanocrystals, nanolignin and metallic nanoparticles on the one hand.
On the other hand, high sugar content feedstocks will serve for the production of building blocks, organic acids, PHA and active compounds to create nanocapsules.
A network of pilot plants
and a comprehensive service portfolio
To speed up the introduction of biobased nano-enabled materials into the market by providing a Single Entry Point (SEP) for stakeholders, Bionanopolys aims at creating a network of 14 pilot plants and their complementary services. In this context, five pilot plants will focus on the development of bionanomaterials from biomass, three pilot plants are dedicated to bionanocomposites and six plants aim at manufacturing bio-based nanoproducts in order to reach a wide range of applications in different sectors. Pilot lines are going to be upgraded and fine-tuned across the entire Bionanopolys value chain.
Pilot lines are going to be upgraded and fine-tuned across the entire Bionanopolys value chain. Thereby, for the first time, Bionanopolys will create an integrated platform of technologies and scientific expertise devoted to the nanotechnology based on bio-based raw materials. This is complemented by a comprehensive portfolio of services for the development and integration of new bio-based nano-enabled products.
Work packages
WP1: Project Management
WP2: Capabilities and services to ensure sustainability of OITB
Objectives:
Settle the framework conditions for the Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) to make sure that legal aspects, management structure, pricing policy and procedures for stakeholder engagement are in place.Description:
The work package includes all preparatory actions to establish a sustainable Single Entry Point (SEP) for stakeholders. The consortium will assess a legal entity structure as main exploitation pathway for the OITB SEP. A user-friendly webtool will be developed to allow the easy access to the services of Bionanopolys. The SEP will include the capabilities of the pilot lines, the complementary business accelerator services and the information about outreach activities and open calls.Partners involved:
AXIA (Lead), ITENE, AITEX, CID, CTP, CENTI, STFI, ACIB, PWR, IMT, CEA, IRIS, UGENT, BIOT, PARTI, EBN, EBAN, EVER, CELL
WP3: Upgrading pilot lines for nanoadditives and raw materials extraction
Objectives:
Upgrading of enzymatic and fermentative processes for the pre-treatment of biomass and the synthesis of monomers and building blocks as well as the evaluation of the potential of different biomass resources to produce nanomaterials.Description:
In this work package the biomass is going to be characterized and logistics are assessed in terms of transport and storage. The activities will focus on the work of Network 1 and deal with the following pilot lines: The upgrading of the pilot plant of raw materials extraction from biomass (PL1) is going to be demonstrated by the upscaling of bioconversion processes for lactic acid, succinic acid and PHAs. Cellulose with be used for the production of nanofibers, nanocrystals and nanolignins (PL2). Additional pilot plants will be dedicated to the production of block polymers (PL3), of metallic nanoparticles by enzymes and plant extracts (PL4) and of functional nanocapsules (PL5).Partners involved:
CTP (Lead), ITENE, CENTI, ACIB, PWR, CEA, IRIS, UGENT, BIOT, PARTI
WP4: Upgrading pilot lines for the processing of bionanocomposites
Objectives:
Upgrading of pilot lines involved in the development of bionanocomposites from the use of the nanomaterials synthesized in WP3, solvents and organic compounds, extracted from different biomass resources.Description:
WP4 will upgrade the existing pilots dedicated to the functionalization of nanoparticles according to the targeted applications defined by industry’s specifications. The key players of this work package are united in Network 2 for the implementation of reactions in liquid and gaseous media for the modification to organic and inorganic nanoparticles, while assuring the quality of produced nanomaterials through online-measurements. Tasks are defined for increasing the dispersion level and the production capacity of nanodispersions for each user case in water and solvent based systems as well as in polymeric matrices and resins.Partners involved:
ITENE (Lead), CID, CTP, CENTI, CEA
WP5: Upgrading pilot lines for the production of bionanoproducts
Objectives:
WP5 is dedicated to the fine-tuning and upgrading of pilot plants to manufacture a wide range of bionanoproducts.Description:
Nanoadditives and raw materials from WP3 as well as the bionanocomposites formulated in WP4 are going to be optimized in this work package and subjected to the Network 3. Pilot lines are going to be upgraded for the particular purpose in industry: materials for thermoformed packaging, for coatings, for cellulosic products, for textiles, for injections and 3D printing or for foamed bionanoproducts. Processes are going to be optimized and characterized.Partners involved:
CENTI (Lead), ITENE, AITEX, CID, CTP, STFI, CEA, IRIS, UGENT, PARTI, AMBRO, HTSM, TEXTI, NOVA, DANI, SMITH, CELL, LOGOP
WP6: Technical support activities to all the pilot lines
Objectives:
Providing scientific and technical support by review of the needs and the development of models to predict nanocomposite properties.Description:
The integration of an in-line monitoring system to pilot lines will be an essential part of the work package. As part of the Network 2, the team develops innovative methods for thin layers measurements and homogeneity assessment and works with mathematical and physical models in order to predict the properties of nanocomposites. The access to 3D printing facilities allows a rapid prototyping of bio-based nanocomposites.Partners involved:
CEA (Lead), ITENE, AITEX, CID, CTP, CENTI, STFI, IMT, IRIS, CELL
WP7: Development of use cases
Objectives:
Demonstration of the technical feasibility of Bionanopolys services and pilot plants verified by 8 industrial cases.Description:
While ensuring a smooth exchange between pilot plants, the following user cases are going to be developed in this work package:- Use case for non-woven fabrics (TEXTI)
- Use case for coated paper roll (SMITH)
- Use case for biodegradable and compostable bioplastics (NOVA)
- Use case for cosmetic formulation/functional food (AMBRO)
- Use case for rigid packaging (LOGOP)
- Use case for thermoformed biobased and foamed products (CELL)
- Use case for flexible packaging for food and other applications (DANI)
- Use case for synthetic fibres (HTSM)
Partners involved:
AITEX (Lead), ITENE, CID, CTP, CENTI, STFI, ACIB, PWR, IMT, CEA, IRIS, UGENT, BIOT, PARTI, AMBRO, HTSM, TEXTI, NOVA, DANI, SMITH, CELL, ILAB
WP8: Safety regulation and environmental assessment
Objectives:
Guide industry towards a safe and sustainable nanotechnology that fosters the development of safe nano-enabled bio-based products from a process, product and regulatory point of view.Description:
This supportive work package guides stakeholders of the OITB by an integrated testing and assessment approach that identifies data and tools in order to assess occupational and environmental risks and to reduce them. According to chemical guidelines and regulations of the particular industrial sector the specific legislative requirements are going to be defined. The team will also assess the environmental, economic and social sustainability of new materials from production to end-of-life.Partners involved:
PARTI (Lead), supported by all partners
WP9: Business services
Objectives:
Development of the service portfolio on investment and business activities.Description:
The work package is dedicated to the demonstration of Bionanopolys’ variability among end users of the project and to show the methodology to offer these services to potential clients of the OITB. These services include the access to investment, finance and investors, support on business activities and regulation, safety and environmental services derived from WP8.Partners involved:
EBN (Lead), ITENE, CENTI, PARTI, EBAN, EVER, AXIA, AMBRO, HTSM, TEXTI, NOVA, DANI, SMITH, CELL, LOGOP
WP10: Open call and open access of the pilot plants
Objectives:
Launch of the open access Bionanopolys OITB platform.Description:
The implementation of a successful open call includes the development of an evaluation procedure. Subsequently, the transversal services and technical validations are going to be tested and according lessons learned are used for the fine-tuning in order obtain a good practice protocol in the end.Partners involved:
ITENE (Lead), AIT, CID, CTP, CENTI, STFI, ACIB, PWR, IMT, CEA, IRIS, UGENT, BIOT, PARTI, EBN, EBAN, EVER, AXIA, CELL
WP11: Dissemination, Communication & Exploitation
Objectives:
Build a strong network between relevant stakeholders by using appropriate outreach activities.Description:
A comprehensive dissemination and exploitation plan will give guidance on how to make use of the Bionanopolys dissemination and communication channels while considering a tailor-made exploitation strategy. An interactive platform of the OITB at the Bionanopolys website will be an important tool to engage with stakeholders and to provide the services of Bionanopolys.Partners involved:
ACIB (Lead), supported by all partners
Experts & partners
Our technological partners
Capacity enhancers
Industrial partners
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