The BIWIN2 project, coordinated by GAIKER, will generate knowledge on sustainable processes to turn agri-food and agricultural waste into biodegradable materials and micro-nano- cellulose reinforcements.
The BIWIN2 project “Sustainable bioprocesses and processes, with potential scalability, to obtain materials of industrial interest (biopolyesters and bio-reinforcements) from waste biomass”, led by the GAIKER technology centre, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), will be another step towards sustainability in the Basque Country.
The recovery of biomass, especially local waste biomass, and conversion into new materials is a key area of research to exploit renewable natural resources and generate sustainable products with applications in various industrial sectors. This process requires the development of technologies that optimise the conversion of waste into high-value raw materials, contributing to the creation of regional value chains and manufacturing of industrial products, all with a focus on minimising environmental impact.
This is the context in which the BIWIN2 project is created – an essential research project that aims to generate knowledge on sustainable processes to use agri-food and agricultural waste to develop biodegradable materials (medium-chain polyhydroxyalkanoates) and micro-nano-cellulose reinforcements. Specifically, it focuses on waste from the winemaking industry because of its availability to be processed and its high added value, since as well as providing lignocellulosic waste, it is rich in sugars.
Although the focus of the project is on bioprocesses, fractionation processes and chemical processes to achieve TRLs 3-4, with emphasis on their sustainability, the ultimate goal is for the knowledge to be potentially scalable within a limited time frame and in the industrial environment of the Basque Country in order to facilitate the availability of new resources in value-added applications. For this reason, proofs of concept have been defined in leading sectors such as biodegradable and safely recyclable food packaging, and the automotive coatings/paints sector.
This project, funded by the Basque Government as part of the ELKARTEK 2025 Grant Programme for Collaborative Research in Strategic Areas, responds to current environmental needs and European policies, which promote the use of more sustainable processes and materials. Its aim is to promote a circular economy model, offering alternative and complementary solutions to the use of recycled raw materials. Thanks to policies to boost the bioeconomy and circular economy, the market for so-called bioproducts is being promoted as an alternative to petroleum products.
In addition to GAIKER, other organisations such as NEIKER, TECNALIA, CEIT, BCMATERIALS, and the BIOMAT group of EHU are taking part in BIWIN2. Together they create a multidisciplinary group of university centres and departments, which has already been collaborating since the Circular Biobased project in 2022. The aim is to integrate complementary lines of work to accelerate the deployment of the bioeconomy strategy based on abundant biomasses in the Basque Country.
Subsidised by the Basque Government
