Sustainable bio-based lignocellulosic feedstock for textile applications through phytomanagement

How can a sustainable bioeconomy function without competing with land for food crops? This critical challenge is being addressed by the EU-funded pHYBi project, which proposes a circular economy approach combining soil phytoremediation with a sustainable lignocellulosic biomass valorisation process. Eleven partners receive EU funding of 5 million Euro.

How can a sustainable bioeconomy function without competing with land for food crops? This question arises particularly in Europe, where land is scarce, as around 80% of land is used for settlements, agriculture, forestry, and infrastructure. However, land is needed to grow industrial crops as sustainable feedstocks for the bioeconomy.

This critical challenge is being addressed by the EU-funded pHYBi project, which proposes a circular economy approach combining soil phytoremediation with a sustainable lignocellulosic biomass valorisation process. The project focuses on using degraded, polluted, and saline soils for cultivating industrial crops, such as poplar, birch, willow, hemp, and miscanthus, that will not only improve the environment but also provide valuable resources for the bio-based textile industry. These industrial crops will be grown using phytomanagement techniques, which involve absorbing pollutants from the soil while simultaneously producing valuable biomass.

At the project’s kick-off event in Seville on October 8, 2024, the pHYBi consortium, composed of 11 organizations from five European countries, came together to launch the project’s activities. The project will run for 48 months, during which time partners will develop and test a range of innovative strategies to enhance crop growth and soil health using organic and inorganic (nano-) amendments, as well as fungal and bacterial inocula. Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is responsible for communication, dissemination and exploitation in the pHYBi project. Its main tasks include developing a communication strategy, promoting the utilisation of the project results and involving important target groups such as farmers and companies through various activities such as co-creation workshops. In this way, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum ensures that the project's innovations are utilised effectively and sustainably.

Phytomanagement and sustainable biomass valorisation
The core of the pHYBi project revolves around combining phytomanagement — the use of plants for soil remediation — with the extraction and valorisation of lignocellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) for high-value applications in the textile industry. By processing biomass grown on polluted soils, pHYBi aims to create environmentally friendly fibres and pigments for sustainable use in textile manufacturing.

The main objectives of the pHYBi project include:
- Investigation and monitoring of existing and new pilot phytomanagement sites.
- Optimisation of phytomanagement strategies for high-yield biomass production on polluted and saline soils.
- Development of a virtual replication tool to simulate the process in different regions across Europe.
- Demonstration of the economic, social and environmental feasibility of these sustainable practices.

Looking ahead: A sustainable future for Europe's textile industry
pHYBi's innovative approach will directly contribute to the EU's Soil Deal for Europe, which aims to restore degraded soils and reduce pollution. By demonstrating how biomass can be harvested from contaminated soils without affecting food crops, pHYBi is expected to significantly reduce the EU's global footprint in the production of feedstock for the bio-based economy. By integrating the latest scientific knowledge from fields such as agronomy, microbiology, and chemical engineering, pHYBi promises to set new standards for sustainable industrial crop production.

In addition, the project will involve a wide range of stakeholders - from farmers to textile manufacturers - to ensure that the benefits of bio-based products are fully understood and adopted throughout the value chain.

The success of pHYBi could pave the way for broader adoption of phytomanagement practices, not only within Europe’s textile industry but also in other sectors that rely on sustainable bio-based feedstocks.

pHYBi project in short
Project Name: PHYtomanagement as a sustainable feedstock source of lignocellulosic-based high-value BIo-based products for textile applications.

Call Topic: HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-R-01 Phyto-management; curing soil with industrial crops, utilising contaminated and saline land for industrial crop production (RIA TRL 5)

Duration: 4 years (October 2024 – September 2028)

Partnership: The project, coordinated by Idener R&D. It consists of 11 partners from Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Croatia: Idener R&D A.I.E (Spain), Next Technology Tecnotessile Società Nazionale di Ricerca r.l. (Italy), Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (Steinbeis 2i GmbH) (Germany), Fundacion Centro Tecnologico de Investigacion Multisectorial (Spain), Universidad de Burgos (Spain), Université de Franche-Comté (France), Université Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (France), Phytowelt Greentechnologies GmbH (Germany), Universidad de Oviedo (Spain), Particula Group (Croatia), Digital Innovation Hub on Livestock Environment, Agriculture & Forest (Spain)

Funding: The project is supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members. The project is receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101156439, with 4.991.538,75€.

Contact:
Karoline Haack – Steinbeis Europa Zentrum
Project Consultant
E-Mail: karoline.haack@steinbeis-europa.de

Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Andrea Domínguez
IDENER.AI - Chemistry Division
Project Coordinator
C/ Earle Ovington 24-8, La Rinconada, Seville, Spain (41300)
Email: andrea.dominguez@idener.ai

Weitere Informationen:
https://www.cbe.europa.eu/projects/phybi - Project website