NEXT-STEP

Next-gen of sustainable biobased chemical platforms and polymers: enhancing sustainability in european industry

Objectives

The main objectives of the project are:
– Supply and optimisation of processes for sustainable raw materials from the EU.
– Scaling up and demonstration of an innovative and resource-efficient process for producing aMVL.
– Scaling up resource-efficient catalytic processes to enable the use of 3MdVL and 3MPD as bio-based platform chemicals.
– Commercially viable, safe and sustainable building blocks designed from the outset.
– Demonstrating the applicability of aMVL, 3MdVL and 3MPD as bio-based chemical platforms for producing market-compliant biological products.
– Defining a competitive and socially acceptable business and marketing plan.

Description

Successfully scaling up sustainable and biodegradable materials is essential for the future growth of European industry. To compete with established fossil-based chemicals, bio-based alternatives must solve the triple equation of environmental, safety, economic and social performance. At the same time, they must be economically viable on an industrial scale and possess properties similar to or superior to those of existing petroleum-based analogues. Few bio-based polymers have met this challenge.

NEXT-STEP will build on the H2020 BioCatPolymers project to demonstrate a sustainable, safe and economically viable production process for a new chemical platform with large-scale applications, particularly in the bio-based polymers market. NEXT-STEP will use hardwood sugars produced from sustainably managed forests at the flagship plant of project partner Fibenol. NEXT-STEP has defined ambitious key performance indicators (KPIs) for its process in terms of economic performance, as well as biomass and energy efficiency.

NEXT-STEP will demonstrate the applicability of its chemical platform by showcasing its use as a raw material for the production of:
(i) polylactic acid (PLA) copolymers for shoe outsoles, and
(ii) recyclable isocyanate-free polyurethane foams for shoe midsoles and insulation material applications.