OÜ Graanul Biotech, a newly established subsidiary of Europe's largest wood pellet producer AS Graanul Invest, is to head SWEETWOODS, a major EU co-funded flagship project that aims to establish a first-of-a-kind wood fractionation plant in Estonia. The plant will demonstrate novel biochemical and lignin value-chains based on sustainable hardwood resource.
Until recently non-timber hardwood biomass has been considered solely suitable for a limited number of end products, mostly cellulose pulp, ethanol or biomass. By-products like lignin and hemicellulose have been considered low-value side streams.
The establishment of an innovative wood fractionation flagship plant in Estonia opens an avenue to a diversity of new industrial intermediates and end-use applications. The four-year cooperation project will begin on June 1 and run for four years.
The nine participants of the SWEETWOODS project consortium represent six EU-member States have signed a grant agreement with the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU). The objective of the project is to demonstrate at the industrial level successful and profitable production of high purity lignin and sugars from hardwood as well as the demonstration of these materials in novel applications by combining the technologies and know-how of participants as follows:
- Industrial wood processing competence by OÜ Graanul Biotech (Estonia)
- Industrial enzymes for hydrolysis, lignin depolymerization, and sugar conversions by MetGen Oy (Finland),
- Post-processing of lignin for bio-composites production by Tecnaro GmbH (Germany),
- Production of bio-based elastomeric foams by Armacell, via Ultima GmbH (Germany),
- Incorporation of lignin into polyurethane foams production by Recticel N.V. (Belgium),
- Hydrolysate fermentation to bio-isobutene by Global Bioenergies (France)
- Life Cycle Assessment of the project by 2B Srl (Italy),
- Viability performance analysis by Vertech Group (France), and
- Project management support by Spinverse Oy (Finland)
Within the SWEETWOODS project, the US-based Sweetwater Energy Inc’s pre-treatment technology platform will be established and operated by Graanul Biotech. The SWEETWOODS technology platform creates additional value for lignocellulosic biomass and all the fractions will be valorized. The carefully selected technologies are co-developed to complement each other.
MetGen’s comprehensive enzymatic solutions are optimized for Graanul Biotech’s diverse feedstock and selected pretreatment technology allowing affordable breakdown and efficient bio-conversion of wood to valuable intermediates and products.
Enzymatic lignin depolymerization and conversion of sugars provide a portfolio of high-purity wood-derived intermediate products with novel characteristics. These will be further processed into a variety of biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials to enhance new business models of the biobased economy.
The project was selected under the name SWEETWOODS (N°792061), in the frame of the European HORIZON 2020 programme for research and innovation, following a very selective and competitive process led by independent experts.
The project covers a total budget of EUR 43.2 million. Non-refundable grants totaling EUR 20.96 million will be provided by the EU, with the remainder being contributed by the SWEETWOODS project participants.
Facts
About Graanul Biotech
OÜ Graanul Biotech, part of Graanul Invest Group and 100 percent owned by AS Graanul Invest is a newly established bio-based economy dedicated private company headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. The main fields of activities of Graanul Biotech are the innovative technologies based processing of woody biomass into high purity lignin, C5 sugars, C6 sugars or microcrystalline cellulose to be used for novel end-use applications.
