Get inspired
This section of the Rural Bioeconomy Portal features projects dealing with different aspects of the bioeconomy and delivering benefits to rural areas. These can offer inspiration to develop new projects and may open opportunities for collaboration and exchanges of good practice among practitioners and institutions.
If you want to suggest a project to include here, please contact us at bioeconomy@enrd.eu.
Find here bioeconomy projects from the EAFRD database.
Other projects funded by the EAFRD include:
- A small-scale farmer-focused biorefinery demonstration project, Ireland
- aGROWchain, Greece - the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- Biosyngas production from torrefied hay, Estonia
- 'Bioeconomy Leader Tour' - information and advisory project for rural enterprises and villages, Finland
- Farma Chitas SA, Greece
- GOEfluentes - Livestock effluents, Portugal
- Innovation to improve soil quality in ZAS Mezihájí, Czech Republic
- Producing wood chips and pine bark from recycled material, Spain
- ProEnergy - New food products and bio-energy from fruits of low commercial value and agro-industrial waste, Portugal
- SMARTGAS - Farming with biogas, Italy
- SUBPGAN - Improving the management, valorisation and marketing of livestock by-products through innovation, Spain
- SubProMais - Use of agro-industrial by-products in animal feed, Portugal
- Waste2Value - Reusing agricultural by-products for animal feed, biodegradable plastics and the treatment of animal effluents, Portugal
- Alpine Space, Alpine region - valorisation of innovative bio-economical potentials along bio-based food and botanical extract value chains in the Alpine Space (2014-20)
- BIOREGIO, Finland - Spain - Slovakia - Greece - Romania - France - boosting bio-based circular economy through transfer of expertise about best available technologies and cooperation models (2017-21)
- DanuBioValNet project (2017-2019)
- Flagship projects promoting the Bioeconomy in the Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Sea Region
- HECSO - Heat entrepreneurship cluster in South Ostrobothnia, Finland - a knowledge cluster of the whole heat production chain
Funding period 2014-2020
- Crushed shells and 3D printing, Italy - students and teachers using crushed mussel shells to create useful objects from moulds created by 3D printing
- FEMER marine skin, France - a young French entrepreneur has developed an innovative fish skin tanning process working with local fishermen and designers
- Microalgae oil production plant in Carballo, Spain - a new start-up company cultivating microalgae on land for omega-3 oil extraction for pharmaceutical use
- Pecka’s greenhouses with fish and tomatoes, Sweden - aquaponics to produce fish and tomatoes
- Reef Water Coral Farm, Spain - creation of Europe’s first commercial coral farm
- Vakava, a network for underused fish species, Finland - ensure better local resource management, improving the image of undervalued species and reducing eutrophication in Finnish lakes
Funding period 2007-2013
- Aquamar: a new method of water purification, Poland - an innovative and profitable eco-business offering water purification services to fishermen and aquaculture farms
- Crab flavouring for export, Denmark - turning the economic and environmental problems caused by crab overpopulation into a business opportunity
- Exploring the value of the 'pilado' crab in bio-medicine, Portugal - a pilot project to increase the economic value of the common swimming crab’s shell
- Fishmeal from fish waste, Spain - utilising fisheries by-products by supporting an aquaculture company to produce its own fishmeal from local fish waste
- Innovation in goose barnacle traceability, Portugal - developing a methodology for tracing goose barnacles and identifying potential mislabelling or poaching activity
- Mistral sweet factory and café, Poland - setting up a sweet factory using Omega 3 acids from fish and a cafeteria to generate additional income for a fisherman and his family and increase the touristic attractiveness of the area
- Production of edible seaweed in Danish waters, Denmark - supporting sustainable cultivation, harvesting and processing of seaweed to help diversify the local economy
- Tanning of Fish Skin, Finland - promotes the tanning and multiple use of fish skin
- Valuing by-products of vendace roe extraction, Sweden - bringing together a variety of public and private partners to research and develop new processes to generate value from the by-products of vendace (Coregonus sp.) roe extraction
Development of knowledge and communication tools
- AGFORWARD - promoting appropriate agroforestry practices that advance sustainable rural development (2014-17)
- BERST - BioEconomy Regional Strategy Toolkit - helping regions in their trajectory of bioeconomic development (2013-15)
- Biobridges - improving the marketability of bio-based products (2018-20)
- BioCannDo - Bioeconomy Awareness and Discourse Project - raising awareness and promoting the use of bio-based products (2016-19)
- Biomonitor - establishing a data and modelling framework to quantify the economic, environmental and social impacts of bioeconomy (2018-22)
- BioSTEP - promoting stakeholder engagement and public awareness for a participative governance of the European bioeconomy (2015-18)
- BIOWAYS - increasing public awareness of bio-based products and applications supporting the growth of the European bioeconomy (2016-18)
- CommBeBiz - communicating and bridging bioeconomy research to business (2015-18)
- FINDIT - a cutting edge platform for data management and analysis to assist European fish aquaculture in its development towards higher performance and competitiveness (2013-15)
- FORESTERRA - enhancing forest research in the Mediterranean through improved coordination and integration (2012-15)
- ISAAC - increasing social awarness and acceptance of biogas and biomethane (2016-18)
- OPEN-BIO - opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement (2013-16)
- ProBIO - professional support to the uptake of bioeconomy RD results towards market, further research and policy for a more competitive European bioeconomy (2015-17)
- Rubizmo - working to discover the vital ingredients for developing entrepreneurship and successful business models in high potential sectors (2018-21)
- STAR ProBio - support and partnership for the development of multiple sustainable and market ready value chains in the bio-based economy (2016-18)
- VALERIE - valorising European research for innovation in agriculture and forestry (2014-17)
Technological innovation
- BIOREFINE-2G - development of 2nd generation biorefineries – production of dicarboxylic acids and bio-based polymers derived thereof (2013-17)
- BIOrescue - enhanced bioconversion of agricultural residues through cascading use (2016-19)
- BISIGODOS - high value-added chemicals and bio-resins from algae biorefineries produced from CO2 provided by industrial emissions (2013-17)
- D-FACTORY - the micro algae biorefinery (2013-17)
- DISCO - from discovery to products: a next generation pipeline for the sustainable generation of high-value plant products (2013-17)
- MIRACLES - multi-product integrated biorefinery of algae: from carbon dioxide and light energy to high-value specialties (2013-17)
- Novel Anaerobes - studying novel anaerobic microorganisms with potential for biotechnological applications (2013-18)
- POWER4BIO - empowering regional stakeholders for realising the full potential of European bioeconomy (2018-21)
- Pulp2Value - an integrated and cost-effective cascading biorefinery system for refining sugar beet pulp (2015-2019)
- SIMWOOD - an innovative, integrated approach to multifunctional forestry and enhanced wood mobilisation across European forest regions (2013-17)
- VALOR-PLUS - valorisation of biorefinery by-products leading to closed loop systems with improved economic and environmental performance (2013-17)
Value chains / short supply chains
- AGRIMAX - developing and demonstrating the production of multiple, high-value products from crop and food-processing waste (2016-20)
- Bioenergy Villages - boosting bioenergy villages, i.e. a village, municipality, settlement or community which produces and uses most of its energy from local biomass and other renewable energies (2016-19)
- Rosewood - Building a trans-European network of stakeholders of the forestry value chain for the transfer of best practices & innovations in sustainable wood mobilisation (2018-2020)
- SuperBIO - support and partnership for the development of multiple sustainable and market ready value chains in the bio-based economy (2016-18)
- AgriValor, France - a private business initiative turning agricultural and community waste into biomethane gas
- An innovative service combining organic food and environmental education for professionals, Belgium
- Arctic smart rural community factsheet by Arctic Smartness
- Cat Correggio - Producing biogas from agricultural by-products, Italy
- Community manure platforms in Romania
- Developing a biodegradable plant pot, the Netherlands
- Energigården - Bioenergy farm - a rural business which serves as an incubator, information centre and producer of bioenergy in Oppland, Norway
- ENONATUR – promoting organic viticulture in Spain
- EntoValor - Insects converting vegetable by-products into animal feed, Portugal
- Future Potentials of a Rural Bio-Economy, IÖW - Institute for Ecological Economy Research, Germany
- Guarda sem Desperdicio, Portugal
- JRK - For Less Waste, Czech Republic-Hungary-Slovak Republic
- Lapland Above Ordinary - Implementation of smart specialisation
- Making use of agricultural nutrients, Finland
- ‘Opportunities for farm diversification in the circular bioeconomy’, EIP-AGRI workshop (February 2019) - booklet with project examples
- Protection of endangered Istrian native cattle breeds, Croatia (ERDF funding)
- SOLAAL - an association combatting food waste, France
- SolidariFood - a project tackling food waste in France (national and private funding)
- Using oil shale ash in organic farming, Estonia (national funding)
- ValorMais - Creating value with agricultural, agri-food and forestry by-products
- ValorNatural - Natural additives for the food industry, Portugal (ERDF funding)
- VegMedCabras - Mediterranean Shrubs: natural anthelmintics in the dit selected by grazing goats, Portugal (ERDF funding)
- WETWINE, France-Spain-Portugal (ERDF funding)
