BreadCell | Upgrading of cellulose fibers into porous materials

Summary
The major challenge to reduce consequences of climate change, microplastic pollution and raw material shortages is to convert our economic system. We need to replace fossil-based resources by renewable ones, replace persistent materials by biodegradables while developing and employing environmentally friendly processing technologies to create safe products with minimum impact on the environment. A real impact on economy, society and ecology is only generated if the materials, processes and products to be replaced are in large scale. In BreadCell, we develop a radically new technology to produce porous lightweight low-density materials which are currently used in large scale industries and mainly consist of synthetic non-degradable polymers. BreadCell technology comprises a foaming process to create products relying on existing and new raw materials from pulping (cellulose, xylan), and to convert them to high value, lightweight, energy-absorbing and load-transferring composites such as in sports and safety components of cars. The whole process chain will be guided by safe-by-design principles to ensure the production of sustainable and inherently safe products. Today, the innovation capacity of European scientists and industry in the area of renewable materials makes them already the leading global players in the field. We will provide a scalable technology that will further support the European technological leadership in the area by cross-fertilization of different fields (pulp and paper, biotechnology, polymer technology, toxicity) while addressing needs of future materials.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/964430
Start date: 01-04-2021
End date: 31-03-2025
Total budget - Public funding: 3 000 000,00 Euro - 3 000 000,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

The major challenge to reduce consequences of climate change, microplastic pollution and raw material shortages is to convert our economic system. We need to replace fossil-based resources by renewable ones, replace persistent materials by biodegradables while developing and employing environmentally friendly processing technologies to create safe products with minimum impact on the environment. A real impact on economy, society and ecology is only generated if the materials, processes and products to be replaced are in large scale. In BreadCell, we develop a radically new technology to produce porous lightweight low-density materials which are currently used in large scale industries and mainly consist of synthetic non-degradable polymers. BreadCell technology comprises a foaming process to create products relying on existing and new raw materials from pulping (cellulose, xylan), and to convert them to high value, lightweight, energy-absorbing and load-transferring composites such as in sports and safety components of cars. The whole process chain will be guided by safe-by-design principles to ensure the production of sustainable and inherently safe products. Today, the innovation capacity of European scientists and industry in the area of renewable materials makes them already the leading global players in the field. We will provide a scalable technology that will further support the European technological leadership in the area by cross-fertilization of different fields (pulp and paper, biotechnology, polymer technology, toxicity) while addressing needs of future materials.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

FETOPEN-01-2018-2019-2020

Update Date

27-04-2024
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Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.1. EXCELLENT SCIENCE
H2020-EU.1.2. EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
H2020-EU.1.2.1. FET Open
H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2020
FETOPEN-01-2018-2019-2020 FET-Open Challenging Current Thinking