About the project

PROGRAMME	Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
TYPE OF ACTION	MSCA Staff Exchanges
CALL	HORIZON-MSCA-2024-SE-01
TOPIC	HORIZON-MSCA-2024-SE-01-01
GRANT AGREEMENT ID	101236400
PROJECT ACRONYM	Bio4UP
PROJECT TITLE	Sustainable biochar-enhanced upcycling solutions for Zero-Waste valorization of organic waste into circular economy products
DURATION	January 2026 – December 2029 / 48 months
CONSORTIUM	11 partners from 7 countries
COORDINATOR	Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
GRANTING AUTHORITY	European Research Executive Agency / REA
OVERALL BUDGET	EU contribution: 1,513,020 €
STAFF EXCHANGES	302 person-months

The overarching objective of the Bio4UP project is to establish an international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral network of organisations working together to develop biochar-enhanced upcycling solutions for the zero-waste valorisation of organic waste into circular economy products. The project aims to integrate biological, thermochemical, catalytic and sustainability-oriented approaches to transform organic residues into renewable energy, bio-based agricultural inputs and other value-added products.

Bio4UP addresses the urgent need to improve the management of organic waste streams by moving beyond conventional disposal or low-value treatment routes. By combining biochar engineering, anaerobic digestion, biogas upgrading, catalytic CO₂ conversion, solid-state fermentation, sustainability assessment and decision-support tools, the project will develop innovative pathways for organic waste valorisation while contributing to climate change mitigation, resource recovery and circular economy implementation.

The strategy will be to combine interdisciplinary approaches to:

Develop and optimise biochar-enhanced biological processes for improving organic waste conversion, methane production, process stability and nutrient recovery.
Explore integrated technologies for the production of renewable energy, bio-based products and sustainable agricultural inputs from organic residues.
Investigate the role of biochar in enhancing anaerobic digestion, biogas purification, CO₂ conversion and solid-state fermentation.
Assess the environmental, technical and economic performance of proposed valorisation pathways through sustainability assessment and decision-support tools.
Strengthen knowledge exchange and capacity building through international and intersectoral secondments among universities, research centres and non-academic partners.

Through staff exchanges, joint research activities and knowledge transfer, Bio4UP will train researchers with complementary expertise in environmental biotechnology, waste management, biochar technologies, process engineering, sustainability assessment and circular economy implementation. The project will generate new scientific knowledge, support the development of scalable technologies and promote the translation of research outcomes into practical solutions for sustainable organic waste management.

The project is interdisciplinary and intersectoral. The research teams involved include environmental and chemical engineers, microbiologists, bioenergy researchers, sustainability assessment experts and industrial partners working on waste management, biochar production, process development and circular economy applications. The involvement of non-academic partners will help ensure that the proposed solutions are technically relevant, market-oriented and aligned with real waste management needs.

Tailored multifunctional biochars developed for organic waste valorisation, anaerobic digestion, biogas upgrading and catalytic applications.
Improved biochar-enhanced anaerobic digestion processes with higher methane production, better process stability and enhanced resource recovery.
Biochar-based solutions for biogas purification and CO₂ conversion into renewable methane, methanol or other value-added products.
Solid-state fermentation pathways for valorising biochar-containing digestate into bio-based agricultural products, including biostimulants and biopesticides.
Pilot-scale validation of selected biochar-enhanced technologies for organic waste upcycling.
Sustainability assessment frameworks and a decision-support tool to guide circular economy strategies for waste valorisation.
Strengthened international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration through staff exchanges, training, workshops and knowledge transfer.

Work Package 1

Biochar development and multifunctional design

Lead Partner: CTFC – Consorci Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya

Objectives:

To develop and optimise biochars with tailored properties for anaerobic digestion, biogas upgrading and catalytic applications.
To investigate how feedstock type and pyrolysis conditions affect biochar properties such as porosity, surface area, conductivity and functional groups.
To characterise selected biochars using advanced analytical methods to identify their suitability for downstream waste valorisation processes.
To develop functionalised biochars with enhanced adsorption or catalytic properties for biogas purification and CO₂

Work Package 2

Biochar-enhanced anaerobic digestion processes

Lead Partner: CERTH – Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

Objectives:

To evaluate the impact of different biochar types and dosages on anaerobic digestion performance across selected organic waste substrates.
To optimise biochar dosing strategies and operating conditions to improve methane production, process stability and organic matter conversion.
To validate biochar-enhanced anaerobic digestion under lab-scale, semi-continuous and pilot-scale conditions.
To investigate the microbial, chemical and electrochemical mechanisms underlying biochar-enhanced anaerobic digestion.

Work Package 3

Innovative biochar-based biogas purification and CO₂ conversion

Lead Partner: AERIS – Aeris Tecnologías Ambientales

Objectives:

To evaluate and optimise biochar-based materials for the removal of trace impurities from biogas, including H₂S, NH₃ and siloxanes.
To develop biochar-supported catalytic systems for converting biogas-derived CO₂ into methane, methanol or other value-added products.
To assess the stability, reusability and performance of biochar-based adsorbents and catalysts under relevant operating conditions.
To validate selected biogas purification and CO₂ conversion solutions at pilot scale.

Work Package 4

Solid-state fermentation of biochar-containing digestate for high-value agri-products

Lead Partner: UAB – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Objectives:

To characterise biochar-containing digestate and evaluate its suitability as a substrate for solid-state fermentation.
To optimise solid-state fermentation conditions for the production of bio-based agricultural products.
To investigate the potential of selected microbial strains to produce biostimulants and biopesticides from digestate-based substrates.
To scale up promising solid-state fermentation processes and assess the quality and application potential of the resulting products.

Work Package 5

System integration, circular economy design and sustainability assessment

Lead Partner: ENT – Serveis de Suport a la Gestió

Objectives:

To integrate biochar-enhanced waste valorisation processes into circular economy frameworks.
To assess the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of the proposed technologies.
To conduct techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment of integrated Bio4UP processes.
To develop sustainability indicators and recommendations for future implementation and policy alignment.

Work Package 6

Decision-support tool development for waste valorisation pathways

Lead Partner: WINGS – WINGS ICT Solutions

Objectives:

To develop a multicriteria database integrating technical, environmental, economic and regulatory data from Bio4UP processes.
To create predictive and optimisation models for evaluating biochar-enhanced waste valorisation pathways.
To develop and validate an AI-supported decision-support tool for stakeholders.
To support decision-making for selecting sustainable and economically viable waste-to-resource strategies.

Work Package 7 – Capacity building

Work Package 7

Capacity building, dissemination, communication and exploitation

Lead Partner: UL – University of Ljubljana

Objectives:

To promote Bio4UP activities and results through targeted dissemination and communication actions.
To support knowledge exchange, capacity building and researcher training across the consortium.
To organise workshops, seminars, outreach activities and stakeholder engagement events.
To develop exploitation pathways and sustainability strategies for the long-term uptake of Bio4UP results.

Work Package 8

Project management, exchange coordination and ethics

Lead Partner: UAB – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Objectives:

To coordinate the scientific, administrative and financial implementation of the project.
To organise and monitor staff exchanges, secondments and communication among partners.
To ensure timely reporting, deliverable submission and interaction with the European Research Executive Agency.
To oversee ethics, data management and compliance with Horizon Europe requirements.

About the project

Work Package 1

Biochar development and multifunctional design

Work Package 2

Biochar-enhanced anaerobic digestion processes

Work Package 3

Innovative biochar-based biogas purification and CO2 conversion

Work Package 4

Solid-state fermentation of biochar-containing digestate for high-value agri-products

Work Package 5

System integration, circular economy design and sustainability assessment

Work Package 6

Decision-support tool development for waste valorisation pathways

Work Package 7

Capacity building, dissemination, communication and exploitation

Work Package 8

Project management, exchange coordination and ethics

Innovative biochar-based biogas purification and CO₂ conversion