AGROinLOG - Demonstration of innovative integrated biomass logistics centres for the Agro-industry sector in Europe

  • Dates: October 2016 – April 2020
  • Leader: CIRCE 
  • Grant agreement number: 727961
  • Financed by

     

DESCRIPTION

AGROinLOG is focused in the demonstration of Integrated Biomass Logistic Centres (IBLC) for food and non-food products, evaluating their technical, environmental and economic feasibility. The project is based on three agro-industries in the fodder (Spain), olive oil production (Greece) and cereal processing (Sweden) sectors that are willing to deploy new business lines in their facilities. This lines will allow them to produce new products in bio-commodities (such as biomass) and intermediate bio-products (for the chemical sector, i.e.), using for these purposes their own residues or others from the surrounding area.

Taking advantage of their facilities, equipment and knowledge to integrate IBLCs business in existing agro-industries can turn into a 18% reduction of the cost that would imply building the business from the scratch. Specifically, the first analyses on pilot agro-industries have shown that the savings achieved could be as high as € 1-2 million over the first ten years. In certain cases, that figure could exceed € 10 million.

Main challenges are based on being able to integrate logistics, harvesting and equipment in food and non-food applications, where the project is focused; ensuring marketability of the final bio-commodities. This project will contribute towards employment stability –seasonality avoidance-, rural development and EU bio-economy goals.

Main challenges are based on being able to integrate logistics, harvesting and equipment in food and non-food applications, where the project is focused; ensuring marketability of the final bio-commodities. This project will contribute towards employment stability –seasonality avoidance-, rural development and bio-economy goals.

OBJETIVES

The overall objective of AGROinLOG project is to implement and demonstrate the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of integrated biomass logistic centres (IBLCs) for food and non-food products. The IBLCs will be built on existing agro-industries to take advantage of unexploited synergies in terms of equipment and staff capabilities, diversify regular activity enhancing the strength of agro-industries and increasing added value delivered at those companies.

AGROinLOG is born with a short-term business perspective, focused on delivering ready to market full scale operation IBLCs. For achieving this vision, the following specific objectives have been established:

  • To demonstrate the food and non-food business integration in three European agro-industries
  • To promote a multi-actor collaboration based on innovation to foster the business models adoption by the agro-industrial sector
  • To obtain the most feasible and promising IBLCs implementation options for 6 agro-industrial sectors in Europe based on their state, potential synergies and chances to adopt new business of non-food biomass and bio-commodities and intermediate bioproducts
  • To ensure a successful exploitation and dissemination of the project, establishing the required basis for its market uptake and replication

CIRCE´s ROLE

CIRCE will be the coordinator of the AGROinLOG project, ensuring its optimal execution according to the scheduled timing and results to be presented.

On the technical side, CIRCE will be the leader of the definition of the business models and its exploitation strategy for the agro-industries

Specially, CIRCE will play an important role in the demonstration of an IBLC producing herbaceous-wood pellets inside an animal feed industry, participating actively in activities such as the planning of the demonstration the monitoring and evaluation of the demos, the preparation of facilities for the new activity or the test activities for implementing the new business.

CIRCE will also take part in the definition of generic strategies for the development of future IBLCs, as well as in boosting participation and further replication in other regions.

PARTNERS

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