Irish food and agribusiness specialist named in consortium drawn from seven EU countries who will work together to transform waste from the poultry industry into bio-based products for agricultural applications.

Farrelly & Mitchell is part of a consortium selected to bring to fruition a major project to convert poultry feathers from discarded waste into valuable raw materials. The project, under the auspices of the EU-funded Project UNLOCK and KARMA2020 initiatives, and coordinated by CIDETEC, aims to develop the methods and strategies needed to successfully drive what is regarded as an exciting development in the evolution of the circular economy.

Malachy Mitchell, Managing Director, Farrelly & Mitchell welcomed the announcement stating, “I am delighted that Farrelly & Mitchell has been selected for what looks a game-changing project in terms of the European Union’s sustainable agriculture ambitions. We look forward to working on Project UNLOCK with our partners across the EU in addressing the technical, logistical and market challenges crucial to delivering a project set to boost the circular economy. The building of economically viable, environmentally sustainable value chains are essential to driving Europe’s activities and global leadership role in combatting climate change.”

Project UNLOCK was launched on 1st May to generate new value from a waste stream that contains nearly 90% keratin, a valuable protein that can be a source for biodegradable materials Food and agribusiness specialists, Farrelly & Mitchell, will perform a central role alongside Project UNLOCK consortium partners, CEDROB, INKOA and GE-ACC in performing the feasibility studies needed to establish smart logistics strategies and efficient feather biorefineries needed to enable project fulfilment.

Background to feather-waste initiative

In Europe 3,6 million tonnes of feathers are generated per year as waste from the poultry sector. Around 25% is used for animal feed or fertilisers while the rest is disposed in landfills or incinerated. Feathers contain nearly 90% keratin, a valuable protein and potential source for biodegradable materials. The project will develop efficient conversion techniques for feather processing, enabling large-scale manufacturing of feather-based raw materials. The commercialisation of feather waste, together with the technological breakthroughs achieved during the KARMA2020 project, guarantee significant benefits to both the environment and the economy. In effect it proves that feathers will no longer be viewed as a waste product, instead regarded as valuable raw materials and a vital addition to the circular economy. The core of Farrelly & Mitchell’s work for Project UNLOCK will be dedicated to removing or minimising the many technical, logistical and market hurdles hindering the supply chain.

The work will facilitate profitable value chains and easy market uptake of keratin-based products. Unlocking significant environmental benefits The project is set to launch economically & environmentally sustainable value chains, leading to the generation of innovative bio-based functional products for agricultural applications. In the course of the four-year project, funded by the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), the food and agribusiness specialists together with their UNLOCK partners will design economically and environmentally sustainable innovative value chains to create a feather-based bioeconomy. Four different processes will valorise the feathers: from mechanical treatment to steam explosion, microbial fermentation or chemical hydrolysis, depending on the type of end products desired. The bio-based products generated will be tailored to the needs of the agriculture sector, with creation of seed trays, nonwoven geotextiles, mulch films and hydroponic foams. The keratin contained in those innovative materials bring additional environmental benefits at end of product life: keratin-based materials are targeted to be zero waste and allow for controlled biodegradability, while enriching soils with organic nitrogen.

Boost to EU sustainable agriculture ambitions

To start working on this challenging but promising initiative, the 15 European partners held an online kick-off meeting on 28th April. This made clear the strength of UNLOCK’s well-balanced consortium, that covers the whole value-chain, from feedstock and supply chain analysis to equipment, processes, end-product fabrication and sustainability assessments. The journey to transform traditional poultry systems to circular, sustainable ones may just have started, but by the end of the project two first-of-a-kind commercial biorefineries will be established. Building on the success of the KaRMA2020 project, UNLOCK aims to make further strides toward a more sustainable European agricultural sector.

Additional information & contacts

You can follow the progress of UNLOCK on Twitter @UNLOCK_BBI and on LinkedIn UNLOCK_project. More details on the project’s objectives and achievements will soon be available at www.unlock-project.eu

The UNLOCK project received funding of €5 million from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 101023306. It will run from 1 May 2021 until April 2025. The consortium is composed of 4 Research and Technology Organisations (CIDETEC Foundation (ES) – coordinator of the project, ŁUKASIEWICZ Research Network-Institute of Biopolymers and Chemical Fibres (PL), Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos (ES), RISE Processum AB (SE)), 8 SMEs - FARRELLY & MITCHELL (IE), (General Hydroponic Europe (FR), Bioextrax AB (SE), Bio-Mi društvo sa ograničenom odgovornoču (HR), TECHNOPackaging (ES), Organic Waste Systems nv (BE), INKOA SISTEMAS (ES), Associació Comarcal Urgell d'Ajuda al Minusvàlid (ES), 2 Clusters (Fundacja UNIMOS (PL), Greenovate! Europe EEIG (BE)), and 1 large industry (CEDROB S.A. (PL)).

Contact: Project Coordinator: Sarah Montes smontes@cidetec.es Project Communications: Capucine Pineau c.pineau@greenovate-europe.eu @UNLOCK_BBI UNLOCK_project http://unlock-project.eu/

See more information on Farrelly & Mitchell’s Sustainability Due Diligence and Auditing service
Service contact: Amy Ward Whelan: +353 1 690 6550 or email: awhelan@farrellymitchell.com Media enquiries: Diarmaid Williams: +353 1 690 6550 or email: dwilliams@farrellymitchell.com

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