On Thursday, July 17th, 2025, partners from the Circularis Biocluster—which brings together the EU-funded projects PROMISEANG, VALORISH, and ONE EARTH—met online for their first internal cluster workshop. The session focused on sharing technical updates and aligning early-stage results across the three projects, all of which work toward the sustainable valorisation of agri-food side streams.
From waste to value: Early results
The workshop opened with a brief welcome from the cluster managers before diving straight into the science. The first session brought together researchers Lorenzo Bertin (UNIPM), Sebastian Wendeborn (FHNW), Yamini Satyawali (VITO), and Anna Laura Eusebi (UNIVPM), who presented early findings from their respective projects.
Topics included the characterisation of raw materials and the initial conversion of cheese whey into PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids)—compounds with potential uses in health and feed applications. Other work focused on the processing of chicken feathers and fish scales into peptides and organic fertilisers, highlighting the biocluster’s shared ambition to turn low-value residues into high-impact bioproducts.
These case studies reflect the wide range of feedstocks being explored and the diversity of technologies under development. They also illustrate how different industrial residues can be repurposed to meet bioeconomy goals across multiple sectors.
Technical highlights: Extraction and hydrolysis
The second half of the workshop focused on key processing technologies. Laura Oleaga (PESCANOVA) and Borja Lagoa (ANFACO) presented work on oil extraction techniques, such as Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES), subcritical water extraction, and supercritical CO₂. These methods aim to increase efficiency and sustainability in isolating valuable compounds from complex waste materials.
They also shared advances in the bacterial hydrolysis of fish by-products to produce protein hydrolysates, compounds that could play a role in sectors ranging from animal nutrition to soil health. Both speakers stressed the importance of adapting process conditions to the highly variable nature of raw materials—something all three projects are actively addressing.
The session highlighted how technical collaboration between industry and research partners is essential to move these processes from the lab to market.
PROMISEANG Project update
Eloy Miranda (UVIGO) presented a summary of PROMISEANG’s recent progress, focusing on the use of marine food by-products for the development of sustainable ingredients. The project has identified suitable raw materials—such as fish by-products and macroalgae—for biomass fermentation, with promising results in both solid-state and liquid fermentation processes. The analysis helped identifying some of the samples as rich in protein content and an interesting potential towards the elaboration of nutritional supplements. An additional screening on heavy metals also helped securing the selection of the safest samples, discarding the ones reaching close to the recommended limits.
PROMISEANG is working toward the production of high-value protein extracts and additional non-protein compounds like polyphenols and chitosan. These ingredients will be valuable in different food, feed and non-food applications.
Looking ahead
This first internal meeting marked an important step in strengthening collaboration between the three biocluster projects. By pooling results and aligning technical efforts, the Circularis Biocluster aims to accelerate the development of circular bio-based value chains grounded in real industrial needs.
Stay tuned—in the coming weeks, the biocluster will announce its first external workshop, a public-facing event jointly hosted by PROMISEANG, VALORISH, and ONE EARTH. This will open the door for more stakeholders, researchers, and industry actors to engage with the work and explore potential synergies.
The upcoming event will be a key moment to broaden impact and share early insights with the wider innovation ecosystem. More details coming soon.