NewFoss is continuously searching for sustainable applications for its unique biorefining process. Together with other companies, knowledge institutes and governmental parties we invest heavily in R&D for new sustainable applications. Below an overview of the R&D projects NewFoss is executing.
Interreg Grasgoed
Together with a number of partners in The Netherlands and Flanders NewFoss develops new biobased products based on grass. Within this project NewFoss focuses on the value chain from grass to insulation panels and paper. Please also see the Grasgoed website, a comprehensive summary of the project on this NewFoss website and the Grasgoed youtube movie at the right.
This project is supported by an Interreg Flanders- Netherlands subsidy and the province of Noord-Brabant.
Interreg BIVAC
Dutch and German partners are developing technologies to extract high value components from various agricultural and horticultural crops. NewFoss aims at extracting sugar from sugarbeet and sugarbeetpulp and at refining the residue streams from pea and bean crops. Also check the Interreg BIVAC website.
This project is supported by a German-Dutch Interreg subsidy.
BioTreat Center – OP Zuid
Five innovative SME’s have jointly established the Bio Treat Center (BTC) in Venlo. A center where promising biobased innovations get the chance to develop from lab via pilot to commercial scale application. NewFoss develops her agricultural high value components opportunities from the BTC, the stevia development being the most prominent. Please also see the BioTreatCenter website.
This project is supported by an OP Zuid subsidy and by the province of Limburg.
Grassbloxxx
Port of Amsterdam, Rijkswaterstaat, Province of Noord Holland, Watership Zuiderzeeland and NewFoss established a consortium in April 2018 to start implementing a biomass value chain in the Amsterdam region. The aim is to source 50.000 tons of local grass and other biomass and convert that into valuable and sustainable products in the port of Amsterdam. Using the technologies of NewFoss and its Swiss partner Gramitherm grass based insulation panels will be produced. This fits very well with the goals of the city of Amsterdam where a large amount of new houses are planned to be constructed and sustainable building is increasingly important.
A flyer about this Grassbloxxx project is available here (in Dutch).
This project is initiated together with the Amsterdam Economic Board.
Grass2grit
The province of Noord-Holland has initiated a project to research the extraction and production of de-icing agent made from the salts in grass juice. This de-icing salt can be used for de-icing roads. In addition the fibrous fraction will in this project be used as raw material for road furniture, road signs from composite material and insulation panels. The key goal of this project is to design the entire value chain including the processing steps and to determine whether or not this value chain leads to an economically viable business.
In 2018 this grass2grit project received a EU Life subsidy together with her partners. NewFoss provides the project with NFF fibers, grass juice, knowledge and equipment.
For more information see the grass2grit website.
From roadside to page
A large number of parties in East Netherlands have established a consortium for the realization of a biomass value chain from roadside grass to paper and cardboard. Over 20 partners are committed to source and use grass locally such as provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, municipalities, waterships, paper producers and technology providers. The consortium is organized by the Biomass-Alliance. Here you find a summary of the project setup.
Ecopalo
Within this project CNC grondstoffen, van de Heuvel mushrooms and NewFoss research and test the replacement of peat by the NewFoss Fiber NFF-Substrate in the cultivation of mushroom. This project is expected to be supported by a POP3 subsidy starting early 2019.
RAAK valorization of grass juices
Together with 5 SME’s and Rijkswaterstaat the ‘Hogeschool Arnhem Nijmegen’ – HAN – researches potential applications of biomass extracts. The work focusses on the production of bioplastics, fertilizers and humic acids from the NewFoss grass juice.
This project is supported by a RAAK subsidy.
MIT R&D high value biological fertilizer
NewFoss grass juice contains excellent natural components as basis for high value precision fertilization. Biota, Ruigrok and NewFoss together develop a process to produce these fertilizers based on the N and P minerals extracted from the NewFoss grass juice.
This project is started in December 2018 and is supported by a MIT R&D subsidy.
BeeGreen: grass based eggbox
Within this project Huhtamaki, Staatsbosbeheer and NewFoss developed the grass based eggbox. A high quality eggbox containing 50% grass based NewFoss Fiber NFF-Pulp. This project ran from 2016 to 2017, but the development with Huhtamaki continues.
More information can be found here.