Unlock Project

15 partners from 7 EU countries work together to transform waste from the poultry industry into bio-based products for agricultural applications. The UNLOCK project, funded by the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), aims at designing economically and environmentally sustainable innovative value chains to create a feather based bio-economy. In the course for the four-years project, the feathers will be valorised through four different processes, from mechanical treatment to steam explosion, microbial fermentaion 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 the creation of seed trays, nonwoven geotextiles, mulch films and hydroponic foams. Futhermore, the keratin contained in those innovative materials will bring additional environmental benefits at the end of the product’s life: keratin-based materials are targeted to be zero waste and allow for controlled biodegradability, while also enriching soils with organic nitrogen. The UNLOCK project is lead by the CIDETEC Foundation. It receives funding from the @EU_H2020 Research & Innovation Programme granted by @BBI2020 under grant agreement nº 101023306. It officially started on 1st May 2021 and will run until April 2025. Consortium members: CIDETEC Foundation (ES) ŁUKASIEWICZ Research Network-Institute of Biopolymers and Chemical Fibres (PL) Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos (ES) RISE Processum AB (SE) General Hydroponic Europe (FR) Bioextrax AB (SE) Bio-Mi društvo sa ograničenom odgovornoču (HR) NUEVAS TECNOLOGIAS PARA EL DESARROLO DE PACKAGING Y PRODUCTOS AGROALIMENTARIOS CON COMPONENTE PLÁSTICA (ES) FARRELLY & MITCHELL (IE) Organic Waste Systems nv (BE) INKOA SISTEMAS (ES) Associació Comarcal Urgell d'Ajuda al Minusvàlid (ES) Fundacja UNIMOS (PL) Greenovate! Europe EEIG (BE) CEDROB S.A.(PL)