sustainable fertilisers
TRANSCRIPT
www.susfert.eu 1 SUSFERT has received funding from the Bio -Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI-JU) under
grant agreement No. 792021. The BBI-JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon
2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium.
SUStainable FERtilisers
Sustainable, multifunctional fertilisers for plant
phosphorus and iron supply fitting into existing
production processes and EU agricultural practice
www.susfert.eu 2
SUSFERT in a nutshell
Title: Sustainable multifunctional fertiliser – combining bio-coatings,
probiotics & struvite for phosphorus and iron supply
Start: 1 May 2018
Duration: 5 years
Keywords: fertiliser, agriculture,
sustainability, plant nutrition,
phosphorus, iron, coating,
probiotics, struvite
Budget: € 9.4 Million
BBI-JU funding: € 6.6 Million
Consortium: 11 partners
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3 research partners:
Coordination: 2 small and medium enterprises (SMEs):
5 industry partners:
SUSFERT consortium
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The challenges
1) Dependency on non-renewable, resource-intense
fertilisers
2) Mined phosphorus is a critical resource, 90% imported
into EU
3) Huge loss of nutrients from conventional fertilisers and
low availability at right time
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SUSFERT solutions
• Bio-based and bio-
degradable coatings
• Probiotics to increase
nutrient availability
• Renewable phosphorus
source struvite
Develop more sustainable, multifunctional fertilisers for
phosphorus and iron supply by combining:
Demonstrate fertiliser
efficacy for major crops
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SUSFERT impacts
1) Decrease dependency on mined phosphorus by 40%
2) Strengthen circular economy by valorising waste and
by-products
3) Reduce soil contamination
4) Strengthen rural areas by establishing local value
chains
5) Demonstrate green technologies
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SUSFERT Work Packages - Overview
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WP 1 - Probiotics and struvite
Objective: Obtain compatible probiotic and sustainable
solutions for phosphorus and iron fertilisation
• Select probiotic strains for
phosphorus and iron mobilization
and up-scaling
• Determine optimum supply and quality of struvite
• Test combined probiotics/siderophores and probiotics/struvite
• Establish production protocols for one siderophore-producing
and two phosphorus-solubilising microorganisms
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WP 2 – Coating
Objective: Develop cost effective lignin-based coatings for
product stabilisation and controlled nutrient release
• Use enzymes to produce lignosulfonate-based coatings:
o Slow-release coatings
o Anti-dust coatings
o Coatings for probiotics
• Optimise properties of coatings
• Large-scale production of lignosulfonate-based coatings
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Objective: Show microbial siderophore production in a
demonstration plant Siderophores are microbe-produced and show high affinity to iron.
• Optimise fermentation media
• Upscale siderophore production
process to demonstration scale
• Build a fermentation
demonstration plant
WP 3 - Siderophore production
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Objective: Develop and produce fertilisers, fitting into current production and application processes
• Combine components developed in previous work packages into actual fertilisers:
o Granules, micro-granules and liquids
o For conventional and organic farming
• Explore industrial feasibility
• Determine right production conditions for optimum fertiliser stability
• Large-scale production for field trials
WP 4 - Fertiliser optimisation
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Objective: Produce registration dossiers based on field trials
• Set up field trials to examining how efficiently high-value crops take up P & Fe from/with new fertiliser products:
o In Austria, France, Italy, Germany
o With maize, tomato, orange and grapevine plants
o Duration of 3 years
• Prepare data for registration dossier for each product to speed up market entry
WP 5 - Field trials
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Objective: Identify economic and environmental impact of SUSFERT products, their sustainability, barriers and opportunities for their adaptation
• Assess lifecycle impact of SUSFERT products (LCA)
• Assess economic potential of products and how they align with existing regulatory requirements
• Develop comprehensive overview of market suitability, overcome regulatory challenges
• Prepare business plan for market entry
WP 6 - Sustainability
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Acknowledgements
The SUSFERT project has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint
Undertaking (BBI-JU) under grant agreement No. 792021.
The BBI-JU receives support from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio-Based
Industries Consortium.
Picture credits: AIT/BOKU/Timac Agro/Shutterstock for RTDS
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Keep in touch!
Scientific coordinator
Günter Brader
Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)
Project management
Daniela Fichtenbauer
RTDS
www.susfert.eu
@SUSFERT_BBI