ALIGNED partners from INSA Toulouse attended LCM 2025 in Palermo, one of the world’s largest gatherings dedicated to life cycle thinking and sustainability. This year’s theme, “Global to Local,” brought together more than 1,000 participants from over 50 countries, including professionals from academia, industry, NGOs, and public institutions. They presented the ALIGNED project case study, ‘Consequential Lifecycle Assessment of Bio-Phenol Recovery from Softwood Pyrolysis. The project partners shared insights on consequential LCA, marginal suppliers, and biobased alternatives in a session chaired by Matthias Fischer, Head of Life Cycle Engineering at Fraunhofer IBP, Germany.
ALIGNED attended the 7th edition of the Congress of Natural Fibers and Polymers Symposium in Troyes on 17–18 September 2025, which gathered 1,200 participants. Lorie Hamelin from INRAE attended the symposium, which offers a European view of advances in natural-fiber plastics and composites, including material availability and processing, fiber-polymer treatments, recycling and end-of-life, life-cycle analysis and eco-design, and applications across automotive, construction, mobility, sports, aerospace, design and packaging.
Maxim Tschulkow (University of Antwerp) presented new findings from the ALIGNED project at the 12th International Conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE 2025), held from July 1–4, in Singapore.
His poster presentation, titled ‘Density and Moisture Content Impact on the Environmental and Economic Performance of Biorefineries,’ explored how variations in biomass properties affect the sustainability and cost-efficiency of biorefinery systems. The research contributes to ongoing discussions around optimizing bio-based value chains and advancing industrial sustainability.
ISIE 2025 brought together researchers and practitioners from around the world to exchange insights on industrial ecology, circular economy, and systems innovation.
On 4 June 2025, the ALIGNED and CALIMERO Horizon Europe sister projects held their Science-for-Policy Joint Event at the Thon EU Hotel in Brussels, with a parallel online livestream. The hybrid event attracted over 130 participants — 50 onsite and 84 online — including policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders from across Europe.
The event featured insightful keynotes on improving environmental assessment methods for bio-based products, highlights from real-world case studies, and a dynamic panel discussion on policy and industrial practices. Stakeholders from sectors such as construction, chemicals, textiles, and algae biorefinery shared their perspectives on shaping a more sustainable bioeconomy.
We thank everyone who joined us to help shape the future research and policy agenda in this crucial field.
Watch the event here:
Welcoming remarks by Evdokia Achilleos, Head of Sector in the Biodiversity, Circular economy and Environment Unit (Research Executive Agency)
Introduction to ALIGNED & CALIMERO projects
CALIMERO keynote: Industry case studies to improve environmental performance – Eduardo Entrena, Contactica. If you are interested in any CALIMERO presentation, please contact CONTACTICA .
ALIGNED keynote: Aligning LCA methods for improved sustainability – Prof. Massimo Pizzol, Aalborg University. Download presentation
Research highlights
CALIMERO: Multi-objective optimization in woodworking – Eduardo Entrena Download presentation
We are organising on June 19, 2025 from 10:00 – 11.30 hours a free online Sustainability in the Construction Sector Workshop.
The overall goal of the workshop is to help improving the environmental sustainability of the construction through Life Cycle Assessment. As part of the ALIGNED project, we have explored innovative ways to measure and enhance sustainability in the construction sector. During this workshop, we will present key findings from the case studies.
The session will conclude with an interactive discussion on the utilisation of these methodologies in the construction sector and the results of the consultation.
If you did not yet participate in the online consultation, we would kindly request you to take a few minutes to fill out the form.
For the third year in a row, ALIGNED was present at SETAC, this time at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Vienna. Project partners contributed through scientific sessions and poster presentations, continuing ALIGNED’s engagement with the life cycle assessment (LCA) community.
Nariê Rinke Dias de Souza and Kíra Lancz co-chaired the session Methodological Advancements in Life Cycle Assessment of Emerging Bio-Based Systems, which drew attention for addressing the pressing challenges of assessing new bio-based technologies. The session explored issues such as methodological harmonisation, allocation approaches, data uncertainty, and how to better capture social and economic impacts within LCA frameworks.
Mathias Gustavsen from Aalborg University, presented a poster titled Assessing Environmental Performance Improvements in Microalgae-based Products via the ALIGNED Framework. This marked Mathias’s third consecutive poster presentation at SETAC, underscoring the consistency and depth of ALIGNED’s contributions to the field.
We invite you to participate in the third ALIGNED Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Methodology Workshop—an online session focused on the advancement and practical application of LCA methods within the bio-based sector.
This workshop will present recent progress in LCA methodology development and implementation. The session will provide an overview of the project’s methodological framework, drawing on insights from five case studies and highlighting key challenges and learnings from real-world applications.
A particular focus will be given to the time dependency of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in LCA—a topic of growing importance in environmental assessments. The workshop will conclude with an interactive discussion, offering space for knowledge exchange and feedback.
Why Join?
Learn about methodological developments within the ALIGNED project
Hear reflections from applied case studies across the bio-based sector
Explore the role of temporal factors in GHG emission assessments
Contribute your perspective to the ongoing refinement of LCA practices
Your participation and feedback are highly valued as we continue to improve the relevance and reliability of life cycle-based environmental assessments.
Last week, an internal workshop, “Improving the LCSA Methodology in a Bio-Economy Context in EU R&D Projects: CALIMERO & ALIGNED,” was held during the LCA4Bio Project General Assembly in Luxembourg. The session featured contributions from our ALIGNED partners, Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe (NTNU), Maxim Tschlkow (AAU), and Massimo Pizzol (AAU), who provided key insights into methodological advancements and their applications in ongoing research.
The in-person event will take place on 4 June 2025 at the Thon EU Hotel in Brussels and will also be streamed online.
We encourage you to register early to secure a seat at the event. The registration will close on 10 May 2025 at 17:00 (CET).
Improved assessment of environmental performance of Bio-Based Products: ALIGNED and CALIMERO Science-for-Policy Joint Event
Join us to discuss the next research and policy agenda to improve assessment of biobased products.
Environmental assessment – for example, through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA – of bio-based products needs improvement: Industrial biobased sector stakeholders seek more harmonized methods, better access to data, more uniformity and operational methods to account for the carbon balance.
Over the past three years, the Horizon Europe sister projects, ALIGNED and CALIMERO, have developed and applied solutions to improve the environmental performance of bio-based products in collaboration with industry and sector organizations in woodworking, pulp and paper, chemicals, textiles, and construction.
We look forward to sharing our most valuable insights and learnings and engage with key stakeholders to help shape future policy and research agendas in this domain.
Findings from the projects will be presented with a focus on their applicability for policymakers and stakeholders beyond the scientific community, specifically targeting a non-academic audience.
Date: Wednesday June 4, 2025
Time: 09.00 – 13.00 CET
Location: Thon EU Hotel, Rue de la Loi 75, 1000 Brussels, Belgium within walking distance of DG Environment in the heart of the EU quarter.
REGISTRATION – FREE OF CHARGE:
Participants can attend both onsite (limited spots) and online.
To watch the livestream of the conference, register here.
Note for in-person participants: A confirmation email with further details will be sent to you after registration. For questions and assistance, please contact info@alignedproject.eu
ALIGNED Joins BIOKET, an annual international Conference that serves as a premier platform dedicated to advancing Key Enabling Technologies and innovations applied to biomass valorization.
The ALIGNED project will participate in BIOKET 2025, an event dedicated to bioprocesses and technologies, taking place from March 11-13 in Brussels, Belgium. As a key player in advancing sustainability and circular bioeconomy solutions, Lorie Hamelin (INRAE) will represent the ALIGNED project and will contribute to discussions on harmonizing life cycle assessments (LCA) for bio-based industries. The conference aims to promote the production of high-added value products across diverse sectors of the economy through sustainable practices and cutting-edge technologies.
With a focus on innovation and collaboration, BIOKET 2025 will bring together renowned experts, industry pioneers, and policymakers to share insights on cutting-edge advancements in the bioeconomy. Learn more about BIOKET here.
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LCA4BIO is a pioneering project aimed at developing and validating a new suite of enhanced, standardized, and precise methodologies tailored for assessing environmental impacts and circularity within bio-based systems.
These methodologies will be instrumental in facilitating the green transition of the European industry by providing practical tools to evaluate the sustainability performance of bio-based products.
LCA4BIO will address the development of prospective life cycle assessment methodologies, incorporating considerations for upscaling and future scenarios using Integrated Assessment Models with manageable levels of uncertainty.
LIGNICOAT project aims to demonstrate technical and economic feasibility of the use of lignin as raw material to produce bio-resins for different applications in the field of functional and sustainable coatings.
(Horizon Europe, 2022-2025) aims to assess and promote the adoption of sustainability certification schemes and labels for industrial biobased systems to support tracing the sustainability of the products along the EU and international value chains and trades.
INRAE is France’s new National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, created on January 1, 2020, It was formed by the merger of INRA, the National Institute for Agricultural Research, and IRSTEA, the National Research Institute of Science and Technology for the Environment and Agriculture.
A4F is a biotechnology company based in Portugal with over 20 years of accumulated experience in algae research and development, and algae production up to industrial scale. A4F is specialized in the design, build, operation and transfer (DBOT) of algae production units, from research, demonstration to industrial scale, using different technologies that better adapt to our Customers’ business. Complementing the long experience acquired, A4F distinguishes itself through its methodology, which includes scaling-up from prototypes in our Experimental Unit in Lisbon to large-scale facilities. Additionally, A4F also develops standard operating procedures for optimized algae production, according to production goals and with industry best practices. A4F has developed over the years a close relationship with the leading national and international universities and research groups in the algae biotechnology fields, as well as with the largest algae producers worldwide. A4F, the first choice for any large-scale contract as a specialist in algae production.
BioReCer aims to ensure the environmental performance and traceability of the biological feedstock used by the bio-based industries, deploying guidelines to strengthen the current certification schemes. Within this approach, the added value, the use, as well as social acceptance of bioproducts will be increased. To fulfil this goal, BioReCer is structured in three main technological pillars: i) to develop a multidimensional assessment framework for the biological feedstocks and their associated supply chains; ii) to create a BioReCer Innovation Ecosystem Living-Lab with a multi-agent approach, testing the framework in four bio-based systems supply chain case studies; and iii) to use all this knowledge to complement current certification schemes including new criteria for certifying the sustainability, origin and traceability of biological resources, and ensuring applicability in the EU and globally. The project involves 16 partners from 7 countries
The 3-CO project aims to improve the sustainability performance and competitiveness of bio-based systems and will focus on consumer-oriented labelling options for sustainable industrial BBPs.
The supportive framework that will be developed in 3-CO includes actionable guidelines for label design for LCS owners that reflect consumers’ and other stakeholders’ needs, digital solutions to support better-informed decision-making processes of consumers as well as policy recommendations on deploying social measures.
This framework is going to enable and support consumers to make more sustainable/environmentally responsible purchasing choices.
With 17 EU-funded member projects focusing on textile sustainability, ECOSYSTEX, the European Community of Practice for a Sustainable Textile Ecosystem, has been formally launched in early 2023, with a mission to accelerate collaboration in the textile sustainability and circularity field. Facilitated by the Textile ETP, and with support from the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency (REA), the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) and the Circular-Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking, this new network of textile circularity projects aims to create a long-term community of practice, ensuring collaboration across project consortia and lasting beyond the individual projects’ durations.
Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the LIGFLOW project plans to develop an industry-compatible lignin depolymerisation process that should result in more profitable and sustainable production routes for biomass-derived aromatics.
The RUSTICA projects provides a technical solution to convert organic residues from the fruit and vegetable sector into novel bio-based fertiliser products of high quality that address the needs of modern (organic) agriculture. The project’s ambition goes beyond the simple recovery of nutrients, and also includes the developments of economically viable and environmentally sustainable alternatives to mineral fertilisers with the same or improved agronomic value.
GREENER project proposes the development of green, sustainable, efficient, and low-cost solutions for soil/sediment and water bioremediation, by integrating several remediation strategies with innovative bio-electrochemical technologies.
The EU-funded MODEL2BIO project aims to develop a decision-support system tool to determine the agri-food industry’s residual streams composition and to formulate recommendations on how to use them more efficiently. The tool will be based on the interconnection of a simulation module, an optimisation algorithm and a life cycle analysis module. The project’s recommendations will be formulated under a holistic perspective (technical, economic, environmental and social).
In the EU-funded LEX4BIO project, replacing mineral fertilisers with BBFs is evaluated by mapping nutrient-rich side-streams, estimating their nutrient contents, and providing necessary technologies for producing safe BBFs. By optimising the use of fertilisers according to crop requirements, their environmental impact can be minimised and agriculture profitability improved. The project will provide recommendations for decreasing the dependency on imported fertilisers, closing the nutrient cycles, and improving the sustainability of European farming systems.
The EU-funded ProCEedS project will identify best practices for the implementation of the circular economy in the food supply chain. It will offer solutions, models and methods to stakeholders, including small production, big retailers and co-operatives. The results will assist policymakers and businesses. It has a interdisciplinary approach including LCA, Regional Development, Political Economy & Ecology and Supply Chain Management.
CALIMERO will analyse bio-based sectors industrial case studies provided by partners (construction, woodworking, textiles, pulp & paper and biochemicals) to find feasible solutions to improve their environmental performance while considering also economic and social aspects.
Utexbel is a Belgian integrated textile company from fibre to fabric. It has seven production sites in Belgium: three spinning mills (Ring, Open-End and Worsted), three weaving mills, one package dyeing mill and one piece dyeing and finishing mill. Its main products are yarns and fabrics for workwear, protective wear, fashion, and technical applications. Having control on the textile processing chain from fiber to fabric, UTEX can create and produce yarns and fabrics for circular products, based on mechanically and chemically recycled fibers and is certified Oekotex STeP level 3 for its efforts on sustainable textile production.
It is a young, dynamic, and forward-thinking Belgian university with historic roots and an ambition to contribute positively to society. The Dep. of Engineering Management lies within the Faculty of Business and Economics, that received international accreditations from AACSB and EFMD to testify to the high quality of its education and research.The research team includes about 35 researchers and has an excellent track-record with over 180 WoS peer-reviewed publications, and collaborations with academic, industrial, and governmental partners in national and international projects (such as Horizon 2020 TransformAr (lead partner) and Interreg Nature Smart Cities) and well received educational trainings on master and PhD level.
Sustainable Innovations is a Spanish consultancy firm that provides innovative services to a wide range of sectors across Europe: bio-based industry, energy, industry 5.0, circular economy and advanced materials, among others. The core competencies offered by Sustainable Innovations are structured in two main pillars which bridge the gap between the ideas and the market. On one hand, the R&D management area offers expertise in grant writing, project integration, and advisory services. On the other hand, we are involved in EU project execution, leading several tasks revolving around communication, exploitation, and project administration.
It is the French division of Oleon NV, a leading international oleo-chemical company with plants in Europe (FR, BE, DE) and Asia (ML), and a world-wide commercial presence. The company believes in the use of renewable natural resources and specializes in the conversion of natural fats and oils in a wide range of oleochemical products. These products are divided in two business lines and six divisions. Base oleo-chemical products from OLEON range from fatty acids glycerine to oleo-chemical derivatives and specialty chemicals. These find multiple applications from cosmetics to detergents and fabric softeners, and food additives.
It is the mother company of the Oleon group: it is on one hand a holding company, being the (sole) shareholder of all other Oleon entities, but also a production unit managing two operational plants in Belgium (Ertvelde & Evergem). OLEON NV aims at developing new sustainable oleochemicals for a wide range of applications, from basic building blocks to specialties. Within the frame of ALIGNED, OLEON will provide support on the R&D side, as well as on the LCA of oleochemicals while OLEON NV will instead provide support concerning the process and the production side, providing data related to the process, but also considering the implementation of potential improvements. Oleon NV is Oleon SAS affiliated entity in this project.
Norwegian University of Science and Technology – Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet
As the largest University in Norway in engineering and technology, its Industrial Ecology Program (IndEcol) is leading research on environmental impact assessment, developing established models for advanced environmental sustainability analysis of technology systems.
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées” of Toulouse – National Institute of Applied Sciences Toulouse
Multidisciplinary institute of education, research and technology transfer in biotechnology and processes for agro-industry, pharmacology, and the environment. The research activities in biotechnology and environmentally-efficient processes are carried out by the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI), a leading biotechnology research unit in France which couples top quality research teams in microbiology and protein engineering/bio-catalysis with process engineering and environmental assessment teams, to enable a ‘gene to sustainable process’ integrative approach.
Funded in 1965, KING has grown to be the global leader in high-performance insulation and building envelopes. Its mission is to accelerate a net zero emissions future with the wellbeing of people and planet at its heart. KING enables high-performance buildings that can save more energy, carbon and water while enhancing the safety & wellbeing of people in buildings, enabling the circular economy, and always delivering more performance and value. KING vision is challenging building industry traditions with innovation in advanced materials and digital technologies. Planet Passionate is Kingspan’s ambitious 10-year global sustainability programme that aims to impact on three big global challenges: climate change, circularity, and protection of our natural world. Developments, like using bio-based raw materials, to improve the environmental footprint of manufacturing KING products are relying on LCA studies.
Innovative and professional company in the field of timber products. Founded in 1983, is now leading as an early adaptor with wood protection and sustainable development. Within several national and international innovation networks the company has managed to make a significant contribution to the development of new circular technologies for wood protection and wood modification and to drive innovation and cooperation within the timber industry. FOR employs 120 people spread over three different sections: timber-trade and production, timber-constructions and playgrounds and holds a stock of over 15.000m3 with a wide range of timber species at a terrain of 60.000 m2. FOR is specialized in wood treatment from creosote treatment to regular pressure treatment, wood acetylation and thermal modification. FOR has pilot scale impregnation equipment, drying and curing installations and ultrasonic testing equipment.
Centre scientifique & technique de l’industrie textile belge asbl
It is the competence centre for the textiles and the plastic converting industry, located in the heart of the Belgian textile industry with strong links to most textile and plastic converting companies and the rest of the supply chain including the recycling industry. R&D, testing/measuring and consulting are the 3 main activity areas. The research focus of CENT is on applied research, funded by private contract as well as national and international agencies. CENT offers many tools supporting the industry, including open innovation platforms for prototyping and product development. CENT offers a complete range of standardized testing, it is a notified body for protective clothing and construction materials and can deliver CE marking, as well as other product certifications. CENT is also involved in standardization committees and offers technological advice and training to companies in Belgium or abroad.
Swiss chemical company developing technologies for the efficient and selective conversion of biomass to sustainable petroleum-alternatives. Bloom builds on a state-of-the-art understanding of biomass chemistry to design disruptive extraction methods to use second generation feedstocks more efficiently and accessing new high-value bio-based markets. To this purpose, Bloom has developed a comprehensive market study and identified high value applications where bio-based ingredients are highly demanded. BLOOM will start acting as a technology provider by 2027 with a licensing model.
High-tech SME, employing a team of skilled bioeconomy and bioenergy consultants, researchers, technology, and business developers. The firm has three decades of experience operating in the bioeconomy, developing, and promoting technology and processes to produce bioenergy, biofuels, and bio-based products, combining academic intelligence with practical field experience. BTG has structured its know-how services in two business units, Consultancy and Technology, and its expertise covers: technical and market opportunities and sustainability of bio-based products, establishment and coordination of networks, clusters, and Communities of Practice. BTG develops also training, capacity building, and communication materials for various target groups, and in a range of formats.
Leading Danish university with a strong cross-disciplinary and problem-based approach to research. AAU staff as together produced more than 200 LCA scientific publications in international journals and is currently involved in several research and innovation projects on technology assessment, prospective sustainability assessment of emerging technologies, in EU and the Nordic area, for a budget of about 50M euro. These and previous projects deliver methodological as well as applied studies of LCA of biomass refinery systems, technologies for upgrading lignocellulosic feedstock, production, and upscaling of blue feedstock (macro- and micro-algae).
