The bioeconomy is a hot topic these days, right up at the top of policy agendas. It involves using renewable natural resources as a raw material. The circular bioeconomy introduces circularity into this concept: using what would otherwise be thrown away, using spent biological resources to regenerate ecosystems and minimising waste.

The ECESP website has a good selection of circular bioeconomy-themed content. This series will shine a spotlight on it.

Circular bioeconomy concept: BioBoosters hackathons - workshops which look for solutions to specific bioeconomy-related challenges.

BioBoosters is a bioeconomy business accelerator. It runs a business-driven hackathon concept to boost the circular transition of the bioeconomy sector.

The hackathon concept is simple: identify a problem and bring innovators around the table to find a solution. For instance, hemp production in Estonia is flourishing – but the company growing it had no viable use for the stalks. The innovators explored options such as hemp-based filament for 3D printing, hemp as a substrate for mushroom cultivation for biodegradable packaging and extracting enzymes from hemp via fermentation-based processes.

This report covers another eight hackathons, covering logistics, wood, activated carbon, wine corks, soil health and apples. See what solutions were found!