Scaling up sustainable and biodegradable materials is crucial for the future advancement of European industry. Currently, many bio-based alternatives struggle to compete with established fossil-based chemicals due to challenges in environmental, economic and societal performance. To overcome this, NEXT-STEP aims to develop recyclable products from wood production residues for use in shoe soles and insulation materials for construction.

By reducing manufacturing costs and using second-generation feedstocks such as hardwood sugars produced from residues derived from sustainably managed forests, NEXT-STEP aims to develop a new chemical platform (chemical platforms are chemical building blocks and starting materials for a broad range of products): 3-methyl-d-valerolactone (3MdVL). This will improve the sustainability and recyclability of polyurethane (plastic) products and unlock new engineering plastic applications for polylactic acid co-polymers, biodegradable polymers made from renewable sources which are generally used in industrial packaging and biocompatible medical devices.

NEXT-STEP is working on a sustainable, safe and affordable way to produce groundbreaking bio-based chemicals at large scale. This will involve using EU-based and sustainable feedstocks to produce aMVL, 3MdVL and 3MPD as bio-based platform chemicals which will be used to make bio-based products meeting market requirements. The project will then shape a socially acceptable and competitive business plan.

The project is coordinated by AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, and supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members. Twelve partners from eight EU countries across the value chain have come together to work on the development of sustainable materials from feedstock to end-products. The consortium includes Adidas, Fibenol, DBFZ, Quantis, Sapienza Università di Roma, Mevaldi, PDC Research Foundation, Ghent University, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Certech and Altar.