Bio-based and biodegradable delivery systems for fertilising products to reduce microplastics pollution & promote soil health

Successful proposals will: contribute to the implementation of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and the updated EU Industrial Strategy; deliver significant contributions to the R&I Missions ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ (particularly reducing soil pollution and enhancing restoration) and ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ (preventing and eliminating pollution, including microplastics); support the delegated act introducing biodegradability criteria for polymers under the EU Fertilising Products Regulation; develop scalable, safe and sustainable bio-based biodegradable delivery systems for fertilising products with potential spillover to pesticides and seeds, capable of replacing conventional delivery systems; enhance understanding of biodegradation processes and control factors, and their impacts on plant development, soil health (including the microbiome) and water; and enable creation of new regional/local value chains incorporating biodegradable delivery systems with increased synergies between farmers and bio-based industries.

Proposals must: develop circular and sustainable production processes for bio-based biodegradable delivery systems for fertilising products; assess applicability/adaptability of these systems to additional inputs such as pesticides and seeds; validate the systems at lab and/or small-scale field level, demonstrating agronomic efficiency, safety, scalability and sustainability with properties similar to or better than conventional systems; assess long-term effects and biodegradability of the systems in natural soil conditions and monitor related aspects in fresh, estuarine and marine waters using standardised tests, methods and protocols; include a dedicated task applying the EC’s SSbD framework, considering delivery systems and their decomposition products, and develop recommendations to refine SSbD criteria (including thresholds, data-gap identification for safety, environmental and socio-economic factors, and priorities for data collection); employ a Multi-Actor Approach to engage farmers in co-development, testing and impact analysis; and ensure complementarity with and build upon outputs from relevant past and ongoing R&I projects (e.g., ARAGORN, EDAPHOS, ISLANDR, CBE-JU projects under CBE-2023-IA-02, CBE-2024-RIA-03, CBE-2024-IA-01).