The novel PDA methodology developed by HOOP partners succeeded in unlocking over €110 million in investments. During the process, partners have developed a suite of open-source tools, to support cities and regions to launch urban circular bioeconomy projects:

• Urban Circular Bioeconomy Hub
• Circularity Label
• Circular Valuation Method
• Project Maturity Level
• Virtual Academy
• Expert Support

Discover them here in the HOOP Toolkit!

Ven a compartir soluciones y experiencias con los más de seis mil profesionales que trabajan en nuestro país para “deshacer los nudos” a los que nos enfrentamos en nuestra relación con el medio ambiente, con confianza, colaboración y corresponsabilidad, porque compartir es avanzar.

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The publication of the article, based on D2.2 “State of the Art of Technologies for the Production of Bioproducts from Biowaste and Wastewater,” marks a significant milestone for the HOOP project, especially as interest in our portfolio of technologies has been building for some time. 

The management of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), also known as urban biowaste, along with urban wastewater sludge (UWWS), poses a substantial challenge for cities and regions aiming to embrace innovative urban bioeconomy approaches. Moving beyond traditional methods such as anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting, our research identifies cutting-edge circular technologies that facilitate the material valorization of OFMSW and UWWS. 

Utilizing a novel screening methodology focused on technologies tested at least at the pilot scale, our study identified 25 state-of-the-art technologies. These were evaluated through a multidisciplinary assessment, highlighting enabling factors, challenges, current or potential commercial status, and their compatibility with traditional urban biowaste treatment methods. 

The bioproducts derived from these technologies span various market sectors, including agriculture, chemistry, nutrition, bioplastics, materials, and cosmetics. Our findings provide invaluable insights for project promoters at the city and regional levels, guiding them in selecting innovative technologies to transform OFMSW and UWWS into high-value products. 

Read the article here:  

Innovative Circular Biowaste Valorisation—State of the Art and Guidance for Cities and Regions (mdpi.com) 

Thanks to our fantastic partners and network members, HOOP has obtained some wonderful results, and we have not finished yet. During the extension we will be able to:

• Provide more updates on the innovative solutions emerging from our lighthouses cities, via our Newsletter, social media (X and LinkedIn) and website
• Continue to organise knowledge exchange opportunities for our ever-growing network of cities and regions
• Support uptake of our open access tools to support actors to implement urban circular bioeconomy

Thank you for your support to the HOOP project, we are delighted to continue our work with you and make even more progress in the coming months.

Innovative Solutions for Biowaste Management

Europe faces a significant challenge with urban biowaste, with each person generating approximately 200 kg annually. Traditional composting methods fail to maximize the potential of this waste, resulting in low-value end products. Additionally, sludge from urban wastewater treatment poses a major pollution problem. HOOP addresses these issues by developing tools to evaluate and enhance the circularity and bankability of biowaste projects.

Empowering Cities with the Bio-Circularity Label Tool

One of HOOP’s key innovations is the Bio-Circularity Label tool, which allows cities and regions to self-evaluate their circularity initiatives. This tool assesses projects based on policy, society, resource consumption, and resource management, emphasizing urban biowaste and wastewater.

For instance, Murcia, Spain, utilized the Label to establish a stakeholder platform, introduce a landfill taxation system, and invest EUR 7 million in an anaerobic digestion plant. In Almere, Netherlands, insights from the Label led to a EUR 4.46 million investment to improve biowaste collection systems. Western Macedonia, Greece, used the Label to launch educational campaigns promoting bioproduct acceptance, thereby enhancing their bioeconomy.

Assessing Project Bankability with the Project Maturity Level Tool

The Project Maturity Level (PML) tool provides crucial guidance for evaluating the bankability of circular bioeconomy projects. This tool helps project promoters and investors identify areas for improvement, ensuring that initiatives are financially viable.

In Albano, Italy, the PML tool highlighted business model challenges in converting used cooking oils into biopolymers, prompting actions to improve stakeholder engagement. Western Macedonia applied the tool to assess the production of functional ingredients from used coffee grounds, leading to successful funding applications for pilot-scale projects.

Supporting Circular Solutions Across Europe

HOOP’s impact extends beyond tool development. The project has supported bio-based and circular solutions in cities across Europe. In Bergen, Norway, HOOP facilitated the ‘Production of Microalgae from Food By-Products’ project, securing EUR 1.66 million in funding. Similarly, in Kuopio, Finland, HOOP’s guidance on pyrolysis techniques led to successful biochar production, achieving a budget of EUR 830,000.

In Porto, Portugal, HOOP assisted in organizing an open market consultation to address wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery, securing an investment of approximately EUR 50 million for 2025.

A Catalyst for Circular Bioeconomy Projects

HOOP’s comprehensive support, from initial assessments to funding acquisition, has been instrumental in advancing circular bioeconomy projects across its eight Lighthouses. By developing the Bio-Circularity Label and Project Maturity Level tools, HOOP empowers cities and regions to enhance the circularity and financial viability of their urban bioeconomies, driving Europe towards a more sustainable future.

After almost four years of intense work, the PDA is bearing fruit, with significant investments induced in our lighthouse cities and regions.

To tell you all about the progress of our 8 lighthouses, we have written ‘The HOOP Tales’, telling the story of their biocircular journeys. Read the HOOP Tales below.

Due diligence is a process that involves risk and compliance checks, conducting an investigation, review, or audit to verify facts and information about a particular subject. In simple words, due diligence means doing your homework and acquiring required knowledge before entering into any agreement, implementation of a project or contract with other enterprises/parties. Hence, due diligence is an important business technique to consider before making any key business decisions (e.g., implementation or financing a new project). Yet, until now, no standardized due diligence process has existed for UCBE projects. Most due diligence endeavors in this realm have remained confidential, conducted by large corporations, banks, investors, and consultants. 

Addressing this gap, the HOOP project has devoted significant resources to standardizing the due diligence process, laying down a framework that offers transparency and reliability. The resulting Due Diligence Standard, characterized as ongoing, multidisciplinary, and proactive, ensures that project parties can navigate various risk areas effectively, thus ensuring responsible and successful project implementation. 

An extensive and inclusive methodology underpins the development of this Due Diligence Standard. It involves inventorying relevant due diligence standards, designing risk matrices, consulting financial partners and external experts, and seeking validation from the HOOP Circular Investors Board. 

Comprehensive in its scope, the Due Diligence Standard encompasses 22 distinct risk areas, ranging from financial markets and governance to environmental and regulatory concerns. Notably, it serves as a foundational guide, adaptable to the unique needs and challenges of individual UCBE projects. 

By embracing this guidance, project promoters can effectively de-risk their endeavors, enhancing their bankability and bolstering confidence among stakeholders. With cities and entrepreneurs better equipped to navigate and mitigate risks, the path to a low-carbon, resilient, and resource-efficient economy becomes clearer. Ultimately, the implementation of the Due Diligence Standard propels European cities and regions towards fulfilling the ambitious goals of circularity and carbon neutrality by 2050. 

The introduction of this groundbreaking Due Diligence Standard marks a pivotal moment in the journey towards sustainable and thriving bioeconomies across Europe, setting the grounds for responsible and informed decision-making in the realm of Urban Circular BioEconomy projects. For more information and access to the Due Diligence Standard, click here.

28 June | 15:00 – 16:30 CET | Workshop on Bio-Circularity Label
This workshop will guide cities and regions to rank their bio-circularity. Participants will be able to receive recommendations on how to make their territory more circular in terms of bioeconomy. The HOOP partners will be there to help in understanding and making the best use of the HOOP Circularity Label. Register for the workshop here.

29 June | 14:00 -14:30 CET | HOOP Lunch Talk: Fostering wastewater valorisation through nitrogen recovery
The last episode of the second season of the HOOP Lunch Talk will explore the nitrogen recovery technology applied to wastewater. The HOOP members will hear from one of the HOOP experts, Guillermo Noriega-Havia, about how implementing nitrogen recovery technologies in wastewater treatment processes can reduce the discharge of nitrogen-rich effluents into the environment, minimize eutrophication of water bodies, and recover valuable nitrogen resources for beneficial reuse, such as fertilizers. If you are a HOOP member, you should have received the invitation link. If you would like to follow the episode, register to the HOOP Network of Cities and Regions.

4 July | 15:00 – 16:30 CET | Workshop on Bio-Circularity Label
If you are not able to follow the Workshop on 28 June, don’t worry, the HOOP partner Bax&Co will be there in July to help you to calculate your bio-circularity level. Register and get tailored recommendations and support.


Beyond HOOP, don’t miss these events on bio-economy!

Biocircularcities Trilogy: Since 2021, three pilot territories have been working on unlocking the circular economy potential of unexploited bio-based waste streams (namely organic fraction of municipal solid waste in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, biowaste from the coffee chain in the metropolitan city of Naples, and residual biomass from forestry and related wood transformation activities in the province Pazardzhik). Hear about their experience and get inspired by the Biocircularcities approach during this three-episode webinar series!

• 28 June | 10:30 – 12:00 CET | Supporting local players with the transition to circular bioeconomy, and lifting the current barriers. More details and registration.
• 4 July | 10:30 – 11:45 CET | Identifying the most promising biocircular technological options, the Biocircularcities Webtool in action. More details and registration.
• 13 September | 10:30 – 12:00 CET | The journey of the three pilot territories. More details and registration.

More information about the Biocircular cities project.

27 September | 10:00 – 11:30 CET | How to best collect bio-waste in high density areas?
This webinar is organised in the framework of the BioBest project, which aims to identify and validate the current best practices and management instruments along the bio-waste management chain that allow the production of quality compost and digestate and establish a series of reference Key Performing Indicators, based on the analysis of existing databases and experiences. Join the webinar to hear key details and evidence on how to implement high-performance bio-waste collection systems in a range of urban contexts across Europe. Register here. Find out more information about the Biobest project.

As we begin to see a shift towards the circular economy, many European cities struggle to put in place efficient and sustainable waste management systems that work for their citizens. In the context of climate change, proper waste management has the potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and preserve the environment by reducing air, water, and soil contamination.

According to the European Commission, the average European produces over 5 tonnes of waste each year, and in some European countries, as much as 60% of household waste still goes to the landfill. This waste is often incinerated, or left to decompose, producing GHG methane, and leach chemicals into the soil and water, damaging both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Alternatively, a circular approach to waste management creates the opportunity to reduce environmental impacts while generating value from waste, giving it new life.

To achieve a circular economy, a city must reconsider how it thinks about waste. The HOOP project brings together 8 cities and regions that are leading the way, our Lighthouses. Whether it is through anaerobic digestion or the upcycling of biowaste, HOOP Lighthouses are at the forefront of waste management innovation and collaboration. 

On 21 and 22 June 2022, Lighthouse cities Münster, Germany, and Almere, Netherlands, hosted members of the HOOP Network of Cities and Regions for the first Study Tour to exchange knowledge and facilitate discussion on replicability. HOOP technical partners and the other 6 Lighthouses were also actively attending. R&D Technician at the Environment Department of CETENMA, HOOP Partner, Elisa Gambuzzi emphasizes the value of visiting other Lighthouse cities:

“It’s not only really important to develop tools to foster European circular bio-economy, you also have to guarantee that other parties across Europe or worldwide have the opportunity to understand what you are doing to be able to apply it in their own territories,” Gambuzzi said.

Münster, 21 June

The Study Tour began in Münster at the headquarters of the local waste management company, Abfallwirtschaftsbetriebe Münster (AWM), which serves the city’s 315,000 inhabitants. The company has been separating out biowaste since the early 90s and the landfilling of waste was discontinued in its entirety in 2016.

Münster’s biowaste collection system and anaerobic digestion facility are what make the Lighthouse city unique. By separating out biowaste, the city increases the amount of waste recycled and generates new value streams from the products of the anaerobic digestion process. 

Christoph Baumann, HOOP Project Manager at AWM in Münster, explains:

“We use anaerobic digestion to produce biogas from the easily digestible biowaste from households that is collected weekly in our biowaste bin,” Baumann said. “Additionally, we use green and garden waste from our monthly bag collection, which is less suitable for anaerobic digestion, as a structural material to produce high-quality compost from the digestate produced in the aforementioned fermentation process.” 

The biogas produced during anaerobic digestion generates electric and thermal energy used to power AWM’s entire waste management centre, and the surplus electricity is fed into the local power grid. By giving the methane – which has around 25 times more warming potential than CO2 – a direct use, AWM is preventing methane leaks while reducing their external energy demands. The company now looks to improve their energy storage capabilities.

Additionally, 29,000 tons of green and garden waste is received each year at the AWM composting site. The organic material is dumped and shredded before air is guided through the heap, and depending on the weather conditions, additional water percolation is introduced. The complete process lasts about  16 weeks before reaching the final product. Each year some 20,000 tons of compost is distributed for gardening, landscaping, and agriculture.

Learning and awareness

AWM puts a large emphasis on waste management education: the higher the quality of the biowaste, the higher the yield of the valorisation process. Therefore, citizens play a fundamental role in the waste process. Not only does AWM teach the public about the separation of waste, they also make a point to remind those who have already been taught its importance. 

AWM’s efforts are specialized in educating the city’s youth and refugees. One example is AWM’s landfill adventure trail for kids. Tour participants connected with their inner child as they interacted with the 12 learning stations along the trail.

Almere, 22 June

On day two, the Study Tour continued in Almere, Netherlands, where the city has discovered an innovative way to reuse residual waste to produce a new, sustainable material they call ‘green concrete.’ The concrete’s cement-free formula is based on recycled concrete that admits up to 5% of vegetal recovered fibres to produce a 15% lighter material. Fibres recycled from green waste find another application when mixed with bioplastics like PLA: the outcoming bio composite is currently used to produce traffic signs.

The day began at City Hall where the partners learned about Almere’s biowaste management system. As the Netherland’s newest city, they have the advantage of putting circularity enhancing processes in place from the beginning. 

Peter de Boer, Waste & Circular Economy Consultant in Almere, explained “we also want to make sure we build a city that’s circular, that’s sustainable, that you can give to the next generation.”

Almere is putting this vision into practice through its Raw Material Collective initiative. The Collective, which started in 2017, has spread nationwide and successfully recycles materials from the city.

At the Cirwinn recycling centre, which Study Tour participants visited, waste such as debris, giant hogweed, aquatic plants, and old construction materials are recycled into new raw materials, such as cementless concrete – concrete has the largest carbon footprint in the construction industry. There are still challenges to be overcome, not least uncertainty regarding the material’s durability, requiring constant monitoring, as well as addressing opposition from the cement industry. Nevertheless, circular materials can be used in traffic signs, bike paths and benches around the city, and even a bridge at the International Horticultural Floriade Expo in Almere, the final stop of the tour. The Study Tour gave the chance for Münster and Almere to receive both recognition and constructive criticism for their waste management innovations and facilities. Other Lighthouse and Network partners were thankful to have the opportunity to connect, compare, and learn from each other. To learn more from the HOOP Lighthouses and Network cities, sign up for the newsletter here.

Fourteen leading investors from Venture Capital to infrastructure funds including the lending arm of the European Union, the European Investment Bank, have signed up (see full list here).

During this second meeting HOOP coordinator CETENMA presented state of the art of technologies for the production of bioproducts from organic fraction municipal waste and urban wastewater. Chairperson of the CIB, Jorge Rodrigues de Almeida from RdA Climate Solutions, then made an intervention about the EU Taxonomy and Due Diligence standard tools and methodologies. Following the presentations participants took part in open discussion .

The next CIB meeting will take place in 2022, along with the first Circular Investors Day. Want to be part of it? Find out more at https://hoopproject.eu/circular-investors-board.