New business for farmers and cooperatives in rural areas by local upcycling solutions using underutilized agricultural feedstocks
Description
The PRIMARY project connects agriculture with advanced bio-based technologies in Greece and Finland. Using fermentation, fiber forming, and pyrolysis, it transforms cotton, olive, and grass residues into alternative proteins, bio-packaging, biochar, and biofuels. This process replaces fossil materials while turning farmers into active biorefinery stakeholders.
Sector
A1.6Support activities to agriculture and post-harvest crop activities
Needs/ Problem statement
The PRIMARY project addresses a critical fragmentation in Europe\'s bioeconomy where massive volumes of agricultural residues, like Greek cotton stalks and Finnish grass, are wasted or burned because farmers lack local processing infrastructure. To solve this, the initiative deploys cascading biorefinery technologies like fermentation and pyrolysis to extract high-value proteins and bio-packaging from these residues before converting the remaining waste into bioenergy. By optimizing regional logistics and offering open innovation funding, the project builds inclusive, decentralized supply chains that transform agricultural cooperatives from passive waste managers into active bioeconomy stakeholders.
Objective
The main objective of the PRIMARY project is to establish productive, inclusive, and decentralized bio-based farming ecosystems in Europe by deploying advanced cascading technologies to transform underutilized agricultural residues into high-value commodities. Specifically, the initiative aims to validate six innovative processing methods, including microbial fermentation, fiber forming, and pyrolysis, to extract food-grade proteins, biodegradable packaging, and soil-enriching biochar from residues like Greek cotton stalks, olive prunings, and Finnish grass. The project seeks to replicate these sustainable models across rural communities, turning local farmers and cooperatives into active stakeholders of the regional biorefinery ecosystem.
Bioeconomy fields
Crop residues and perennial plantsx
Designer crops for optimised biomass contentnull
Algae biomassnull
Waste or recycled materialnull
Microbial assisted processingnull
Biorefineries null
Feedstock
Biomass residues
Outcomes and final product
The PRIMARY project transforms agricultural residues into high-value biological products to displace fossil-based materials. Using advanced technologies like fermentation, fiber-forming, and pyrolysis, it produces alternative food proteins, biodegradable packaging, carbon-sequestering biochar, and clean fuel pellets from cotton, olive, and grass waste. Beyond these physical commodities, the final outcome delivers replicable business models and funding that enable agricultural cooperatives to actively co-own decentralized regional biorefineries.
Mobility
null
Value chains
1
2
3
2 - Medium potential - Significant availability of feedstocks available by 2035.
C Sink
1
2
3
2 - Medium potential - strong potential for carbon sequestration at the feedstock or product level only.
Intended user
The PRIMARY project\'s innovations primarily target agricultural cooperatives, rural SMEs, and regional bioeconomy clusters. Through this framework, external regional consortia and farmers gain funded access to validated technical blueprints and four distinct business models to replicate these biorefineries locally. Additionally, all digital tools, biomass mapping data, and policy frameworks generated during the project will be shared through public, open-source repositories to maximize adoption across Europe.
Complexity of the process
1
2
3
3 -complex application
Final user
FarmerY
Foresternull
Researchernull
Advisornull
NGOnull
Training organizationnull
Processor or retailerx
Consumernull
Public Authority + LAGx
Otherx
Economic sustainability
1
2
3
2 - Medium potential - Expected to bring 2 or 1 economic benefits.
Social sustainability
1
2
3
2 - Medium potential -Expected to bring 2 or 1 social benefits.
Environmental sustainability
1
2
3
2 - Medium potential - Expected to bring 2 or 1 environmental benefits.
