SUStainable FERtilisers

www.susfert.eu 1 SUSFERT has received funding from the Bio -Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI-JU) under

grant agreement No. 792021. The BBI-JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon

2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium.

SUStainable FERtilisers

Sustainable, multifunctional fertilisers for plant

phosphorus and iron supply fitting into existing

production processes and EU agricultural practice

www.susfert.eu 2

SUSFERT in a nutshell

Title: Sustainable multifunctional fertiliser – combining bio-coatings,

probiotics & struvite for phosphorus and iron supply

Start: 1 May 2018

Duration: 5 years

Keywords: fertiliser, agriculture,

sustainability, plant nutrition,

phosphorus, iron, coating,

probiotics, struvite

Budget: € 9.4 Million

BBI-JU funding: € 6.6 Million

Consortium: 11 partners

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3 research partners:

Coordination: 2 small and medium enterprises (SMEs):

5 industry partners:

SUSFERT consortium

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The challenges

1) Dependency on non-renewable, resource-intense

fertilisers

2) Mined phosphorus is a critical resource, 90% imported

into EU

3) Huge loss of nutrients from conventional fertilisers and

low availability at right time

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SUSFERT solutions

• Bio-based and bio-

degradable coatings

• Probiotics to increase

nutrient availability

• Renewable phosphorus

source struvite

Develop more sustainable, multifunctional fertilisers for

phosphorus and iron supply by combining:

Demonstrate fertiliser

efficacy for major crops

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SUSFERT impacts

1) Decrease dependency on mined phosphorus by 40%

2) Strengthen circular economy by valorising waste and

by-products

3) Reduce soil contamination

4) Strengthen rural areas by establishing local value

chains

5) Demonstrate green technologies

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SUSFERT Work Packages - Overview

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WP 1 - Probiotics and struvite

Objective: Obtain compatible probiotic and sustainable

solutions for phosphorus and iron fertilisation

• Select probiotic strains for

phosphorus and iron mobilization

and up-scaling

• Determine optimum supply and quality of struvite

• Test combined probiotics/siderophores and probiotics/struvite

• Establish production protocols for one siderophore-producing

and two phosphorus-solubilising microorganisms

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WP 2 – Coating

Objective: Develop cost effective lignin-based coatings for

product stabilisation and controlled nutrient release

• Use enzymes to produce lignosulfonate-based coatings:

o Slow-release coatings

o Anti-dust coatings

o Coatings for probiotics

• Optimise properties of coatings

• Large-scale production of lignosulfonate-based coatings

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Objective: Show microbial siderophore production in a

demonstration plant Siderophores are microbe-produced and show high affinity to iron.

• Optimise fermentation media

• Upscale siderophore production

process to demonstration scale

• Build a fermentation

demonstration plant

WP 3 - Siderophore production

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Objective: Develop and produce fertilisers, fitting into current production and application processes

• Combine components developed in previous work packages into actual fertilisers:

o Granules, micro-granules and liquids

o For conventional and organic farming

• Explore industrial feasibility

• Determine right production conditions for optimum fertiliser stability

• Large-scale production for field trials

WP 4 - Fertiliser optimisation

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Objective: Produce registration dossiers based on field trials

• Set up field trials to examining how efficiently high-value crops take up P & Fe from/with new fertiliser products:

o In Austria, France, Italy, Germany

o With maize, tomato, orange and grapevine plants

o Duration of 3 years

• Prepare data for registration dossier for each product to speed up market entry

WP 5 - Field trials

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Objective: Identify economic and environmental impact of SUSFERT products, their sustainability, barriers and opportunities for their adaptation

• Assess lifecycle impact of SUSFERT products (LCA)

• Assess economic potential of products and how they align with existing regulatory requirements

• Develop comprehensive overview of market suitability, overcome regulatory challenges

• Prepare business plan for market entry

WP 6 - Sustainability

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Acknowledgements

The SUSFERT project has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint

Undertaking (BBI-JU) under grant agreement No. 792021.

The BBI-JU receives support from the European Union’s

Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio-Based

Industries Consortium.

Picture credits: AIT/BOKU/Timac Agro/Shutterstock for RTDS

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Keep in touch!

Scientific coordinator

Günter Brader

Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)

[email protected]

Project management

Daniela Fichtenbauer

RTDS

[email protected]

www.susfert.eu

@SUSFERT_BBI