LIGNOFLAG

The main objective of the LIGNOFLAG project is to demonstrate a full-scale commercial plant for the production of cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residues using Clariant’s sunliquid® technology. The new plant, with an annual production capacity of approx. 50,000 tons, will be built in the southwestern part of Romania. The facility will be a flagship site, confirming competitiveness and sustainability of the sunliquid® technology at commercial scale.

At full capacity, the new plant will process approx. 250,000 tons of cereal straw (e.g. wheat straw) annually, which will be sourced from local farmers. Co-products from the process like lignin will be used to generate renewable energy with the goal of making the plant independent from fossil energy sources. The other coproduct vinasse can be used as a fertilizer and brought back to the field, thus providing a tangible example of a circular economy. The cellulosic ethanol produced in the plant will therefore be an almost carbon neutral advanced biofuel.

The main objectives of the LIGNOFLAG project are:

• Establishing an energy self-sufficient, highly sustainable production process for cellulosic ethanol by using co-products for renewable energy production and soil fertilization
• Optimizing and increasing the efficiency of the production process
• Defining a licensing model for the sunliquid® technology and showing its replication and growth potential for other areas in Romania and Europe
• Developing a commercialisation strategy that includes distribution and marketing measures for cellulosic ethanol and the sunliquid® technology

The benefits of LIGNOFLAG for the European Society are:

• Significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change
• Creation of green jobs, especially in rural areas
• Boost of local economies and creation of additional business opportunities
• Extension of current biofuel production to new, currently underutilized non-food biomass
• Improvement of overall performance and sustainability of biofuels
• Stimulation of wide-spread implementation of cellulosic ethanol in the EU
• Creation of a sustainable and competitive source of domestic renewable energy for the EU
• Support of the transformation from a fossil-based economy to a bio-based, circular economy

The LIGNOFLAG project results are relevant to the following stakeholders:

• Scientific community in the areas of renewable energy, second-generation biofuels and biotechnology, circular economy
• Industry and associations in the fields of biotechnology, bioethanol and biofuel production as well as biomass production and conversion
• Car manufacturers, transportation sector
• Farmers (especially in Romania)
• Political decision-makers
• Interested public and end-users

LIGNOFLAG will disseminate its findings to these target groups through a project website, target-group specific information materials, presentations at events, key conferences and workshops, parliamentary evenings, scientific publications, press activities as well as e-newsletters.

BayFOR has been actively involved in the development and professional preparation of the application for EU funding. In close cooperation with the coordinator, BayFOR helped to prepare the contents of the application, especially for the “impact” and “implementation” parts. BayFOR also calculated the budget for these activities and prepared the draft of the Consortium Agreement.

As a project partner, BayFOR is the leader of the work package “Dissemination and Stakeholder Interaction” and, as such, is responsible for all project-related press and public relations activities.

From June 2017 to May 2023, the LIGNOFLAG project receives 24.7 million funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 709606.
 

The LIGNOFLAG Consortium, with Clariant as coordinator, consists of companies and research institutions from Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania. The expertise offered by the consortium meets the requirements of such a complex flagship project and reaches from building and operating a bio-ethanol production plant to handling of the product and co-products and market distribution. The participating partner institutions are:

    Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH
    Clariant Product Ro SRL
    Bavarian Research Alliance GmbH (BayFOR)
    BDR Associates Romania
    Energy Institute at the Johannes Kepler University Linz (EI-JKU) (German only)
    ExportHungary Kft.
    Fliegl Agrartechnik GmbH
 

Official LIGNOFLAG website