The POWERSAT consortium recently gathered in Uppsala, Sweden, for its latest General Assembly, bringing project partners together to review the progress achieved so far and discuss the activities ahead as the project approaches its final year.

The meeting provided an opportunity to share the latest technical developments across the project and assess the progress of POWERSAT’s innovative technologies. Based on the advances presented and the feedback received from reviewers, the project continues to move forward on the right track towards achieving its objectives.

Sustainability at the heart of POWERSAT’s final stages

As POWERSAT enters the final stretch of its implementation, sustainability considerations are becoming increasingly relevant to support the development and future potential of the project’s technologies.

During the General Assembly, Blue Synergy‘s Sustainability Engineer, Patricio Ivan Cano Santana, presented the latest progress in the project’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and the identification of Ecodesign opportunities.

Through these activities, Blue Synergy is contributing to the evaluation of the environmental and economic performance of the technologies developed within POWERSAT. The identification of potential Ecodesign opportunities also aims to provide valuable insights for improving their sustainability performance and supporting informed decisions as the technologies continue to advance.

Looking ahead to POWERSAT’s final year

Blue Synergy congratulates all POWERSAT partners for their hard work, commitment and collaboration throughout the project. After two years of significant progress, we look forward to continuing our contribution and supporting the consortium during this important final stage.

We hope the final year of POWERSAT will be as productive and successful as the journey so far.

Discover more about POWERSAT: https://project-powersat.com/

As the NANOMAT project reaches its final stage, BLUE SYNERGY is proud to highlight its contribution to integrating sustainability, circularity and eco-design into the development of next-generation nanoelectronic technologies.

NANOMAT is advancing a new technological domain: flexible power RF nanoelectronics. The project focuses on the development of high-performance flexible components and circuits for demanding applications such as satellite communications and next-generation avionic radar systems. By combining innovations in carbon-based electronics and thermoelectrics, wide band gap semiconductor-based MMICs, RF MEMS and acoustic sensors, NANOMAT aims to overcome current limitations in flexible electronics and support the transition towards more advanced, lightweight and high-power electronic systems.

Within this ambitious framework, BLUE SYNERGY has contributed by ensuring that environmental, economic and circularity considerations are embedded into the technology development process. Our work has focused on generating evidence-based insights to support decision-making, identify improvement opportunities and guide future optimisation and scale-up activities.

Assessing Environmental Performance through Life Cycle Assessment

One of BLUE SYNERGY’s central contributions has been the evaluation of the environmental performance of the developed nanoelectronic components through a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment.

This assessment considered the main stages associated with component manufacturing, including material inputs, manufacturing processes and energy use. By identifying the main environmental hotspots, the analysis provides a scientific basis for understanding where sustainability improvements can be most effectively prioritised.

In emerging technologies such as those developed in NANOMAT, this type of assessment is especially important. Decisions made during early development stages can strongly influence future environmental performance, particularly when technologies move towards higher Technology Readiness Levels and potential industrial scale-up. The LCA work therefore supports the project by translating technical development data into actionable sustainability insights.

Understanding Economic Performance through Life Cycle Costing

In addition to environmental assessment, BLUE SYNERGY performed a Life Cycle Costing analysis to evaluate the economic performance of the developed components.

This work focused on quantifying both capital and operational expenditures associated with the manufacturing processes under assessment. By analysing equipment needs, material consumption, energy requirements and operational parameters, the LCC helped identify the principal cost drivers affecting the economic feasibility of the technologies.

The results are valuable not only for understanding current development costs, but also for supporting future optimisation pathways. By identifying where costs are concentrated, the analysis highlights opportunities to improve economic performance while maintaining the required technological functionality. This is particularly relevant for advanced nanoelectronic systems, where performance, reliability and manufacturing complexity must be carefully balanced with cost efficiency.

Exploring Circularity Potential

BLUE SYNERGY also assessed the circularity potential of the developed technologies, focusing on material use, resource efficiency, recovery opportunities and end-of-life considerations.

Nanoelectronic components often rely on specialised materials, complex manufacturing processes and highly specific performance requirements. For this reason, circularity must be considered from the design and development stages, rather than only at the end of the product life cycle.

The circularity assessment carried out within NANOMAT supported the identification of opportunities to improve material retention, reduce dependence on virgin resources and promote more resource-efficient systems. This work contributes to a broader understanding of how advanced electronic technologies can be designed and developed in alignment with circular economy principles.

Translating Results into Eco-design Strategies

Building on the results of the Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing and circularity assessment, BLUE SYNERGY identified targeted eco-design strategies to support the future development of NANOMAT technologies.

These strategies aim to reduce environmental impacts, improve resource efficiency, enhance circularity and support more sustainable scale-up pathways. They include recommendations related to material selection, energy efficiency, process optimisation, waste minimisation, recovery potential and the integration of sustainability criteria into future technology development.

The objective is to move beyond assessment and provide practical guidance. By translating sustainability findings into eco-design recommendations, BLUE SYNERGY supports the project consortium in identifying concrete opportunities for improvement and in strengthening the long-term sustainability profile of the developed technologies.

Supporting Sustainable Innovation in Nanoelectronics

The NANOMAT project demonstrates how advanced technological development and sustainability assessment can work together. As flexible power RF nanoelectronics move closer to real-world applications, environmental, economic and circularity considerations become essential for guiding responsible innovation.

BLUE SYNERGY’s contribution has helped ensure that sustainability is not treated as an external consideration, but as an integrated part of the development process. Through Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing, circularity assessment and eco-design strategies, our work provides a structured basis for improving the sustainability performance of emerging nanoelectronic systems.

As NANOMAT approaches its conclusion, BLUE SYNERGY is pleased to have contributed to a project that brings together technological excellence, industrial relevance and forward-looking sustainability thinking.

Learn more about NANOMAT: https://nanomat-project.com/

Last week, two members of the CIRCULARIS Biocluster, the VALORISH Project and the PROMISEANG Project, held a dedicated workshop at the EUBCE – European Biomass Conference & Exhibition 2026. The session brought together project partners, researchers and stakeholders to exchange knowledge on marine biomass valorisation, circular bioeconomy approaches and sustainable strategies for the use of fish industry by-products.

The workshop served as an opportunity to present ongoing developments from both projects and to strengthen collaboration between initiatives working towards more sustainable value chains for marine and fishery-related resources.

Representing Blue Synergy SL, Social Researcher Julio Morales Daza and Sustainability Engineer Patricio Ivan Cano Santana contributed to the session alongside VALORISH co-coordinators and IDENER.AI representatives Marta Franco de Benito and Akanksha Mishra, as well as PROMISEANG Project partner Alicia Paz.

The agenda included a broad range of topics related to circular bioeconomy, bioprocess assessment and marine by-product valorisation. The session opened with an introduction to the CIRCULARIS Biocluster, followed by overviews of the VALORISH and PROMISEANG projects. Participants then had the opportunity to learn more about multi-scale computational strategies for bioprocess assessments, technologies and applications for marine resource valorisation, and the integration of sustainable and bioeconomy approaches for fish waste.

In particular, the workshop highlighted the importance of transforming side streams and by-products from the fish industry into higher-value applications. These approaches are central to supporting a more circular use of marine resources, reducing waste and creating new opportunities for innovation across the European bioeconomy.

Blue Synergy’s contribution focused on the role of sustainability and circular economy principles in supporting the valorisation of fish industry waste. Through its work in VALORISH, Blue Synergy contributes to activities related to sustainability assessment, stakeholder engagement, communication, dissemination and clustering, helping to connect scientific developments with broader societal, environmental and market perspectives.

The workshop also reinforced the value of clustering and networking between EU-funded projects. By bringing together initiatives such as VALORISH, PROMISEANG, ONE EARTH and MARMADE through the CIRCULARIS Biocluster, partners can identify synergies, share knowledge, increase visibility and strengthen the overall impact of their results.

For Blue Synergy, participating in this type of event is an important way to support collaboration across European research and innovation projects. Events such as EUBCE provide a valuable platform to present project outcomes, engage with relevant stakeholders and contribute to discussions on the future of sustainable biomass use and circular bioeconomy in Europe.

We would like to thank everyone who joined the workshop and contributed to the discussion. More activities from the CIRCULARIS Biocluster and its member projects will follow soon.

Discover more about the CIRCULARIS Biocluster projects:

• VALORISH: https://www.valorish.eu/
• ONE EARTH: https://www.oneearth-project.eu/
• PROMISEANG: https://promiseang-project.eu/
• MARMADE: https://marmade-project.eu/

The new wave project has come to its conclusion and we, from Blue Synergy want to highlight the work done in these four years, and the commitment from the consortium to achieve the research goals and deliver outcomes that will contribute to a more circular and environmentally friendly economy. During the project, Blue Synergy was in charge of the sustainability tasks, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and Reuse & Recycling Strategies; the social tasks such as the Social LCA and the Social Impact Analysis; and some exploitation tasks, such as the Exploitation Plan (partially), the Market Analysis and the Business Models.

The NewWave project was a pioneering initiative that aimed to lay the foundational framework for a sustainable and circular economy within the construction industry. Its central vision revolved around the radical transformation of traditional fossil-based production lines into innovative bio-based value chains capable of upcycling biomass residues, such as sawdust, and end-of-life wood products. Through technological innovation, the project sought to replace toxic and hazardous chemicals—including formaldehyde and creosote—with bio-sourced, non-toxic, and fully recyclable alternatives. Ultimately, NewWave envisioned a future where the construction sector would stop consuming finite resources and instead function as an engine for natural regeneration.

The project successfully demonstrated the technical feasibility of transforming wood waste into high-performance bio-based materials through its core technology, Thermo-Chemical Fractionation. This process allowed for the separation of fast pyrolysis bio-oil into reactive pyrolytic lignin and pyrolytic sugars, which served as raw materials for four distinct manufacturing lines. Notable achievements included the development of green solvents for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Additionally, the project produced sustainable resins for engineered wood products like plywood and MDF and created bio-based polyurethane foams and adhesives with mechanical properties comparable to fossil-based standards.

The validity of these innovations was concretely proven through the construction of an architectural mock-up in Slovenia, where various bio-based wall configurations were installed to test their durability under real-world outdoor conditions. Furthermore, the project advanced the circularity of the sector by proving that end-of-life modified wood could be reintroduced into the TCF process to create new chemical building blocks, effectively closing the loop. Despite these successes, the consortium identified ongoing challenges, such as the need to further reduce production times and energy costs for 100% bio-based resins to ensure full industrial competitiveness.

As for Blue Synergy’s sustainability tasks, the assessment through LCA, LCC, and circularity analysis demonstrates a transformative shift for the construction industry toward a waste-free, low-carbon future. By utilizing Thermo-Chemical Fractionation (TCF), the project achieved a remarkable reduction in CO₂ emissions—up to 87% compared to fossil-based alternatives—while validating that bio-based components, such as polyols and resins, can meet rigorous industrial performance standards. Crucially, the analysis confirms the economic and environmental importance of “closing the loop,” as end-of-life modified wood and pyrolytic wastewaters are not treated as waste but reintroduced into the production cycle to create new chemical building blocks and energy. This holistic approach not only minimizes environmental footprints and toxic exposure but also establishes a scalable, market-ready roadmap for the European bioeconomy, proving that sustainable industrial practices are both technically feasible and essential for long-term resource independence.

At Blue Synergy, our work in NewWave has reinforced a simple idea: sustainability is not a single metric, but a system — where environmental performance, circularity, social value, market readiness, and business viability all have to move together. As leaders of the sustainability work package, and co-leaders of the business model work package, we contributed to connecting these dimensions through LCA, LCC, social impact assessment, reuse and recycling strategies, the exploitation plan, market analysis, and business model development. Turning bio-based innovation into real-world impact means connecting science, strategy, and industry — and that is exactly where this project has been most inspiring. – Sebastián Ospina Corral, Sustainability Engineer at Blue Synergy.

The findings of the Social Impact Assessment and the Social LCA, led by Blue Synergy, highlight the incredible potential of our four manufacturing lines to enhance community well-being, create meaningful employment, and reduce environmental hazards across Spain, the Netherlands, and beyond. By prioritizing Safe and Sustainable by Design principles, we have set a new standard for responsible innovation in the wood and chemical industries.

As the NewWave project concludes, it is clear that the success of a circular bioeconomy depends as much on people as it does on technology. Conducting the Social Impact Assessment allowed us to bridge the gap between industrial innovation and community well-being, ensuring that the sustainable manufacturing lines foster genuine socioeconomic growth. Social research is vital; it transforms technical outputs into inclusive solutions that respect local cultures and environments. Blue Synergy is proud to have led this task, championing a holistic approach where social equity and ecological sustainability advance hand-in-hand toward a greener European future. – Julio Morales Daza, Social Researcher at Blue Synergy.

Finally, NewWave’s commercialization strategy, partially led by Blue Synergy, established a robust framework for transitioning twelve Key Exploitable Results (KERs) from research outputs into market-ready solutions, leveraging a phased exploitation roadmap and the Business Model Canvas. Central to this strategy is the thermochemical fractionation (TCF) platform, which acts as the primary enabler for all downstream manufacturing lines, including bio-polyols, furan derivatives, and bio-resins. The analysis identified four primary business archetypes—technology licensing, B2B ingredient sales, service/IP licensing, and technical consulting—while utilizing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to provide the economic and environmental justification necessary for industrial adoption. This approach is heavily driven by shifting regulatory dynamics, such as EU Green Deal mandates and bans on hazardous substances like formaldehyde and creosote, which create favorable demand for NewWave’s non-toxic alternatives. Ultimately, the project’s roadmap prioritizes high-margin, regulatory-driven market segments during the first five years post-project to mitigate competitive exposure to fossil-based incumbents and ensure long-term commercial viability within the European bioeconomy.

Blue Synergy would like to extend its warmest congratulations to the entire consortium on the successful conclusion of the NewWave project. It has been a privilege to collaborate with dedicated experts from across Europe such as the Biomass Technology Group (BTG), AEP Polymers, Avecom, Foreco, Foresa, InnoRenew CoE, TFC, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, ETA Florence Renewable Energies and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland – School of Engineering and Environment. Through our collective efforts, we have demonstrated that the transition to a circular bio-based economy is not only technologically feasible but also socially transformative. We look forward to seeing the lasting positive impact of NewWave’s results on European society.

To a more sustainable and circular future!

Learn more about the NewWave project at https://www.newwave-horizon.eu/