The circular bioeconomy, which uses renewable biological resources and technologies to produce food, materials, or energy, can play a crucial role in shaping structural change. It has the potential to create new value networks, thereby promoting knowledge-based growth and jobs, ecosystem revitalisation and resilience, resource efficiency and circularity, and innovation, while taking into account the context-specific economic, social and environmental conditions of a region. 

Driven by the shift towards sustainable development, regions with carbon-intensive economies, such as coal mining, intensive agriculture, forestry, fisheries and peat production, are undergoing significant structural change. The negative impacts can be severe, including economic disruption, unemployment, social strain, and regional inequalities. 

Transition through European cooperation

Our mission: BIO2REG is a three-year European project that aims to enable the systemic transformation of greenhouse gas-intensive regions into bioeconomy model regions. Nine partners are committed to developing concrete measures to enable sustainable bioeconomic transitions in European regions. 

BIO2REG seeks to equip regional stakeholders with an array of practical knowledge and tools to design and implement a region-specific transition. 

These tools include: 

• A multi-criteria assessment framework and guides for a self-assessment of bioeconomy model region potential. 
• A network of regions that promotes direct stakeholder interaction and mutual learning. 
• An interregional exchange programme that will foster partnerships, showcase experiences and build capacities through mentoring and training services. 

Sharing knowledge across regions

Central to the project is its regions-to-regions approach, fostering the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and challenges among various regional stakeholders involved in the transition process. The project’s unique model region framework places regions and their specificities at the centre of the transformation. 

RISE participates in Work Package 1, “Assessing regional potential towards circular and systemic bioeconomy model region transition”, with a particular focus on Task 1.4, “Mapping best practices in circular and systemic model regions”.

RISE is also involved in Work Package 2, “Establishment of an interregional network structure on circular and systemic bioeconomy model region transition”, and contributes to other work packages within the project.

BIO2REG publishes blueprint for bioeconomy model regions 

Update from Work Package 2: Establishing an Interregional Network, which sets out to connect regions and support their transition to a circular bioeconomy. The network, a crucial component of the
BIO2REG project, aims to create a robust framework for collaboration and knowledge exchange across European regions.

Biogas and biorefining for the agriculture of the future

By creating more value from the same raw material, the goal is to contribute to fossil-free food production, increased self-sufficiency and a more climate-neutral society.

Increased biogas production and fossil-free food production

The project explores how agricultural residual streams and arable land can be used more efficiently and sustainably. By combining biogas production with further processing of biomass, resources can be used more effectively while strengthening the production of renewable energy and sustainable food.

Sweden aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, while agriculture needs to become largely fossil-free by 2030. At the same time, demand for biogas is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Agricultural residual streams and biomass therefore have an important role to play in the transition to a sustainable and fossil-free society.

Increased resource efficiency through biorefining

The project examines how the concept can increase environmental benefits and resource efficiency. The focus includes protein extraction from grass and clover leys, as well as upgrading and further processing of biogas and digestate. By extracting more value from the same raw material, agricultural resources can be used more efficiently and contribute to a stronger circular economy.

From potential to implementation

The project maps available biomass and residual streams in Västra Götaland. Different scenarios are analysed to assess environmental impact, resource efficiency and economic feasibility. The project also examines how the solution can be implemented in practice by identifying key actors, opportunities and barriers, and by developing business models for future establishment.

Funded by Mistra Utmana

The project is carried out by RISE in collaboration with the Natural Resources Administration of Region Västra Götaland and is funded by Mistra Utmana.

RISE's role in the project

The Circular synergies between land and sea project is coordinated by RISE. We are also carrying out tests on sludge from sea and land-based fish farms using hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) to carbonise the sludge, which will then be tested through plant cultivation trials at Torsta in Krokom and Val skoler in Rörvik. Together with the High Coast Innovation Park site in Örnsköldsvik and the potential sites Kråköga in Rörvik and Alby in Ånge, we are carrying out techno-economic and life-cycle analyses for the exchange of knowledge and experience between Swedish and Norwegian industrial parks for industrial symbiosis.

Funding

EU funding for Sweden: EUR 264,832
Region Västernorrland: EUR 101,196
Umeå University: EUR 26,528
RISE Processum AB: EUR 4,257
Torsta AB: EUR 10,622

Norwegian IR funding: EUR 110,000
Namdal Regional Council: EUR 13,548
Trøndelag County Council: EUR 30,000
Municipalities in the Regional Council (Flatanger, Grong, Høylandet, Leka, Lierne, Namsos, Namsskogan, Overhalla, Nærøy and Røyrvik): EUR 17, 920 EUR EUR

Private funding in kind 
Businesses and business associations (Sinkaberg, Aquaressurs AS, Kråkøya Eiendom AS, Valskoler, Namdalskysten Næringsforening, Trøndelag Farmers’ Association): EUR 100,520

In this project Swedish aquaculture will be analyzed using the three pillars of sustainability; environmental, economic and social sustainability . The analysis will include the most important species for food production: rainbow trout, char, tilapia, clarias and mussels.  

Environmental sustainability

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will be the main method to quantitatively evaluate the environmental impact (climate impact and eutrophication potential) of the main production species in Swedish aquaculture. However, LCA has limitations and is most useful for calculating environmental impacts on a larger geographical scale, therefore this method will be complemented and integrated with additional analyses. As a complement to LCA, environmental data will be collected from aquaculture farms to enable modeling of eutrophication potential linked to Swedish aquaculture at local and regional level.

Economic and social sustainability

In addition to environmental sustainability, economic and social sustainability will be analyzed using social life cycle assessment (SLCA) and a mapping and analysis of the market potential for the Swedish market of domestic seafood from the producer and trade perspective.

Future scenarios

Once a baseline of current production is established, sustainability analyses will be carried out of a number of realistic future scenarios (e.g. increased production with existing or new technology, increased land-based production, different feed composition, etc.) Results will support companies, authorities and other decision makers in leading the aquaculture industry to sustainable growth.

Communication and dissemination of results

The knowledge and results generated from the sustainability analyses will be communicated widely on several occasions. Partly in writing on this website, in scientific reports and a popular science report in Swedish, partly orally at a workshop with the industry, podcast, and at an open seminar, and presented at a relevant conference or equivalent.

The project is partly financed with EU funds from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (Havs-, fiskeri- och vattenbruksprogrammet - Jordbruksverket.se).  
 

We create DELICIOUS together

At DELICIOUS, we tackle problems that are too big and too difficult for individual actors to solve on their own. The knowledge we create together is an important key to achieving a sustainable transition of the food system.

RISE is coordinating the DELICIOUS project and will also be responsible for scale-up of microbial processes, high-throughput screening of microbial strains and communities, and sustainability assessments and through techno-economic analysis (TCA) and social life cycle assessment (SLCA)

iCOSHELLs – Co-Creation for Healthy Soils in Europe

The Importance of Soil and EU Challenges
Soil is fundamental to all life on Earth, yet alarmingly, 60–70% of EU soils are considered unhealthy due to pollution, urbanization, and intensive agriculture, further exacerbated by climate change. This degradation leads to economic, societal, and environmental challenges, including reduced productivity, biodiversity loss, and deteriorating soil structure.

RISE’s Leading Role in iCOSHELLs
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden serves as the project’s Lead Coordinator and also spearheads the development of a Swedish Living Lab in Southern Sweden. This lab addresses soil health challenges linked to intensive agricultural land use, focusing on sustainable solutions for improved soil health.

A Contribution to EU’s “A Soil Deal for Europe”
iCOSHELLs is part of the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, aiming to achieve healthy soils across Europe by 2030. The project contributes to three key objectives:

• Reducing soil pollution and promoting restoration.
• Enhancing soil structure and biodiversity.
• Raising societal awareness and knowledge about soil health and its significance.

Innovative Living Labs Addressing Regional Challenges
The project encompasses six Living Labs across diverse European regions, tackling unique climatic and geographical challenges:

• Southern and central Sweden: Solutions for soil health in agricultural systems.
• Southeastern Spain (Murcia and Almería): Developing sustainable agriculture ecosystems.
• The Basque Country (Spain/France): Improving soil structure in wetlands, semi-urban areas, and forest environments.
• Western Macedonia (Greece): Restoring contaminated mining soils.
• Northern Italy: Solutions for soil health in rural, urban, and semi-urban areas.
• Plovdiv Region (Bulgaria): Addressing issues of reduced organic matter, poor soil structure, and biodiversity loss.

A Systematic Approach
iCOSHELLs employs a structured strategy to:

• Build stakeholder capacity and bridge the gap between science and practical application.
• Deepen understanding of soil indicators and enhance soil health through scalable methods.
• Replicate effective soil restoration solutions across different regions.

The Future of Living Labs
The project challenges traditional models by anchoring Living Labs in co-creation, broad stakeholder engagement, and practical application. The vision is to develop standardized, globally recognized labs that serve as benchmarks for future Living Labs.

Sustainable Outcomes for the Future
iCOSHELLs promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing by serving as a comprehensive soil health database and supporting policy development to ensure a sustainable future for agriculture and the environment.

To achieve the EU’s climate transition goals, an expansion of renewable energy sources is required. The development of renewable energy technology needs to be combined with energy and land use efficiency. Both Denmark and Sweden share the need to find solutions where multiple benefits can be created on the same land. One way is to combine agriculture and solar energy. The concept is called agrivoltaics, but we choose to use the more Nordic term ‘solar farming systems.’ A completed preliminary project has shown that there is a lack of research and proven experience on how and if solar farming systems can be designed to both provide efficient solar energy production while maintaining or even improving food production.

This cross-border Interreg project is created to fill the knowledge gap. We will work through a Living Lab  to theoretically and practically investigate and demonstrate how solar farming systems and energy storage can be effectively combined on the same surface. The project lays the foundation for a long-term and sustainable Living Lab, designed as a dynamic platform that contributes to building and spreading knowledge about new innovative solar farming systems. The project will create a Living Lab consisting of four different demonstration environments, two in each country, to develop the knowledge we found lacking in the preliminary project. The variation in the different demonstration environments allows for comparison of results, creating a better knowledge base. The cross-border nature of the project is crucial for evaluating systems from a Nordic context. Additionally, several added values are created when the project achieves geographical spread