Project Details
Project TITLE: Excellence Hub for a Smart Agriculture and Circular Bioeconomy Towards a Sustainable Agrifood Sector in Widening Countries (and Beyond)
Project Acronym: AGRI-BIOCIRCULAR-HUB
Action Type: HORIZON 4.1 – Widening participation and spreading excellence
Topic: HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS-07-01 – Excellence Hubs
Coordinator: Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine)
Project Start date: 1 January 2025
Project End date: 31 December 2028
Duration: 48 months
Project Budget: €5,995,825.00
ECOSYSTEMS OF THE PROJECT
Ecosystem # 1 – Poland
The Polish ecosystem brings together leading academic institutions, innovative companies, and public organizations focused on sustainable agriculture and circular bioeconomy. The consortium is led by the Poznań University of Life Sciences (PULS), which hosts Poland’s largest composting and biogas laboratory, and Czestochowa University of Technology (PCz), a key player in biowaste valorization and ecosystem development.
Industry partners include Rowaj, Chrobry, and GRANULAT-BIS, working on organic waste processing, sustainable packaging, and plastic recycling. Public actors such as the Agricultural Advisory Centre (AAC) and the Wielkopolska Chamber of Agriculture (WIR) contribute by connecting with farmers, supporting innovation uptake, and facilitating policy dialogue across the region.
Ecosystem # 2 – LATVIA
The Latvian ecosystem is built around collaboration between leading research, business, and public sector actors focused on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and deep-tech innovation. The Agroresursi un Economics Institute (AREI) leads regional mapping and coordinates the Latvian pilot project (Pilot No. 3), supported by Egg Energy – a poultry-based biogas plant – and the deep-tech accelerator Commercialization Reactor.
Public institutions like the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), the Latvian Biogas Association, and the Farmers’ Parliament (ZSA) ensure long-term impact through innovation policy, capacity building, and farmer engagement. The ecosystem focuses on biowaste valorization, circular economy, and smart specialization strategies (S3).
Ecosystem # 3 – Ukraine
The Ukrainian ecosystem is coordinated by Lviv Polytechnic National University (LPNU), one of Eastern Europe’s oldest technical universities, leading the national pilot project (Pilot No. 4) and key work packages on mentoring and communication. The ecosystem focuses on sustainable waste management, circular bioeconomy, and regional innovation strategy development.
Key partners include the municipal enterprise “Green City” (waste valorization), the Lviv Regional State Administration (environmental governance), and the All-Ukrainian Environmental League (civil society engagement). Together, they promote bio-based innovations, capacity building, and long-term ecosystem growth across Ukraine.