Waste from businesses and households is mainly used for energy (heat, electricity, or biogas) in Sweden, while in the rest of the world it is mostly still deposited in landfills, mainly for economic reasons. This means that new recycling strategies and processes are needed to create sustainable growth and a circular economy. For those who create these processes, there are large, long-term sustainable business opportunities available.

The aim of WAYS2TASTE is to strengthen research and innovation collaboration by developing a test and demonstration environment in the region--a “fungi centre.” This includes innovation in the form of products, services, or business models that in the long term contribute to the EU's 2020 strategy in which smart, sustainable, and high-employment growth is in focus. This strategy can also be linked to VG2020 and its goal of creating more regional businesses and jobs, as well as to many of Agenda 2030’s global goals.

These researchers have been working with fungi for almost 20 years and feel that their results are beginning to be visible and lead to innovations and smart solutions in society. These innovations and solutions will be able to be disseminated to a greater extent through WAYS2TASTE by developing different process concepts where fungi can contribute to converting clean and dirty food waste and residual material into small- and large-scale processes to continue to be developed to form a circular bioeconomy, with sound economical principles and minimal environmental impact.

The project aims to develop several process concepts for converting waste products with the help of edible filamentous fungi on the small and the large scale. It also aims to develop complete process solutions along with related financial evaluations--including Life cycle assessment. The environmental impact is to be lower than the current alternatives.

In conclusion, all this together means that the project will:

• reinforce the focus on sustainability by giving the industry new opportunities for waste conversion and new products and services, especially in the VGR region;
• develop new climate-smart proteins to be used in the food and feed industry; and
• contribute to achieving the country's goals regarding a higher proportion of renewable energy by developing concepts that can lead to biofuel, such as ethanol made from waste material, cellulosic ethanol, and residual materials.

Partners

• AB Bostäder
• Bars Production
• Chalmers University of Technology
• Dava Foods
• Food for Progress
• FOV Fabrics AB
• Gröna gårdar
• Holmryds mejeri
• Innovatum
• Klädesholmen Seafood
• Lantmännen Agroetanol
• Lantmännen Reppe
• Larsson Sweden
• Poppels bryggeri
• Protein Consulting Sweden
• Steinbrenner & Nyberg
• Sweden Pelagic
• Toppfrys

Ways2Taste and its 6 work packages

WP 1: Solid state – Bakeries & Industrial

WP 2: Liquid – Process water & Liquefied solids

WP 3: Contaminated – Anaerobic degradation & Fungal growth

WP 4: Economics – Process simulation & Financially viable

WP 5: LCA – Identify hot-spots & Environmentally friendly

WP 6: Characterization – Risk? & Nutrition