The SOLRESS project officially kicked off on September 10-11, 2025 in Valencia, Spain, marking a major step toward the development of safer, sustainable, and high-performance bio-based solvents for European Industries. Funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) with a contribution of €7 million under a total budget of €9.1 million, the project will run for 48 months under the coordination of AIMPLAS, Plastics Technology Centre.
Image Credit: AIMPLAS
SOLRESS aims to develop an integrated biorefinery system to produce five key industrial solvents -ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, butyl acetate, 2-MeTHF, and GVL - from second-generation biomass waste, including post-consumer coffee grounds and lignocellulosic feedstocks. Designed to meet industrial purity standards, these bio-based solvents will be tested in sectors such as paints and coatings, cosmetics and industrial material processing.
The project’s ambition is threefold:
- to replace the use of fossil, non-renewable raw material with sustainable bio-based feedstocks for key solvents;
- to provide Safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) alternatives to controversial solvents associated with high hazard and toxicity;
- to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability along the entire value chain.
Through the collaboration of leading industrial, research and innovation actors, SOLRESS will demonstrate how bio-based solvents can strengthen Europe’s industrial resilience, reduce environmental impacts and create new opportunities across the chemical sector.
A Multi-Stakeholders Project
SOLRESS is a collaborative project that unites expertise and innovation, bringing together 17 partners under the coordination of AIMPLAS: Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Bioeconomy for Change, StoraEnso, Kaffe Bueno, Solmeyea, Ghent University, HydroHM, the Agricultural University of Athens, Kansai Altan, TFC, Perseo Biotechnology, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, CSIC, Dermopartners, Celignis and Galactic.
This project has received funding from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) under grant agreement No 101214605. The JU receives support from the European Union Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and the Bio Based Industries Consortium.