ECOSYSTEX is the European Community of Practice dedicated to advancing sustainability, circularity, and resilience across the textile and fashion ecosystem. Formally launched in early 2023, ECOSYSTEX aims to accelerate collaboration among European initiatives working on textile sustainability and circular economy solutions.
The platform brings together EU-funded projects, industry stakeholders, research organisations, and innovation actors to foster knowledge exchange, joint dissemination, and cross-project collaboration. In 2025, ECOSYSTEX expanded its scope to include EU-funded projects focused on skills and education, strengthening the link between technological innovation, workforce development, and the green and digital transition of the Textile, Clothing, Leather, and Footwear (TCLF) sectors.
Supported by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme and the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, and facilitated by the Textile European Technology Platform (Textile ETP), ECOSYSTEX builds a long-term network of textile circularity projects. Its objective is to create a lasting community of practice that ensures continuity, collaboration, and impact beyond the lifetime of individual projects. LEARN MORE…
LIGNOFUN (LIGNin-based arOmatic FUNnelling to high-value biochemicals and biomaterials production) leverages two cutting-edge lignin depolymerisation technologies to yield valuable aromatic compounds that are currently sourced from fossil-based materials. These bio-based ingredients will serve as essential building blocks for various applications, including foams, coatings, adhesives, wood panels, composites, personal care products, rubber antioxidants and nylon.
The pulp and paper industry in Europe produces 17 million tons of lignin every year, a residual stream that apart from energetic use is heavily underutilized. LIGNOFUN addresses this problem in two distinct parts: (i) By advancing two key depolymerization technologies, METNIN and OHRIGINS, LIGNOFUN will enable the production of lignin-derived aromatic molecules using sustainable processes especially adapted for the kraft process-based pulp & paper mills, and (ii) By refining the aromatic compounds into intermediate products and validating technologies and prototypes of market relevant applications.
The project will not only showcase the economic viability and high performance of these products, but also ensure they align with environmental, societal, and strategic priorities. By actively involving stakeholders across the entire lignin-based value chain, we drive market-focused innovation and accelerate industry adoption. www.lignofun.com
MULTIPLY is a Horizon Europe funded project running from June 2025 to May 2029, focused on scaling up the production of sustainable microalgae derived ingredients for a variety of bio-based industries. The project works with 5 microalgae species, developing cultivation and biorefinery processes to turn algae biomass into ingredients for food, feed, biomaterials, lubricants and cosmetics. A key part of the work is recovering nutrients from wastewater treatment plants, reducing the cost and environmental footprint of microalgae cultivation. MULTIPLY also applies safe and sustainable by design principles across all its processes, using life cycle assessment to measure and improve the environmental performance of the products developed, alongside recycling water and side streams back into cultivation and processing. Over the course of the project, MULTIPLY will validate these solutions at scale and share its results with the wider bio-based sector, opening the door to new collaborations and applications for algae based products across Europe. www.multiplyproject.eu
The SOLRESS project proposes an integrated biorefinery system to produce five industrial solvents (ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, butyl acetate, 2-MeTHF and GVL) from second-generation biomass waste, specifically post-consumer coffee grounds and lignocellulosic feedstocks. These bio-based solvents, designed to meet industrial purity standards, will be tested in major solvent-using sectors including paints and coatings, cosmetics, and wood processing. The goal is to replace fossil-based and hazardous solvents with safer, sustainable bio-based alternatives. www.solress-project.eu
SURFs UP is an EU co-funded project that aims to develop safe and sustainable-by-design (SSbD) microbial and lignin-based biosurfactants. The main project goal is to formulate 9 second-generation (2G) SSbD biosurfactant and integrate them into prototype formulations for home care, personal care, and agrochemical applications to enable environmentally responsible innovation. Within those 9 biosurfactants: 7 are microbial based (including sophorolipids, mannosylerythritol lipids and lipopeptides) and 2 are chemically produced and lignin derived. Among these, several are new-to-market molecules and while others are drop-in solutions, that are going to expand the portfolio of sustainable alternatives available to industry.
To produce these biosurfactants, SURFs UP focuses on the valorisation of renewable and underutilised EU feedstocks, including C5/C6 sugars and lignin extracted from hardwood processing residues, as well as waste streams from regional food processing industries. Starting from comprehensive feedstock mapping and optimisation of pretreatment, the project advances through bioprocess optimisation, prototype formulation and performance testing, culminating in the SURFs UP Demo Plant to validate production at large scale. Throughout all stages, dedicated financial modelling and in-depth techno-economic, environmental, and social sustainability assessments are continuously performed to ensure industrial feasibility, compliance with Safe and Sustainable by Design principles, and long-term market readiness.
Running from 1 May 2024 to 31 October 2027 and coordinated by Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP), SURFs UP brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of 12 partners, covering the entire biosurfactant value chain. By following the European Commission’s SSbD framework and integrating social and environmental sustainability from feedstock to final formulation, SURFsUP aims to accelerate the transition toward responsible, circular, and competitive bio-based surfactants in Europe. www.surfs-up.eu
