The EU-funded BioFairNet project will create a digital network for collaboration. Through this platform, stakeholders may share insights, co-create solutions and map out sustainable practices. The project’s goal is to support agriculture and mining in making the transition, with a web-based tool built with the input of those directly involved.
Project's core objectives
- Identify and assess EU carbon-intensive hotspots in agriculture and mining.
- Develop a digital platform combining advanced biotechnologies, low-tech data collection, hybrid AI models, and socio-economic strategies.
- Ensure socially equitable and economically viable transitions, fostering fair and inclusive practices.
Through co-creation, testing, and continuous stakeholder feedback, BioFairNet envisions current practices, defines post-transition pathways, and co-develops practical solutions. The final product — a web-based transition toolkit — will be built with and for the stakeholders themselves.
Project's broader goals
- Accelerating local and regional transitions.
- Strengthening European industrial sustainability and competitiveness.
- Enhancing benefits for consumers and citizens, especially in rural areas.
BioFairNet starts at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 and aims to reach TRL 7 by deploying its “Green Information Factory” in real-life pilot projects, ensuring practical impact and market relevance. The project integrates social sustainability research to go beyond traditional CE models, embedding fairness, inclusivity, and environmental responsibility at the heart of the transition.
Methodology
BioFairNet starts at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 and aims to reach TRL 7 by deploying its “Green Information Factory” in real-life pilot projects, ensuring practical impact and market relevance. The project integrates social sustainability research to go beyond traditional CE models, embedding fairness, inclusivity, and environmental responsibility at the heart of the transition.
The project’s methodology unfolds in three main phases:
Phase 1. Building the Foundation (Work Packages 1-3)
- Mapping and Understanding: The project begins by studying existing policies, economic models, and business practices across Europe, while mapping “hotspots” areas and sectors most in need of transition support.
- Co-Creation with Stakeholders: Stakeholders (businesses, citizens, farmers, miners, and public authorities) are actively involved from the start to co-create solutions that are fair, inclusive, and practical.
- Assessing Impacts: The project evaluates environmental, social, and economic impacts using Life Cycle Assessments (LCA, LCC, S-LCA) to ensure the proposed solutions are sustainable and beneficial.
- Building the Green Information Factory: A digital platform is developed to collect, manage, and analyse data related to the green transition. Designed to be open-access and low-tech, it supports the inclusion of digitally underserved communities.
Phase 2. Pilot Projects (Work Packages 4-5)
- Greece: The project tests how agricultural waste (such as olive residues) can be converted into green energy and biocarbon using a novel hydropyrolysis technology, partly powered by solar energy.
- La Reunion: The project explores how green agricultural waste can be transformed into hydrogen and methane, using innovative bioconversion processes.
These pilots provide real-world data to refine and validate the Green Information Factory and the developed transition models.
Phase 3. Validation and International Testing (Work Package 6)
- The project tests the developed solutions outside Europe, in Canada and in Kenya, to ensure the methods are adaptable to different social, economic, and environmental contexts.
- A particular focus is placed on ensuring fairness, gender inclusivity, and responsiveness to the needs of local communities and cooperatives.
Throughout the Project
- AI and Digital Tools: Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are developed and used following ethical standards, ensuring data security, transparency, and open access.
- Inclusivity First: Stakeholders are involved throughout the process, supporting citizen participation and co-creation to shape a fair and sustainable transition.
- Environmental and Social Balance: All actions are evaluated against environmental, social, and economic criteria, promoting genuine sustainability and avoiding greenwashing.
- Map Hotspots (Agriculture & Mining)
- Co-Create Solutions with Stakeholders
- Sustainability Assessments (LCA, LCC, S-LCA)
- Develop Green Information Factory (Digital Platform)
- Pilot 1: Greece (Agricultural Waste → Biocarbon)
- Pilot 2: La Reunion (Green Waste → Hydrogen & Methane)
- Real-world Testing and Data Collection
- Apply and Test in Canada and Kenya
- Ensure Fairness, Inclusivity, Gender-Sensitivity
- Validate Environmental, Social, Economic Benefits
- Ethical, Open-Source AI and Digital Tools
- Citizen Participation and Stakeholder Engagement
- Focus on Genuine, Fair Green Transitions
Impact
By the end of the project, BioFairNet aims to foster a significant transition of the agriculture and mining sectors towards circular and bio-based models. Through the creation of a digital cooperative network, the project will enhance knowledge-sharing, stakeholder collaboration, and innovation in sustainable practices.
A web-based platform, designed through active input from end-users, will provide accessible pathways for navigating the green transition while embedding principles of social equity, economic viability, and environmental responsibility.
The innovative knowledge developed will feed into the EIP-AGRI platform to ensure wide dissemination among practitioners, contributing to the broader uptake of sustainable solutions across Europe. Additionally, the validation activities carried out in Canada and Kenya will demonstrate the global relevance of the developed models, further amplifying the project’s impact.
In this way, BioFairNet’s results are expected not only to benefit the immediate sectors and regions involved but also to offer replicable, adaptable models that can inspire green transitions in other parts of Europe and internationally.
Finally, BioFairNet directly supports key European objectives, including:
- Accelerating the green and digital transition.
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting circular value chains.
- Strengthening industrial sustainability and resource independence.
- Enhancing social fairness and inclusion in the ecological transition.
The project also contributes to the European Green Deal, the REPowerEU Plan, and the Digital Europe Strategy by offering new models and digital tools for sustainable and resilient economies.