COUNTLESS

Europe´s ambitious sustainability and climate goals are heavily relying on the transition from fossil-based to bio-based chemical building blocks. Lignin as abundant natural resource has substantial potential to serve as starting material for the production of functionalized aromatic compounds. Only 1-2% of the lignin annual production is used in chemical conversion. Critical challenge to overcome is the heterogeneous and complex nature hampering the full exploitation of isolated lignins. To address this challenge, COUNTLESS will demonstrate the first catalytic hydrogenolysis process operated in continuous mode at industrially relevant scale for the cost-effective and sustainable production of lignin-based platform chemicals. COUNTLESS will demonstrate the applicability and cost-effectiveness of lignin-based platform chemicals in a variety of end-use cases from bulk to specialty applications. This project is formed by key partners covering the whole value chain including feedstock suppliers, technology development experts, well-recognized industry players in the respective application fields, experts in dissemination, communication and exploitation, and experts in integrated sustainability, environmental, and techno-economic assessments. Revenue streams will result from licensing agreements and an increase in turnover and margin for COUNTLESS suppliers and application partners. We anticipate a positive NPV and IRR in 15 years of operation. COUNTLESS contributes directly to the CBE-JU SIRA and KPIs through the increased use of sustainably sourced biomass, reduction of GHG emissions through improvements in the pilot infrastructure (>50% reduction in GHG emissions and 85% using fully renewable supply) and the development of bio-based high-value products substituting current fossil-based compounds.