IRIS: Integrated Resource and Impact Screening

The bioeconomy aims to replace fossil-based systems with solutions that are more sustainable, resource-efficient, and circular. However, transitioning from fossil resources to biobased feedstocks is not a simple substitution. Biomass is naturally more heterogeneous, variable, and water-rich than fossil feedstocks, requiring fundamental redesigning of industrial processes to achieve long-term sustainability while remaining economically viable and socially responsible. When developing processes using waste-derived feedstocks, critical factors influence real-world implementation, such as feedstock variability, downstream complexity, scalability constraints, environmental performance, and market requirements. They are often insufficiently addressed during early research and development. Early-stage decisions are frequently based on laboratory data that may be incomplete, uncertain, or generated under idealized conditions, leading to unrealistic predictions of scalability and commercial feasibility.
Addressing this challenge requires a multi-objective decision-making approach that integrates technological performance with techno-economic, environmental, and market indicators from the earliest stages of development. This project aims to develop a structured methodological pathway that supports such integration and facilitates the progression of biobased processes from lab/pilot scale to demonstration scale. Central to the project is the identification of essential experimental parameters that enable reliable early-stage screening, and that link laboratory results to sustainability, economic, and market considerations.
The proposed activities will first gather input from industrial stakeholders to define the key parameters guiding investment and scale-up decisions between early technology phases and demonstration. These parameters will be translated into a practical framework and toolbox that can be applied in laboratory and pilot-scale research to evaluate process concepts under realistic variability and uncertainty. The framework will be validated through case studies conducted with industry partners and embedded in educational modules to train future professionals in holistic bioprocess design. By bridging laboratory innovation with real-world feasibility, the project contributes to reducing innovation risk and accelerating the transition toward a circular and biobased economy.