REcycling of NUtrients to close the fertiliser CYCLE

ongoingprojectoutputs

EU is importing annually > 6 Mio t of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertiliser. NPK pricing is coupled to energy, mining, synthesis & transport costs. Russia & Ukraine were main N suppliers to EU, while P supply is heavily dependent on Moroccan resource intensive import. This makes NWE’s agriculture highly dependent on world economic & geopolitical developments. At the same time, essential nutrients in NWE are still lost in form of non-recycled organic resources from waste sector & nutrient surplus regions (e.g. Flanders, North Rhine Westphalia, NL) due to a predominating linear economic model. Nutrient deficit regions (e.g. Lux., IE, Saarl.) are still not supplied with recycling-derived fertilisers (RDF) from surplus regions, where innovative nutrient recovery enterprises have been established. Overall objective is to reduce NWE's dependency on fossil-based fertiliser imports with proven impacts on availability, ecol. foot-print & price stability via transregional valorisation of recycled NPK from municipal, industrial waste & agric. sector in Flanders, NL, IE, Saarl, Low-Sax, Lux. ReNu2Cycle is building on the achievements of ReNu2Farm which provided basic & regional quantified fertiliser demand research. New co-development and implementation to be performed to adapt regional best-practices for NWE: living lab concepts encouraging long-term co-innovation & implementation support. Maximising RDF use by creating innovative fertiliser blends & business solutions for producers portfolios incl. sustainability assessment. Traders will be empowered to consult/ market RDFs. RDF use at (+organic-) agriculture farms will be assessed. All results will be capitalised in one transregional nutrient supply-demand strategy & regional action plans. Resource owners, fertiliser producers, traders & farmers benefit to comply with the latest EU policies, which finally allow a harmonised RDF market trade in NWE (7/22), contributing further to NWE food supply security.

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