ReNu2Cycle
Project outline
ReNu2Cycle (REcycling of NUtrients to close the fertiliser CYCLE) is a four year project co-funded by Interreg NWE which began on July 1 2023 and ends on June 30 2027. The project has an overall budget of €6,026,363.49, of which €3,615,818.05 is financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Teagasc budget amounts to €202,108.76, of which €121,265.25 is financed by ERDF.
The ReNu2Cycle project aims to reduce North West Europe’s dependency on fossil-based fertiliser imports through maximising the use of Recycling Derived Fertilisers (RDFs). The project will examine availability, ecological footprint and price stability of RDF’s which recycle nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) from municipal, industrial, agricultural and food business waste streams.
The EU imports >6 million tons of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers annually. The price of NPK depends on energy, mining and transportation costs. This makes agriculture in NWE highly dependent on global economic and geopolitical developments.
At the same time, in NWE, essential nutrients from organic sources in nutrient surplus regions (e.g. Flanders, North Rhine-Westphalia and Netherlands) are at risk of being lost to the environment. Nutrient-deficient regions (e.g. LUX, IE and Saarland) are still not supplied with recovered fertilizers from surplus regions, where innovative nutrient recovery companies exist.
The aim is to reduce NWE's dependence on the import of fossil-based fertilizers by substantiating the impact on availability, ecological footprint and price stability through cross-border valorization of recovered NPK. ReNu2Cycle will apply living lab concepts that encourage long-term co-innovation and implementation support to roll out local good practices.
The use of recovered fertilizers will be maximised by creating new fertilizer blends and associated business solutions for producers' product portfolios. The use of RDF’s on farms in participating regions will be investigated. All results will be incorporated into a cross-border nutrient supply and demand strategy in regional action plans. All actors benefit from compliance with the latest European policy framework, which enables market trade in NWE and contributes to food security in NWE.
Teagasc for its part is responsible for field testing and on farm demonstration of RDF’s as an alternative to mineral fertilisers on Irish arable farms to ensure the most efficient use of the nutrients in the novel fertiliser products.
Partners
Project partners from education and research along with governance and advisory have aligned with the aim to deliver a cohesive transregional nutrient supply-demand strategy and regional action plans designed to develop RDF use across North West Europe. The project partners include:
Partner & Country
Lead partner: IZES, Germany
3N, Germany
Landkreis Rotenburg (Wümme), Germany
Landkreis Heidekreis, Germany
Ghent University, Belgium
IMPACT, Belgium
Inagro, Belgium
Munster Technological University, Ireland
South East Technological University, Ireland
University of Limerick, Ireland
Teagasc, Ireland
Nutrient Management Institute, Netherlands
eco:novis, Luxembourg