AFTER-BIOCHEM Project Concludes, Pioneering Green Chemistry
The European flagship project AFTER-BIOCHEM, funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 and Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), officially concluded on April 30, 2025. Over its five-year span, the project successfully demonstrated a scalable and sustainable biorefinery model that converts biomass residues into valuable bio-based chemical building blocks.
Spearheaded by AFYREN, the project led to the establishment of a first-of-its-kind industrial plant transforming sugar industry byproducts and organic waste into carboxylic acids and esters—greener substitutes for fossil-based inputs across industries. On June 25, 2025, partners and CBE JU officials convened in Metz and Carling Saint-Avold (France) to celebrate the project’s milestones and tour the biorefinery.
Key Achievements:
- Duration: May 2020 – April 2025
- Consortium: 12 partners
- Funding: €33 million (with €20 million from the EU)
- Output: 16,000 tons/year of bio-based acids
- Employment: 80 direct jobs created at Carling Saint-Avold; approx. 250 indirect jobs
The facility, supported by Technip, reached continuous production in June 2025, demonstrating full mastery of the AFYNERIE® biomimetic anaerobic fermentation process.
Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, CBE JU Executive Director, stated:
“The successful completion of the AFTER-BIOCHEM project marks a significant milestone for Europe’s bioeconomy. Led by the innovative company AFYREN, this project puts sustainability and circularity at the heart of industrial transformation, demonstrating how cutting-edge bio-based solutions can make our industries greener and more resilient. Its success is a testament to the power of combining CBE JU funding with regional and local support, and it showcases how strong public-private collaboration can drive real, long lasting impact.”
Biomass Valorization and Feedstock Innovation
AFTER-BIOCHEM advanced the valorization of non-food biomass residues. A major success was the long-term partnership between Südzucker AG and AFYREN, ensuring local sourcing of sugar beet byproducts. Additional raw material trials included biowaste from SUEZ, enhancing flexibility and resilience of feedstock sourcing.
Commercial Impact
Continuous production allows AFYREN to serve sectors like food, feed, flavors, fragrances, life sciences, and lubricants with sustainable solutions.
Supply agreements secured during the project total over €165 million in projected revenue.
Leading industrial collaborators such as CELANESE, KEMIN, FIABILA, and FIRMENICH helped validate product quality and use-case effectiveness.
Environmental Performance & Zero-Waste Goals
Commitment to sustainability was central. TERRIAL led valorization of byproducts through composting and field application, aligning with zero-waste targets.
SPHERA conducted an LCA, LCC, MCI, and Social LCA confirming the process offers a 5x lower environmental impact compared to fossil-based benchmarks, while improving circularity and socio-economic outcomes.
What’s Next
AFYREN plans to:
- Ramp up production
- Deliver products consistently
- Achieve financial breakeven
- Replicate the model in new regions via partnerships using local biomass supplies
Nicolas Sordet, CEO of AFYREN, shared:
"The past 5 years have been an outstanding experience: building teams of diverse experts, tackling major industrial challenges and meeting the needs of our clients. AFTER-BIOCHEM has proven a business model for the future which will improve the environmental impact of many final products. We are deeply thankful to our partners and the European Commission for their support in making this possible"