SOLRESS brings together a strong multi-stakeholder consortium composed of 17 partners from 9 countries, coordinated by AIMPLAS (Spain). This network combines expertise from large companies, SMEs, research institutions, and innovation clusters, forming a powerful ecosystem capable of reshaping solvent production in Europe.

A Diverse and Highly Complementary Partnership

The consortium includes:

• 3 Large Companies: STORA ENSO, KANSAI ALTAN, GALACTIC
• 8 SMEs: KAFFE BUENO, SOLMEYEA, PERSEO BIOTECHNOLOGY, CELIGNIS, HYDROHM, TRANSFURANS CHEMICALS, DERMOPARTNERS, BBEPP
• 5 RTOs: AIMPLAS, IVL, CSIC, Ghent University (UGENT), Agricultural University of Athens (AUA)
• 1 Cluster: Bioeconomy For Change (B4C)

Each partner contributes specialised expertise, from biomass valorisation and fermentation to solvent purification, chemical catalysis, formulation, industrial validation, and communication.

Driving Innovation Across the Value Chain

Partners will collaborate on the full solvent development pipeline, including:

• Biomass pretreatment
• Furfural and ester pathways
• Electrochemical acid extraction
• Pilot-scale solvent production
• Industrial validation in paints, coatings, cosmetics, and chemical processes
• Sustainability assessment and SSbD principles

The work plan spans nine technical and management work packages, with leaders such as AIMPLAS (WP1), KAFFE BUENO (WP2), AUA (WP3), PERSEO (WP4), GALACTIC (WP5), CSIC (WP6), KABS (WP7), IVL (WP8), and B4C (WP9).

Strengthening Europe’s Bioeconomy

By transforming over one tonne of wood and one tonne of coffee waste into high-value solvents and scaling up to 50,000 tonnes annually, SOLRESS aims to significantly reduce fossil dependence, support zero-waste strategies, and create more than 300 new jobs by 2035. The project aligns with the European Green Deal and contributes to SDGs 8, 9, 12, and 13.

SOLRESS demonstrates the power of collaboration in building a safer, more circular, and competitive European chemical industry.

The SOLRESS project aims to redefine solvent production by developing an integrated biorefinery system based on two promising second-generation feedstocks: lignocellulosic biomass and post-consumer coffee grounds. These feedstocks will be transformed into sustainable, high-performance solvents such as ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, butyl acetate, γ-Valerolactone (GVL), and 2-MeTHF.

Two Innovation Pathways for Bio-Based Solvents

SOLRESS focuses on two complementary technological routes:

Ester-based bio-solvents:

Ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, and butyl acetate will be produced through advanced bioprocesses that convert CO₂, organic acids, and alcohols derived from biomass. Additional products such as bioethanol and biobutanol will be validated across multiple sectors.

Furfural-derived solvents:

These include GVL and 2-MeTHF, obtained by valorising the hemicellulose fraction of biomass through advanced chemical processes. These solvents show strong potential for replacing fossil-based and hazardous chemicals in multiple applications.

A Comprehensive Set of Objectives

To achieve its ambitious goals, SOLRESS is structured around five technical objectives:

• Develop efficient pretreatment processes for biomass (coffee grounds and birch chips).
• Optimise bioprocesses for lactic and acetic acid production, integrating electrochemical extraction technologies.
• Scale up bioethanol and biobutanol production and integrate CO₂ capture.
• Demonstrate esterification reactions at pilot scale.
• Scale up furfural production and produce high-value bio-based solvents.

Towards Multiple Industrial Applications

The solvents produced in SOLRESS will be validated in paints & coatings, adhesives, cosmetics, materials processing, recycling, pharmaceuticals, food & beverages, construction, and even the energy sector. These bio-solvents are being tested as safer alternatives to toxic solvents while maintaining high industrial performance.

By valorising low-value waste into high-value chemicals, SOLRESS aims to support Europe’s transition toward a circular, safer, and competitive bioeconomy.

The SOLRESS project was officially launched during its kick-off meeting held on 10–11 September 2025 in Valencia, Spain, marking a major milestone for the development of safe, sustainable, and high-performance bio-based solvents for European industries. Funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) with €7 million under a total budget of €9.1 million, SOLRESS will run for 48 months under the coordination of AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre (Spain).

A Successful Start Toward Industrial Transformation

The project aims to radically shift the origin of several widely used solvents (such as ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, butyl acetate, 2-MeTHF, and GVL) from fossil-based resources toward second-generation biomass feedstocks. These include post-consumer coffee grounds and lignocellulosic residues, two promising sources for a more circular approach to chemicals.

SOLRESS will demonstrate how these bio-based solvents can reach industrial purity standards and be validated in key industrial applications such as paints and coatings, cosmetics, and material processing.

A Triple Ambition for Sustainability and Competitiveness

The project’s ambition is threefold:

• Replace fossil-based raw materials with sustainable bio-based feedstocks for key solvents.
• Provide Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) alternatives to hazardous solvents such as NMP, THF, CCl₄, or toluene.
• Strengthen industrial competitiveness and sustainability across the entire value chain.

A Collaborative European Ecosystem

The project unites 17 partners from 9 countries and mobilises the strengths of large companies, SMEs, research organisations, and clusters across Europe. This consortium will work jointly on biomass valorisation, fermentation, solvent synthesis, purification, and validation in real industrial settings.

SOLRESS represents an important step toward safer industrial chemistry, supporting the EU Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan, and climate objectives.