The NIAGARA project, a pioneer in integrated biorefinery development, made a significant impact at the 33rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE 2025), held from 9 to 12 June in Valencia, Spain. Hosted by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, and national partners, EUBCE 2025 welcomed over 4,500 authors from across the globe. The event brought together a vibrant mix of researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders in the biomass sector to exchange cutting-edge innovations, foster collaboration, and chart the path toward a more sustainable bioeconomy.
LOMARTOV sustainability engineer Lou Bernard proudly presented the innovative NIAGARA approach. The intervention highlighted a pioneering process that combines hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), aqueous phase reforming (APR) and gasification to convert biogenic waste into gaseous biofuel.
The integrated biorefinery model is intended to maximise carbon and energy recovery from diverse feedstocks, including from microalgae. This innovative configuration addresses key European Union policy objectives related to sustainability, energy transition, circular economy and climate action, such as the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.
Central to the presentation delivered in the EUBCE was the development of a parametrised Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), designed by LOMARTOV, which will enable a detailed and flexible evaluation of the system’s environmental performance. The environmental assessment is currently based on preliminary process configurations and assumptions, and further refinement is underway. By introducing parameterisation into the life cycle inventories, the assessment could reflect a wide range of feedstock compositions. Early findings from this modelling exercise indicated that a mixture of microalgae and urban sewage sludge emerged as the most promising feedstock combination in terms of environmental performance. These initial results are helping to guide the ongoing selection and optimisation of the most compatible feedstock for the NIAGARA process. Further improvements are needed for the full system to compete with current energy production methods, but the outlook is encouraging.
The next phase of the project will focus on scaling up the system and integrating it with energy supply networks, to better understand its performance in real-world conditions. Looking ahead, the project aims to extend its environmental evaluation through comparisons with other waste-to-energy pathways, applying system expansion principles to assess relative advantages. This will allow NIAGARA to improve its environmental impact and to position its integrated process within the broader landscape of sustainable biofuel production technologies.
NIAGARA’s participation at EUBCE 2025 marked an important step in communicating its sustainable vision to the international community. Through its innovative technological integration and advanced assessment methods, the project contributes to shaping a more circular and climate-resilient energy system.
