Newsletter No. 1 - October 2025
Welcome to the first newsletter of our COUNTLESS project!
This is an ambitious EU-funded project (Horizon Europe, CBE) aiming at the conversion of lignin – an abundant natural resource – into lignin-derived platform chemicals by demonstrating the first catalytic hydrogenolysis process operated in continuous mode at industrially relevant scale. Our core goal is to move beyond fossil-based chemical building blocks by demonstrating lignin-derived solutions across diverse applications – from personal care and wood panels to insulation, waterproofing membranes, and bitumen binders.
As project coordinator, I expect COUNTLESS will not only deliver technical breakthroughs but also validate scalable, sustainable value chains that are economically competitive. I am especially excited about the cross-sector collaboration this project enables, bringing together expertise in chemistry, materials, and process engineering to solve pressing environmental challenges.
Over the coming months, we’ll be showcasing results of product development and transfer to pilot-scale production, sharing learnings, and setting the stage for wider uptake of bio-based alternatives.
Kelly Servaes, VITO (Project Coordinator)
From the project
COUNTLESS: Unlocking the Power of Lignin for a Sustainable Future
The COUNTLESS project (Cost-effective production of lignin platform chemicals extending the biobased chemicals portfolio) is a bold step toward transforming Europe’s chemical industry. Coordinated by VITO, the 11 partners across the value chain aim to revolutionise the use of lignin – an abundant natural polymer found in lignocellulosic biomass like wood – by converting it into high-value, bio-based platform chemicals.
Despite lignin’s vast potential, only 1-2% of its annual production is currently used for chemical applications. This is partly because lignin is a very resistant polymer and must first be broken down – depolymerised – into its subunits before it can be used for further chemical processing and application development. COUNTLESS tackles this challenge head-on by developing the first continuous catalytic hydrogenolysis process at industrial scale. This innovative approach will enable the efficient depolymerisation of lignin into functionalized aromatic compounds, offering sustainable alternatives to fossil-based chemical building blocks.
The project’s goals are ambitious and impactful:
- Support Europe’s climate and sustainability targets by replacing non-renewable substances in sectors like construction, cosmetics, and specialty chemicals.
- Demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and applicability of lignin-derived chemicals in real-world industrial settings.
- Ensure full sustainability through life cycle assessments, social evaluations, and safety and regulatory compliance.
- Drive market uptake and public acceptance of bio-based solutions by showcasing their performance and environmental benefits.
By bridging the gap between lignin’s untapped potential and industrial application, COUNTLESS is paving the way for a greener, more resilient chemical industry.
Read more on our website or check out our project videos
What has happened so far?
The COUNTLESS project started in September 2023. At that time, the demo site in Mol, Belgium was still under construction. During the first year, the coordination team at VITO has overseen the development from a bare concrete foundation to a functional pilot site, with all units now in place. Our two lignin providers Fibenol and Bloom Biorenewables have prepared a stock of lignin for the project and have shipped bags of purified lignin to VITO for depolymerisation. Researchers at VITO scaled-up the depolymerisation process from lab scale to the newly installed dissolution and catalytic reactor pilot units (PILLAR II, LignoValue Pilot) and produced samples of depolymerised lignin oil (DLO; lignin platform chemicals) for the application developers. Those samples have been shipped and analysed by the application teams, with first tests of the materials showing promising results.
At Utrecht University, chemometrics to analyse, and predict, the most important properties of both the lignin feedstocks and the lignin-based platform chemicals has proceeded well, with researchers there testing a variety of samples from the consortium partners. The teams from VITO and ifeu have been identifying the scope and value chains as well as climate-impact relevant steps of the different processes to guide their sustainability analyses. We have created communication and dissemination strategies and materials led by CLIB. Finally, the exploitation teams have helped partners identify their key exploitable results (KERs) and develop strategies to best exploit these.
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COUNTLESS in the Spotlight at the Trilateral Innovation Summit 2025 – United by Chemistry
On 29 September 2025, the Trilateral Innovation Summit – hosted under the banner United by Chemistry – brought together over 100 stakeholders from Flanders, the Netherlands, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Designed as a high-impact matchmaking platform, the summit offered industry partners a rare opportunity to engage directly with policymakers, researchers, and fellow innovators across borders.
Industry-Driven Dialogue
The summit featured 12 Challenge Tables and five thematic sessions, each focused on solving real-world bottlenecks in the chemical sector. Topics ranged from digitalization and AI integration to circularity and bio-based innovation. These sessions weren’t just academic-they were designed to spark actionable partnerships and align regional strengths with industrial needs.
Our COUNTLESS project was highlighted as an example and presented by our coordinator Kelly Servaes from VITO. COUNTLESS exemplifies how lignin – a traditionally underutilised wood component – can be transformed into high-value building blocks for products like adhesives, insulation foams, and cosmetics. VITO’s LignoValue Pilot Plant is demonstrating steps to a scalable, sustainable supply chain for aromatics for bio-based materials.
For companies operating in the chemical sector, the summit reinforced three key imperatives:
- Collaborate across borders: Regional integration is no longer optional – it’s a competitive advantage.
- Invest in sustainability: Bio-based and circular solutions are moving from niche to mainstream.
- Engage early: Innovation ecosystems are expanding now. Early participation means shaping the agenda, not just following it.
It was a great opportunity to showcase the COUNTLESS project and with it a chance to innovate the chemical industry. Contact our coordinator Kelly Servaes if you would like to know more about the project or want to engage with us.
Cappuccino Talk – Ethics
As part of our ethics work package, all project partners had the chance to learn about the importance of ethics and research integrity in Horizon Europe projects.
Dr. Susanne Hollmann, of SB Science Management presented this topic in an online webinar. She explained the different ethics issues which can arise and pointed to their potential relevance to the COUNTLESS project.
Partner news
“Chemistree” presentation by VITO
Our project coordinator Kelly Servaes, and VITO research manager Karolien Vanbroekhoven went on stage at the Love Tomorrow Summit this summer and told the story of “Chemistree”. They explained the parallels between plastics and lignin, and how extracting lignin from wood is a bit like making a morning coffee.
Check out the video of their presentation: It is very cool to see these two scientists on a big stage, telling the story of their ambitions and the science behind the materials we all use.
RMC - Renewable Materials Conference 2025
At the Renewable Materials Conference 2025, organised by nova institute, our partner VITO presented the latest results from the LignoValue Pilot Plant and the COUNTLESS project. Balaji Sridharan highlighted major progress in his presentation on lignin depolymerisation, and its scale-up for renewable materials, showcasing how lignin can be efficiently converted into valuable biopolymers.
Also at the RMC: COUNTLESS partner Bloom Biorenewables took second place in the “Renewable Raw Material of the Year 2025” award. Congratulations!
Want to know more about the presenter or the details?
Check out the full programme of the Renewable Materials Conference here.
Pick your Challenge: Scale-up lignin purification or Rowing across the Atlantic?
Maybe both: as though cracking lignin valorisation was not enough of a challenge, Kait Kaarel Puss, Application Development Manager at our project partner Fibenol has taken on another: he and three teammates will row across the Atlantic as Team Rowtalia this December in the “World’s Toughest Row”. They will set out from the Canary Islands and hope to arrive in Antigua, in the Caribbean, after about 4,800 km, 40 days, and 1.5 million rowing strokes.
About 60 days before the start, they have shipped their boat and have finished up their kickstarter fundraising campaign.
“I am really happy that most of the preparation is behind us. It has been really hard to balance my work, Rowtalia, my PhD thesis, and training. Since something needed to be somewhat sacrificed, I chose to keep my PhD theses to the background, while still making some progress on it.
It is no easy challenge, and everything required to even get to the start has been really demanding. Now I am really excited to get going, the huge waves will definitely be adrenaline inducing and we will have to overcome many challenges that we most likely are not even aware of, since every crossing is unique. Now it is just to fill my open time with exercise!”
Kait Kaarel Puss, Fibenol
Upcoming events
Bioaromatics on the Rise: Why you should get on board with this innovative biobased material
Discover how lignin- and sugar-derived bio-aromatics can power the shift toward safer, high-performance, and fossil-free materials.
Join VITO & TNO at this satellite event of Pitch Perfect and Boost the European Bioeconomy 2025 on 24 November 2025 at Sheraton Brussels Airport and explore how your company can benefit from this transition to sustainable chemistry.
COUNTLESS Newsletter is an exclusive service by COUNTLESS for its members and partners.
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The COUNLTESS project is supported by Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members. Grant agreement ID: 101112453.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CBE JU. Neither the European Union nor the CBE JU can be held responsible for them.