Newsletter No. 2 - December 2025
Welcome to the second newsletter of our COUNTLESS project!
Over the past months, the project has continued to make strong progress, and in this edition, we are happy to share updates on our latest results and developments. You will also find an overview of recent events where COUNTLESS has been highlighted and where we had the opportunity to exchange ideas, showcase our work, and connect with the wider community.
With the holiday season just around the corner, I would like to take this moment to thank all our partners, stakeholders, and followers for their continued engagement and support. On behalf of the COUNTLESS consortium, I wish you a warm and joyful Christmas and a healthy, successful New Year.
We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration and momentum in the year ahead.
Kelly Servaes, VITO (Project Coordinator)
From the project
Early sustainability and profitability outlook for the COUNTLESS project
Project partners VITO and ifeu (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg) have submitted an interim deliverable, focusing on the environmental and economic aspects of the COUNTLESS project. The aim was to provide early guidance to the partners involved in process and application development.
M26 project meeting
On 14 and 15 October 2025, the COUNTLESS project partners met at the Kastamonu Entegre site in Istanbul, Türkiye, for the M26 consortium meeting.
All work package leaders reported on the results achieved during the last year, showing that the project is well on track.
Key highlights from the meeting were:
- The scale-up of lignin depolymerisation at VITO is ongoing, with continuous fractionation successful.
- Application development is progressing well – the partners are testing the different lignins and are checking which perform best in which application.
- In WP4, partners have successfully identified key parameters for the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), paving the way for robust sustainability evaluations.
PU foam testing
Excellent news from the application development in our COUNTLESS project!
Leading insulation provider SOPREMA has tested lignin-based polyols in its rigid PU foams and has achieved promising results.
LignoValue Pilot and COUNTLESS presented at Biorizon event
Our coordinator Kelly Servaes took the stage at the „Bio-aromatics on the Rise“ event on 24 November in Brussels. She presented the research and solutions on lignin-derived aromatics carried out at VITO, among others in our COUNTLESS project.
Sustainable Interiors Webinar
At a recent webinar organised by the project partner CLIB, all presentations focused on how innovative materials, design principles, and cross-sector collaboration can shape a more sustainable interior sector, and whether any market-ready solutions exist. Within COUNTLESS, several applications are being developed which can create an impact in this area: from adhesives to flame retardants.
Partner news
CLIB International Conference CIC2026
In February 2026, CLIB will again hold its annual CLIB International Conference, CIC2026 under the topic “Integrating Biotech – Novel Feedstocks, Technologies, and Markets”.
Industrial biotechnology is already established in several markets and demonstrates its strengths in the production of complex compounds. Flavours, fragrances, enzymes, and surfactants are being competitively produced via biotechnological processes. However, there are other areas such as polymers and commodities where biotechnologically produced substances are still in need for optimisation to reach industrial scale. The technology might be ready, but important hurdles remain. This is what presentations and discussions will centre on. More information and registration here.
VITO connects with Brazil ahead of COP30 – COUNTLESS as bioeconomy example
Just a few days before the start of the COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Firjan and VITO organised an event focusing on bioeconomy and its impact. Part of the event was a presentation by VITO’s CEO Inge Neven, who showcased our COUNTLESS project. We’re happy to be recognised at such a far-reaching event!
Other news
Related project: LIGNOFUN
Also funded by the CBE JU, the project LIGNOFUN is valorising lignin from the pulp and paper industry into bio-based functional building blocks for various sustainable product applications. The consortium of 18 partners from across Europe – including leading research institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises, and major industrial players – will strive for innovation, sustainability, and industrial benefit to contribute to a more circular, bio-based economy in Europe. In the project, two cutting-edge depolymerisation technologies – quite different from the one which is being upscaled in COUNTLESS – are being leveraged.
EU Bioeconomy Strategy
On 27 November, the European Commission presented its new Bioeconomy Strategy. Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mA-AtHMEyk
We’re happy to read that the strategy mentions bio-based chemicals, for example derived from wood, and their expected benefits for a competitive Europe.
Partners in COUNTLESS are working to make this a reality – replacing petrochemical inputs and reducing import dependency. They do this by using side-streams from sustainable wood processing to isolate lignin, which is then the basis to generate bio-based aromatics for a range of applications.
This will help defossilise the chemical industry, introducing more sustainable, innovative chemical building blocks and consumer products.
Team Rowtalia underway
Our colleague Kait Kaarel Puss is currently not scaling up lignin production from wood pellets at Fibenol in Estonia, but in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean… what a crazy thing to do! Together with three others, he is rowing from La Gomera to Antigua in the World’s Toughest Row Atlantic 2025. You can track their progress here: https://pro.yb.tl/wtrhtfrcm25 – search for Team Rowtalia.
With their challenge, they are raising funds for two Estonian charities, the Tartu University Hospital Children’s Foundation and Peaasi. Edu!
Upcoming events
CIC2026
CLIB International Conference CIC2026
Düsseldorf, 19 – 20 February 2026
Integrating Biotech – Novel Feedstocks, Technologies, and Markets
Funding Opportunities
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-27
The Horizon Europe Work Programmes 2026-2027 have been published, with again Cluster 6 focusing on “Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment”.
CBE JU Annual Work Programme 2026
CBE JU has published its work programme for 2026, including information about the next call for project proposals. €170.7 million will be dedicated to advancing competitive circular bio-based industries in Europe across 13 topics, from innovation actions to CSAs. The call for proposals will open on 23 April 2026, and the call deadline is foreseen for 22 September 2026. The CBE JU Info Day 2026 will take place on 12 March online, while a dedicated networking event will happen on 21 April in Brussels, Belgium. Check it out here: https://www.cbe.europa.eu/open-calls-proposals
COUNTLESS Newsletter is an exclusive service by COUNTLESS for its members and partners.
Please address your questions, comments or wish to unsubscribe to schwabe-markovic@clib-cluster.de.
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.