D4EU

Dendromass4Europe (D4EU) aims at establishing sustainable, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC)-based regional cropping systems for agricultural dendromass on marginal land that feed into bio-based value chains and create additional job opportunities in rural areas. For that purpose, 2,500 ha of short rotation poplar plantations will be established on marginal or currently unused land in rural areas of the Slovak Republic.

These plantations will provide the feedstock for the establishment of four new bio-based value chains based upon products from wood and bark from poplar trees: As a wood-based material, a functionally adapted lightweight board for furniture production will be produced. The new structure gives more stability to the boards, which will be lighter and consuming fewer resources.

Poplar bark, which currently serves primarily as a source for energy, is processed into eco-fungicidal moulded fibre parts. These fibre parts can replace plastics in packaging and can also be re-used without any problems. Two other bark-based materials, bark-enriched wood-plastic composite profiles and bark-enriched wood-plastic composite granulates are planned.

During the establishment of the value chains, besides a continuous monitoring of the expected (positive) ecological effects, great importance is attached to an optimal efficiency in the wood harvesting and supply logistics. In this way, the project "Dendromass4Europe" will contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions.

In the EU-funded project, 9 industry and research partners from 7 European countries are working together for 5 years on the development of sustainable dendromass production and the next generation of biomass-based value chains.