As Europe seeks to accelerate its green transition, new solutions are needed to produce high-value bio-based products without compromising food production or natural ecosystems. Marginal lands, often overlooked, may hold the key.
Launched in July 2025, RUNFASTER4EU is a flagship European project that aims to transform such lands into more sustainable sources of bio-based raw materials for cosmetics, bioplastics, bio-stimulants, bioherbicides, dielectric fluids, feed ingredients and NIPU (Non-Isocyanate Polyurethanes) for vertical gardens and more. At the heart of the project are the upgrades of two major Italian flagship plants of Matrìca at Porto Torres site and Versalis at Crescentino site, and the deployment of large-scale cultivation trials of low-ILUC-risk oil crops like safflower, and other oleaginous crops, through the active involvement of local farmers and the validation of innovative agronomic practices.
RUNFASTER4EU is funded by the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), the partnership between the European Union and Bio based Industries Consortium (BIC), with a contribution of € 19.908.650,25. It brings together a diverse consortium of 18 partners from 10 European countries, combining industrial leadership with scientific expertise to build a resilient and circular bioeconomy.
Kick-off meeting
Held on 8–9 July 2025 at the Eni R&D Center in San Donato Milanese, the kick-off meeting marked a critical milestone for the five-year project, setting the stage for an ambitious roadmap. The event brought together representatives from all partners and the CBE JU to contribute to mapping project activities and the next steps.
Vision and objectives
RUNFASTER4EU will demonstrate levels of sustainability and replicability at industrial scale of new value chains focusing on the large-scale cultivation of low-ILUC-risk oil crops on marginal lands (including unproductive, polluted and non-economical lands), that are not destined to food or feed productions. These crops will provide vegetable oils and residual biomass for high-value bio-based products in a cascading approach.
The project will enhance bio-based value chains prioritizing soil health and regeneration and realize large-scale cultivations in Italy, Greece, Serbia, Spain, and Romania, with farmers’ involvement, ensuring the viability of these new agricultural practices.
Project consortium
- Versalis SPA (Coordinator)
- Novamont SPA
- Matrica SPA
- Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna
- Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving
- ena Development Consultants
- AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd.
- AGRI 2000 IBERIA S.L.
- Agri 2000 Net RO SRL
- BF Educational SRL
- PNO Innovation Unipessoal LDA
- LEDA Polymer SP ZOO
- Carhue Piggeries Limited
- Institut Za Ratarstvo I Povrtarstvo Institut Od Nars
- CIFO SRL
- Federazione Regionale Coldiretti Campania
- Fundació Universitària Balmes
- NAFIGATE Park S.R.O.
