An innovative approach to food waste valorisation transforms organic residues into key compounds for producing biodegradable bioplastics. (Autor: Mireia Ochoa)
AHOBAE, an initiative involving TECNALIA, is developing an innovative technological approach to transform organic by-products into short-chain fatty acids through controlled anaerobic fermentation. These resulting compounds can then serve as feedstock for producing biodegradable bioplastics such as PHB.
According to Thomas Dietrich, Healthy Food researcher at TECNALIA, integrating real-time sensor technology and artificial intelligence will allow the team to optimize the process, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 45% and reducing water consumption by 40%.
A key goal of AHOBAE is to repurpose food waste that is no longer suitable for human consumption and convert it into high-value-added products, particularly biodegradable bioplastics.
Globally, food waste remains a major environmental, economic, and social issue. Roughly one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or discarded along the supply chain, contributing to significant greenhouse gas emissions and the inefficient use of essential resources like water and energy.
In the Basque Country, this issue particularly impacts sectors such as retail, hospitality, and the agri-food industry, where surplus materials and by-products often lack efficient reuse pathways.
Preparing for validation and industrial scale-up
So far, AHOBAE has reached several important milestones, including defining management routes for organic by-products, establishing valorisation protocols, and setting the desired characteristics of the PHB to be produced. These achievements lay the foundation for the project’s next phases, which will focus on validation and industrial-scale implementation.
The initiative aims to surpass traditional waste treatment methods like composting or standard anaerobic digestion by creating closed-loop value chains, lowering carbon footprints, and strengthening industrial competitiveness.
AHOBAE aligns with the Basque Country’s RIS3 bioeconomy strategy and supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—particularly SDG 12 on responsible production and consumption—reinforcing the region’s position as a leader in advanced waste recovery solutions.
