LUCRA will use the EU’s abundant and underutilised organic municipal solid waste and wood waste to produce bio-based succinic acid – a platform chemical for which there is significant demand in industry. It will deploy innovative hydrolysis methods to release carbohydrates from the waste and ferment them for the extraction of bio-succinic acid. 

The project’s high-yield methods will facilitate moves from pilot- to pre-industrial-scale production. To demonstrate this, the succinic acid will be used to make polyester-based polyurethane dispersions and resins. 

Circular utilisation of waste will reduce the cost of bio-succinic acid and dependence on fossil-based resources. LUCRA’s processes should also cut greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional succinic acid production.