The FIRST2RUN project aims at demonstrating the techno, economical and environmental sustainability at industrial scale of a first-of-kind value chain where low input and underutilized oil crops (i.e. cardoon) grown in arid and/or marginal lands and not in competition with food or feed, are exploited for the extraction of vegetable oils to be further converted into bio-monomers (mainly pelargonic and azelaic acids) as building blocks for high added value bioproducts, biolubricants, cosmetics, bioplastics, additives through the integration of chemical and biotechnological processes.

1. 1
EXAMPLES OF BBI
INITIATIVE FUNDED
PROJECTS PROMOTING
BIOECONOMY IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN AREA
GIULIA GREGORI
RIMINI - ECOMONDO
09/11/2016

2. 2
NOVAMONT: WHO WE ARE

3. 3
THE PILLARS OF OUR STRATEGY AIMED AT RECONNECTING ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
OURMODELOFBIOECONOMYASTERRITORIALREGENERATION
REGENERATION OF
DEINDUSTRIALISED SITES
NOVAMONT is an international leader in the bioplastics sector and in the development of biochemicals and
bioproducts obtained from the integration of chemistry, agriculture and the evnironment.
It promotes a model of bioeconomy as a factor of territorial regenerarion, based on:
INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL
VALUE CHAINS
Development of low-impact
and dedicated agricultural
value chains, through the
valorisation of marginal land
and not in competition with
food production, integrated in
the local areas and connected
with the bioeconomy
infrastructures.
Deindustrialized sites,
regenerated transforming
world-first technologies into
flagships (world-first plants).
Biorefineries intended as
bioeconomy infrastructures,
interconnected among them and
connected with the local areas,
starting points for new chains
and new partnerships.
PRODUCTS CONCEIVED
AS SOLUTIONS
Products of the value chains
conceived and designed to
tackle real societal
challenges.
Elements of a system which
provide concrete solutions to
problems going far beyond the
product itself.

4. 4
3 R&D Centers (Novara,
Caserta, Porto Torres)
20% of people in R&D
activities
>6% of turnover in R&D
activities
About 1.000 patent
cases filed
R&DWHO WE ARE
NOVAMONT: A KNOWLEDGE-BASED INDUSTRY
4 production sites
3 technologies up and
running, 1 at start-up level
7 reactive extrusion lines
(95.000 t/a)
4 discontinuous
polymerization lines
(10.000 t/a)
1 continuous
polymerization line
(50.000 t/a)
INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE
GROUP PROFILE
Pioneer and world leader
in the development of
bioplastics and
bioproducts
Turnover (2015): 170M€
600 people

5. 5
EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS
PRODUCTION SITES
MATRÌCA
50:50 JV
NOVAMONT-VERSALIS
FLAGHIP FOR AZELAIC AND
PELARGONIC ACIDS, THEIR
ESTERS, PLASTICISERS,
BIOHERBICIDES, BASIS FOR
BIOLUBRICANTS
INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL
VALUE CHAIN
Porto Torres (SS) - Sardegna
HEADQUARTER
THE BIOECONOMY INFRASTRUCTURES IN ITALY
MATER-BIOTECH
(100% NOVAMONT)
FLAGSHIP FOR 1,4 BDO
PRODUCTION THROUGH
FERMENTATION PROCESSES
Adria (RO) - Veneto
R&D CENTRES
MATER-BI PRODUCTION
AND R&D ON ON
INTERMEDIATES FROM RRM
Terni - Umbria
BIOTECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH CENTRE
Piana di Monte Verna (CE) -
Campania
MATER-BIOPOLYMER
(78% NOVAMONT)
PRODUCTION OF
POLYESTERS FROM
VEGETABLE OILS
Patrica (FR) - Lazio
HEADQUARTER AND
RESEARCH CENTRE
Novara - Piemonte
NOVAMONT’S SITES
SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES
NOVAMONT’S NETWORK FOR THE BIOPLASTICS AD BIOCHEMICALS VALUE CHAIN
JV NOVAMONT/VERSALIS

6. 6
FIRST2RUN PROJECT

7. 7
FACTS AND NUMBERS
Horizon 2020 / BBI-JU; Call: H2020-
BBI-PPP-2014-1
Topic: BBI.VC3.F1/ Type of action: BBI-
IA-FLAG
Action type: innovation action
6 partners from 4 different countries
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 669029
FIRST2RUN
Starting date: 01/07/2015
Duration: 48 months
Number of Work packages: 8
Number of expected deliverables: 44
Number of Milestones: 6
THE TOTAL EFFORT IN THE PROJECT IS RELEVANT, BEING 1.665 MMS WITH A TOTAL ELIGIBLE COST OF 25.022.688,75 €
AND AROUND 30 MIL € OF ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES (GRANTED: 16.995.882,00 €)

8. 8
The FIRST2RUN flagship project aims at demonstrating
the technical, economic, environmental and social
sustainability at pre-industrial/large scale of a value
chain in which low input and underutilized oil
crops (i.e. cardoon) grown in arid and marginal lands
and not in competition with food or feed, are exploited
for the extraction of vegetable oils to be further
converted into bio-monomers (mainly pelargonic and
azelaic acids) as building blocks for high added
value bioproducts (biolubricants, cosmetics,
bioplastics, additives) through the integration of
chemical and biotech processes.
By-products resulting from these manufacturing
processes will be further enhanced to obtain animal
feed, other value-added chemicals and energy
from scraps in order to increase the sustainability of
the value chain.
Standardisation, certification and dissemination
will be integral aspects of the project, as well as a
study into the social impact of products deriving from
renewable resources.
FIRST2RUN: INTEGRATED BIOREFINERY FOR DRY CROPS SUSTAINABLE EXPLOITATION TOWARDS BIOBASED MATERIALS PRODUCTION
FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES
BIOPHIL
(AMENDMENT)
UNIVERSITA’
DI BOLOGNA
MATRICA
SOLIDQZ
SIP
NOVAMONT

9. 9BUILDING AN INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL VALUE-CHAIN
THROUGH THE COOPERATION WITH FARMERS AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS
AGREEMENT BETWEEN NOVAMONT AND
COLDIRETTI (THE LARGEST
AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION IN
EUROPE) FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
INNOVATIVE AGROINUSTRIAL VALUE
CHAINS FOR BIOPLASTICS AND
BIOPRODUCTS
2015
OUTPUT FOR THE BIOPLASTICS
AND BIOCHEMICALS VALUE
CHAIN
OIL
ACTIVE
MOLECULES
PROTEINS FOR
ANIMAL FEED
STEAM,
DIATHERMIC
OIL
OTHER
CHEMICALS
OTHER
CHEMICALS
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
FARMERS, SHEPHERDS AND
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN THE
AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
Valorisation of marginal rural
areas (i.e. cardoon trinaseed,
ad hoc machinery, agronomic
protocols and agronomic
support)
Reduction of environmental
impact for soil, water and air
though the use of:
biodegradable mulch films
pelargonic acid for weed
control
biolubricants
Availability of local production of
proteins for animal feed
Energy efficiency and
independency
On-field innovation approaches

10. 10
10
BIOREFINERY PRODUCTION CYCLE
FROM OILS TO APPLICATIONS
BIO
MONOMERS
PLANT
POLYMERS
AND RUBBER
ADDITIVES
PLANT
ESTERS
PLANT

11. 11EXPECTED IMPACT
Valorization of currently unexploited marginal land (3500 ha)
for production of vegetable oil (at least 0.375 ton/ha) to be
processed to bio-based products and energy using the lignocellulosic
fraction
Revitalization of the local economy through:
Reindustrialisation (reconverting of a no longer competitive site)
Creation of skilled jobs: estimated 60 new skilled jobs for each
ton of produced bioplastics, in the whole value chain, from
agriculture to the end life of the final products (incl.
municipalities, composting plants)

12. 12EXPECTED IMPACT
Integration with the community and the region
The presence of the biorefinery facilitates the development of
entrepreneurial activities throughout the entire region, helping
to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation of the local
area and to maximise its growth potential on several fronts:
from the primary sector (local crops that feed the biorefinery),
to the secondary (agricultural vehicles and equipment, logistics,
processing of bio-based products), up to the tertiary sector
(partnerships with universities, schools, research institutes and
local institutions)
Collaboration with civil society
Signed protocol with the municipality of Porto Torres (location of
the biorefinery in Sardinia). Involvement of all stakeholders of
the whole supply-chain: companies, local institutions,
universities, schools, composting plants, etc.
The protocol, dedicated to citizenry and students, was born with
the objective to create and encourage an environmental
awareness and a strong consciousness about the positive effects
of the investments in bioeconomy for the territory through the
visit to the places of green chemistry in Sardinia.
REGIONAL IMPACTS

13. 13FIRST2RUN
MAIN RESULTS ACHIEVED
Study on the availability on the territory of oil source
with high potential of application in the bio-based
sector
Optimized agronomic protocols for cardoon crop
cultivation and fields management
Optimized protocols for harvesting, separation and
storage
Optimized system for oil extraction from cardoon
seeds and quali-quantitative assessment of oil and
cake
Report on the catalysts preparation
Optimized protocols of oxidative cleavage of
vegetable oil
Market analysis of biobased materials and products

14. GIULIA GREGORI
giulia.gregori@novamont.com
www.novamont.com
THANK YOU FOR THE ATTENTION
“The challenge of our millenium is in the balance
between the technical means that humanity
possesses and the wisdom in how we will make use
of them”
UMBERTO COLOMBO