News

04-09-2025

VITO presents breakthrough research on lignin at RMC 2025

On 22 September at 15:00, VITO researcher Balaji Sridharan will present the latest progress in scaling up lignin depolymerization at the Renewable Materials Conference 2025.

The Renewable Materials Conference (RMC) is the world’s leading event on the renewable carbon economy, bringing together more than 500 participants from industry, academia, policy and investment. With 75 presentations, 20 panel discussions and up to 12 workshops, the conference covers the entire value chain – from alternative carbon feedstocks and green chemistry to materials, products and market adoption.

One of this year’s hot topics is lignin. Long considered a promising but commercially challenging biopolymer, lignin is now closer than ever to making the leap from lab to industry. More (semi-)industrial initiatives than ever before will be showcased in 2025 – and Biorizon co-initioator VITO is among them.

Scaling Up Reductive Lignin Depolymerization

In his talk, Balaji Sridharan (VITO) will highlight how VITO is pushing lignin valorization towards industrial reality. By advancing continuous reductive depolymerization of lignin sourced from commercial biorefineries, the research demonstrates:

Successful long-term operation in pilot scale at the LignoValue Pilot Plant (VITO).
High carbon efficiency (>90%) with minimal losses, paving the way for sustainable large-scale processes.
Conversion of depolymerized lignin into biopolymers such as polyurethane foams and epoxy resins, with scale-up efforts ongoing in the EU-funded COUNTLESS project.
A techno-economic analysis to identify cost drivers and guide future improvements.

This marks a crucial step in transforming lignin from a by-product into a valuable source of green chemicals and biomaterials.

More info about this topic in the abstract “Scaling Up Reductive Lignin Depolymerization: A Sustainable Pathway towards Biomaterials and Green Chemicals”.

Why attend?

If you want to discover how lignin is moving from “anything but money” to a viable pillar of the renewable carbon economy, make sure to join VITO in Cologne.