Nutri-2-Cycle

During the next four years, 19 organizations from 12 EU countries will work together to provide an essential contribution to the circular economy by closing nutrient loops in the framework of the Nutri2Cycle project. Tackling the existing nutrient flow gaps in Europe will help decrease GHG emissions, reduce soil degradation and improve EU independence for energy and nutrients. The kick-off meeting took place at Ghent University, the institution coordinating this initiative. The project has been allocated a total amount of 7,048,003.75 euros under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program of the European Commission.  

Nutri2Cycle will provide important developments for the sustainable and efficient management of our natural resources. European agriculture is still characterized by a high overall contribution to GHG emissions and inefficient recovery of carbon and re-use of major plant nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). The Nutri2Cycle project will assess the current Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Carbon (C) flows looking into existing management techniques in different farms across Europe and analyzing their related environmental problems. The recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus in farms can be significantly improved by creating better synergies between animal breeding and crop production. These improvements will facilitate the return of carbon to the soil and reduce GHG emissions, which could be combined with the production of energy for self-consumption on-farm.