In the “Resi – Innovative Use of Residual Materials” project, the IfBB will investigate agricultural residues and waste materials from Lower Saxony as biogenic materials to replace fossil raw materials and thereby promote resource conservation and sustainability

—in collaboration with a consortium comprising the Institute of Technical Chemistry (TCI) at Leibniz University Hannover, as well as the companies Vogelsang GmbH & Co. KG and Holzmühle Westerkamp GmbH as additional project partners. By using residues instead of fresh biomass, the aim is to avoid additional land use for raw material production, which potentially makes the process more environmentally sound.

The following research questions are central to this effort: Which bio-based residues and co-products from Lower Saxony are suitable for plastics technology, and how can they be innovatively utilized as fillers and reinforcing agents, functionalizing additives, or even as fermentation media in previously untapped application areas? And what processes are necessary to process the residues so that they are industrially usable, storable, and applicable in specific applications?

The focus is on the broadest possible utilization, i.e., use in various materials and formulations, so that all components of plastics or composites are covered.

The kickoff meeting of the participating partners took place on December 17, 2025. The project is part of the extensive research conducted by the IfBB at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts on the topic of waste utilization and will run until November 30, 2027. “Resi – Reststoffe innovativ” is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the State of Lower Saxony within the program area “Stärker entwickelte Region” (SER), funding period 2021–2027.

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