AM-Farm will set up the first Danish photopolymerization based Additive Manufacturing (AM) Farm that will cater to agile intermediate-sized production (1000-100,000 components) that can surpass injection molding in agility, and volumetric specific energy consumption (kJ/cm3). While injection molding is highly efficient at scale (>MM components), the energy consumption and tooling costs make it unattractive for intermediate-sized production. AM-Farm is thus the establishment of an autonomous industrial AM facility with an unrivaled productivity, bespoke mass production capability and built on multiple cardinal sustainable innovations. Vat photopolymerization AM (VPP) is the method that is unsurpassed in its capability to produce plastic components at the highest geometrical fidelity. It has revolutionized how bespoke and miniaturized components such as hearing aid shells are manufactured. While in many aspects, an ideal next generation manufacturing process, the wide industrial implementation has been deterred due to considerate amounts of chemical waste generated. AM-Farm congregates a consortium, empowered by new technological advances spun out of academia to set up the world’s first environmentally conscious facility to fully exploit the potential of VPP. The industrial partners aim to exploit the AM-Farm, internally as a next-generation manufacturing method, and as a profitable service available to other Danish manufacturers for intermediate-sized bespoke production.

The future of agricultural production in Denmark and the rest of Europe is dependent on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to meet ambitious policy targets to limit climate change, and sustainable solutions to achieve this must be found. Nitrification inhibitors (NIs) are the most promising tool for reducing GHG emissions in agriculture, and are used in soils to increase nitrogen uptake by crops and to reduce emissions of N2O – a potent GHG. The use of NIs is relatively unrestricted, however, their structural similarities to pesticides raise concerns about their safety for the environment and groundwater purity. A more thorough assessment of NI compounds’ environmental impacts is urgently needed. Arla and Danish Crown are two of the largest food companies in Denmark and are committed to reducing agricultural GHG emissions responsibly and sustainably. NIs have the potential to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture by 40% in Denmark, but uncertainty around how they work and what risks they may present to the wider environment means that their widespread application is held back. The amoA project will, in close collaboration with Arla and Danish Crown, produce a novel Impact Evaluation Framework informed by a series of field and lab studies. The framework will allow current and future producers of chemical NIs to secure that a promising technical solution to reduce GHG formation in agriculture does not come at a cost to the soil and water environment.

Aquaculture production is characterized by low carbon emission per kg protein relative to other food producing sectors. Innovation has been driving improvements in the efficiency, competitiveness, and overall sustainability of aquaculture with important progress over the last decade, especially in the field of feed conversion efficiency, and thus further decreasing the carbon footprint. However, efficient and cost-effective control of pathogens remains among the main challenges for the sector, calling for novel green solutions. By developing sustainable strategies to prevent and control bacterial pathogens in trout aquaculture, using bacteriophages, AQUAPHAGE will contribute to increase production efficiency and reducing the environmental burden of aquaculture. The project will produce and test prototype products targeting the bacterial pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum (F. p.) in eggs, larvae and juveniles, and bring them to a technological readiness level that allows commercialization post project. The proposed methodology represents a pioneering approach to future sustainable and antibiotic-free aquaculture practices targeting different stages and processes in the production cycle. By targeting this pathogen with novel tools, AQUAPHAGE aims at developing antimicrobial products with a global market potential, reducing the use of antibiotics and supporting a green transition of the aquaculture industry.

Ground- and drinking water are under increasing pressure from a wide range of contaminants and current monitoring strategies are unable to expose the full contaminant picture. Thus, stakeholders in the water supply value chain face the common major problem of not knowing the real water quality of ground- and drinking water. With the AQUAPLEXUS-tool we propose a solution to this problem by developing a novel multi-faceted tool assembling cutting-edge omics-based technologies. The tool comprises the complete chemical fingerprint of water samples and a data storage solution to establish a water data archive for retrospective analysis. Application of the tool will prepare the Danish water suppliers, sub-supplying industry, and authorities for future challenges by: - supporting production of high-quality drinking water - maintaining high consumer trust - inhibit negative health effects - saving time and costs on test and mitigation procedures - complying to new legislation with a minimum of costs - boosting industrial competitive advantages Stakeholders from the entire water supply value chain (water utilities, material suppliers, authorities, commercial analytical laboratories, and researchers) are participating in the AQUAPLEXUS project to ensure compliance with the urgent needs of today’s water supply, readiness for successful implementation of the results in legislation, and exploration of business opportunities incl. export potentials in tests and certified products.