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With the launch of the EU-funded project CELLAGRI, Fraunhofer FEP has taken on the coordination of the development of innovative cellulose-based mulch films with water management structures inspired by nature. The four-year project brings together nine partners from seven European countries to create sustainable alternatives to petrol oil-based mulch films in agriculture. The goal is to reduce the environmental impact by at least 30 percent compared to conventional plastic mulch films.
Agriculture in Europe consumes more than 80,000 tons of mulch films annually – almost exclusively made of plastic. These films fulfill important functions: they suppress weed growth, reduce evaporation, and warm the soil. However, they also cause significant environmental problems. Up to 30 percent of the films used are not recovered from the field after use, leading to massive microplastic pollution of the soil. Disposing of used films is labor-intensive and expensive, as adhering sludge and plant residues make recycling virtually impossible. As a result, most films end up in landfills or are incinerated. Biodegradable alternatives currently fail due to high costs and lack of functionality. The CELLAGRI project is now developing a groundbreaking solution to reduce environmental impact.
The interdisciplinary project is taking a multifunctional approach: First, high-performance substrates made from various cellulose mixtures are being developed as the base material for the mulch films by University of Maribor, Treeless Pack and Centre Technique du Papier. The substrates are then coated with fully biodegradable surface coatings made from bio-based monomers, which enable rapid and controllable decomposition in the soil developed by AKIRA Science. A key innovation is the integration of microfluidic structures by Vrije Universiteit Brussel that are embossed into the coating. These special structures, inspired by nature, enable passive water management. The system directs water specifically to the planting holes, thereby increasing water availability fourfold. Atmospheric plasma treatment provided by Coating Plasma Innovation creates hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas that further improve water management and also have anti-mold properties, which are particularly important for greenhouse applications. A sophisticated manufacturing process combines coating, microstructuring, and plasma functionalization in a single step and can be implemented inline in a roll-to-roll process at Fraunhofer FEP.
“With CELLAGRI, we are creating a sustainable alternative that solves several problems at once: The films optimize the water supply to the plants, degrade completely in the soil after the growing season, and leave no harmful residues,” explains Dr. Christian May, project coordinator at Fraunhofer FEP. “Our expertise in plasma treatment and surface functionalization enables us to precisely adjust the properties of the films, thus creating optimal conditions for various applications.”
The project will validate the new mulch films in three different real-world field scenarios with different crops and climate zones by partner Inagro. The Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design framework will be applied to CELLAGRI by Instituto Tecnológico de Aragón, assessing material hazards, health and safety, and environmental and socioeconomic impacts across the lifecycle of mulching films, with biodegradation as the key end-of-life focus.
The aim is to have a market-ready technology by the end of the project. In the long term, the materials developed could also be used in other areas of application, such as food packaging.
The project is part of the PATHFINDER Challenge project portfolio “Nature inspired alternatives for food packaging and films for agriculture” of the European Innovation Council EIC.
About the CELLAGRI project
Title: CELLulose-based mulch films with nature-inspired water management structures for AGRIcultural applications
Funded by: European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
Funding reference: 101223132
Funding period: October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2029
Project partners:
• Fraunhofer-Institut für Elektronenstrahl- und Plasmatechnik FEP
• Vrije Universiteit Brussel
• Coating Plasma Innovation SAS
• AKIRA Science AB
• Centre Technique de l'Industrie des Papiers, Cartons et Celluloses
• Univerza v Mariboru
• Instituto Tecnológico de Aragón
• Inagro vzw
• Treeless Pack GmbH
Test setup for investigating the biodegradability of agricultural films. In CELLAGRI, cellulose stru ...
Copyright: Inagro vzw
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