MarginUp!

30% of all land in the EU 28 region is classified as marginal land. The project is coordinated by the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) and takes place in collaboration between 29 partners from eight different European countries and two international partners (Argentina and South Africa).

The goal of the project is to increase knowledge about the production and use of biomass with low Iluc risk (indirect land use change) for different agricultural systems and climate conditions in Europe.

The consortium is built around seven regional demonstration sites known as "use-cases" located in Europe - in Spain, Greece, Sweden, Germany and Hungary - as well as in Argentina and South Africa.

The demonstration sites in Europe intend to develop the following value chains:

•  Rapeseed cultivation on surplus land in northern Sweden for the production of biodiesel.
• Biomass from rewetted fenland in Germany for multiple use of biomass for the production of green panels, pellets for animal bedding, organic fertilizer and biofuel.
• Cultivation of herbaceous and woody lignocellulosic crops on marginal land in the Great Plain of Hungary for the production of biomass for mushroom cultivation and cascade use of oyster mushroom substrate for the production of sustainable bioenergy and compost.
• Co-cultivation of perennial woody crops and native herbs on land on abandoned lignite mines in the region of Western Macedonia in Greece for the production of biomass for the wood industry and for the manufacture of sustainable bioproducts such as cosmetics, face creams and soaps.
• Cultivation of hemp and kenaf on low productivity land in Mediterranean areas of Spain for the production of building panels, bioenergy, biogas and organic fertilizer.

Each use case takes into account the area's current use and characteristics and suggests crops and crop rotation strategies that improve biodiversity and increase soil productivity according to local requirements.

In Sweden, land use efficiency is to be improved in Västerbotten and Norrbotten by developing and optimizing a value chain for turnip rape in northern Sweden for biodiesel production and obtaining protein-rich animal feed and biogas from by-products. Cultivation trials will be set up at Öjebyn Agropark in Piteå and tests will be carried out in the Ernst Express biodiesel plant. The work in Sweden is carried out in collaboration with RISE AB, Hushållningssällskapet Norrbotten and Västerbotten and Ernst Express.