Dear WalNUT friends, 

As the WalNUT project approaches its final phase, the past months have been especially busy as we complete and disseminate the remaining materials showcasing our latest results. In this penultimate edition, we are pleased to share the most recent news and outputs with you.

Latest news and outputs

In December and January, we organised two webinars: one dedicated to the WalNUT Platform and another presenting the White Paper. In addition, a workshop on Impact Assessment was held under WP5 by the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and the University of Copenhagen (UCPH).

This month also marked the publication of two key project outputs: the Best Practice Book and the White Paper, alongside our final journalistic article, “How Microalgae Could Help Europe Regain Nutrient Autonomy.”

Our “A Chat with WalNUT” video interview series on LCA has continued with two new contributions:

• Lilla Simon (PhD student at SDU) explains how LCA results should be interpreted, with a focus on Pilot 2 and Pilot 4..
• Maja Karolina Rydgård (Postdoc at the UCPH) discusses the LCA results from Pilot 1.

Also, the series featured:

• Alicia González Míguez and Cecilia Lores Fernández (CETAQUA) presented the Ourense pilot plant.

Past activities

This month, the WalNUT consortium gathered for its last General Assembly, the annual internal meeting. 

We hope you enjoy reading (and watching!) this wrap-up edition, the one before our final newsletter, which will close the circle on WalNUT’s journey in wastewater resource recovery.

Thank you, and enjoy your reading!

The WalNUT Team

The WalNUT Platform is an interactive online tool developed by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). It is designed to facilitate matchmaking among stakeholders across the nutrient recovery value chain, connecting actors involved in transforming wastewater streams into valuable resources.

Did you miss the webinar?

👉 Rewatch the recording to discover the Platform’s features and explore how it can support collaboration and innovation in nutrient recovery.

The presentation of the WalNUT White Paper, “Green Growth: From Wastewaters to Bio-Based Fertilisers,” brought together project researchers and external experts to discuss seven key recommendations designed to overcome existing barriers and accelerate the uptake of BBFs.

👉 Rewatch the webinar recording and dive into the full publication to explore the recommendations in detail.

The WalNUT WP5 workshop presented the project’s impact assessment results, highlighting the environmental and economic performance of innovative nutrient recovery technologies for domestic and industrial wastewater.

👉 Missed it? Explore the results in detail.

The WalNUT Project has released its Best Practice Book (BPB), a harmonised guide for researchers, industry, farmers, and policymakers on bio-based fertilisers (BBFs) derived from wastewater, algae, and mineral recovery processes.

The WalNUT Project has released its final White Paper, providing practical guidance to advance the use of BBFs across the European Union.

Watch the latest episodes of A Chat with WalNUT!

In the first part of the series on the LCA results, Lilla Simon (SDU) explains how to interpret LCA results, highlighting the importance of using comparative scenarios. In the following two videos, she presents the LCA results from Pilot 2 and Pilot 4, on which she has worked.

Watch them now by clicking on the list!

In the second part of the series on LCA results, Maja Karolina Rydgård (UPCH) presents the results from Pilot 1 and explores how microalgae technology can be applied more sustainably.

Watch the videos below!

In this video, Alicia González Míguez and Cecilia Lores Fernández explain how the team recovers nitrogen and other nutrients from wastewater to produce a smart, bio-based biofertiliser, showcasing an innovative circular solution for more sustainable agriculture. It also features the Ourense pilot plant, where new technologies are being tested to redesign the nutrient value chain and turn wastewater into valuable agricultural resources.

Do not miss it!

The journalistic article highlights that Europe’s dependence on imported nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is both a strategic risk and a climate burden.

In Spain, microalgae are being used to extract these nutrients directly from food-industry wastewater. Could this be the breakthrough that finally puts home-grown bio-fertilisers on equal footing with synthetic ones?

The last General Assembly, held in Brussels on February 4th, brought together all WalNUT partners for final discussions on the progress made and results achieved. As the consortium’s annual event, it was a key opportunity to highlight milestones reached and elements still in progress.

The General Assembly preceded the WalNUT Final Event, which will be the focus of the next - and last, edition of the newsletter. Stay tuned!