Led by Mahou San Miguel, the CHEERS consortium includes 11 partners from 5 countries, including Genia Bioenergy, a Spanish SME specialized in engineering, process optimization, and the development of modular and scalable technologies for bioproduct purification. Genia Bioenergy is one of the core partners of the Horizon Europe CHEERS project. With extensive expertise in industrial processes and sustainable solutions, Genia Bioenergy plays a crucial role in advancing circular economy practices.

Timeline and Current Phase

The main objective of CHEERS is to develop a modular biorefinery capable of transforming underutilized brewing by-products—such as spent grains, wastewater, and biogenic gases (CO₂ and CH₄)—into five bioproducts with industrial applications: insect protein, disinfectant, microbial protein, ectoine, and caproic acid.

The CHEERS project, which began in April 2023, is currently in its design and development phase. The consortium is actively validating processing technologies and optimizing the modular biorefinery system to ensure scalability and efficiency.

Genia Bioenergy leads the entire WP4 INTEGRATION AND CASCADING PROCESSING, which consists of design, development, and the operation of the downstream demo units integrated in the insect and microbial platforms of the CHEERS Project. At the same time, Genia Bioenergy designs, develops, and fully implements the purification of ectoine and caproic acid at a pilot scale. These bioproducts have high-value applications across various industries.

Applications of Ectoine and Caproic Acid

Ectoine is a natural compound produced by extremophilic microorganisms and widely used as an active ingredient in cosmetics due to its moisturizing and cell-protective properties.

Meanwhile, Caproic Acid is a fatty acid with applications in the production of bioplastics, lubricants, and renewable chemicals.

Scaling and Commercialization

The design and construction of the USP (Upstream) and DSP (Downstream) units of CO₂-based caproic acid production and the DSP unit for ectoine purification at demo-scale (WP3 & WP4) are key focus areas. GENIA aims to upgrade the demo unit to industrial scale, in case of satisfactory outcomes, which leads to a novel biorefinery concept emerging from the brewing industry. Such achievement will expand GENIA’s sales portfolio by revalorizing new waste and underutilized substrates. Moreover, the commercialization of such new sustainable bioproducts will contribute to a large positive impact on the circular economy.

Progress achieved so far includes the initial design of processing units and validation of the selected by-products, ensuring their feasibility for bioproduct production. These milestones reinforce CHEERS as a pioneering solution for utilizing agri-food waste, reducing environmental impact, and promoting circular economy practices.

In summary, the CHEERS project represents an opportunity to transform the brewing industry towards more sustainable and circular models, leveraging by-products that would otherwise be underutilized or wasted. The collaboration of companies like Genia Bioenergy is essential to achieving the proposed goals and promoting the adoption of innovative technologies in the sector.

About Genia Bioenergy

Genia Bioenergy is an SME with a large expertise in international consulting, development and implementation projects in the fields of bioenergy, organic waste treatment and bioproduct DSP.

Genia Bioenergy as technology provider, will be in charge of the design and construction of the upstream – and DSP units for the CO2-based caproic acid production and the DSP unit for ectoine purification at demo-scale (WP3,4). Learn more about the project partners here.