MIBIREM INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLBOX FOR BIOREMEDIATION

MIBIREM

The MIBIREM project will develop a unique toolbox for highly efficient bioremediation environmental applications of microbiomes. Hundreds of thousands of contaminated sites, posing a significant risk to humans and the environment, require innovative cleaning technologies, as conventional remediation is often too expensive and inefficient. The project will develop molecular methods for the monitoring, isolation, cultivation and subsequent deposition of whole microbiomes. The toolbox will also include the methodology for the improvement of specific microbiome functions, including evolution and enrichment. The performance of selected microbiomes will be tested under real field conditions.

Financed

Horizon Europe | IA

Budget

€ 6.67 million

Start date

01.10.2022

Duration

54 months

Project details

The challenge

In Europe, there are currently 324,000 severely contaminated sites such as mines, landfills or petrol stations which pose significant risks to humans and the environment.

Many organic contaminants are difficult to remove. They can reach deep into the soil, are extensive, or the contamination may be below a building still in use. Conventional remediation technologies to clean up these sites are often too costly, technically demanding and not eco-friendly.

The solution

Biotechnological remediation employs the use of living organisms, mostly microbes and bacteria, in the removal of contaminants from the environment. The MIBIREM project will develop a unique toolbox for highly efficient bioremediation environmental applications of microbiomes. The project will also develop molecular methods for the monitoring, isolation, cultivation and subsequent deposition of whole microbiomes. Long-term upscaling of microbiome-based bioremediation will reduce risk and benefit the environment.

The main impacts

Throughout its lifetime, the MIBIREM project is expected to deliver the following key results:

  • The MIBIREM toolbox as the key result of the project. The MIBIREM toolbox combines and aligns existing and new tools, from sampling to piloting, in a complete service package for microbiome bioremediation, which notably includes:
    • Handbook for standardised sampling;
    • Improved and innovative methods for the isolation, cultivation, evolution & enrichment of microbiomes;
    • A modelling prediction tool to understand if bioremediation is feasible at a specific site, and how to perform it, based on the use-case PHC;
    • 3 pilot tests demonstrating the power of the MIBIREM toolbox in producing safe, upscaled, affordable and effective bioremediation microbiomes;
  • Modified microbiomes for bioremediation;
  • Public deposit of 300 sequenced, documented bioremediation strains, as well as a public deposit of several bioremediation microbiomes with high degradation capacity;
  • New standards for a quality-controlled deposit, preservation and distribution of bioremediation consortia;
  • Novel soil bac-traps to capture pollutant-degrading bacteria;
  • Policy recommendations to stimulate the uptake of bioremediation in the EU.

Acknowledgment

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EUROPEAN RESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.