Including Paludiculture Products in the Advanced Materials Act

PaluWise, FIBSUN, Paludi4All, PALUS DEMOS, & PaludiAllianz
Joint Policy Brief (December 2025) | 2025
This joint policy brief, stemming from a September 2025 workshop in Greifswald, advocates for the inclusion of paludiculture biomass applications within the EU's Advanced Materials Act. By providing bio-based alternatives to conventional materials, paludiculture can contribute to the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and climate targets, such as the goal to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The document highlights applications in building materials, packaging, and peat-free growing media, noting that the use of these crops can save energy and significantly reduce carbon footprints. However, it also addresses current challenges, such as high production costs compared to plastics, the expense of mandatory CE certification for building materials, and the need for uniform life cycle assessments (LCA). To overcome these barriers and foster a sustainable circular economy, the brief recommends stronger policy support, including direct agricultural subsidies and integration into the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)—to accelerate the industrial uptake of these advanced materials.

Hemp fines as alternative lignocellulosic material for non-woven semi-rigid thermal insulation panels

Percy Alao, Maximilien Gibier, Silvia Bibbo, Laurent Bedel, Stergios Adamopoulos
Materials Today Sustainability, Volume 34 | 2026
This study explores the potential of "hemp fines", a natural byproduct generated during industrial hemp processing, as a sustainable material for building insulation. By blending these agricultural residues with traditional wood fibers at varying rates, researchers evaluated the thermal, functional, and moisture-resistant properties of the resulting semi-rigid panels. The findings demonstrate that a 25% substitution of wood fibers with short hemp fines yields insulation panels that perform just as well as standard wood-fiber boards. While higher substitution rates can further improve thermal resistance, they also increase moisture absorption. Overall, this research highlights a practical, circular-economy approach to repurposing agricultural waste into eco-friendly construction materials that enhance energy efficiency.

Short rotation coppice trees in contaminated sites: A study of wood characteristics for bio-concrete applications

Percy Festus Alao, Edern Philippot, Silvia Bibbo, Dmitry Tarasov, Floran Pierre, et al.
Bioresource Technology Reports, Volume 33 | 2026
This study investigates the dual potential of short rotation coppice (SRC) trees, such as poplar, willow, and black locust, grown on contaminated lands for use in sustainable construction. While these fast-growing trees are highly effective at soil remediation through the uptake of environmental pollutants, their resulting biomass requires safe, high-value utilization. The researchers evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of this harvested wood to determine its viability as an aggregate in bio-concrete production. By successfully integrating phytoremediation biomass into construction materials, this approach offers a promising circular economy solution that locks away carbon, manages contaminated land, and develops eco-friendly alternatives to traditional concrete.

Reactive extrusion of reeds (Phragmites australis) and production of binder-less foam insulator

Ainu Voipio, Veikko Möttönen, Kristiina Lång, Tapani Vuorinen, Anuj Kumar
Materials Today Sustainability, Volume 35 | 2026
The construction and packaging industries rely heavily on petroleum-derived foams and energy-intensive mineral wools, driving a critical need for sustainable, bio-based alternatives. This study explores the development of eco-friendly insulation using the common reed (Phragmites australis). By utilizing hydrothermal treatment and reactive extrusion processing, the researchers successfully produced binder-less reed foams, eliminating the need for fossil-derived adhesives. The resulting material demonstrates excellent dimensional stability when exposed to moisture and offers thermal conductivity comparable to conventional polyurethane and polystyrene foams, presenting a highly viable, renewable solution for commercial insulation.

Agriculture on wet peatlands: the sustainability potential of paludiculture

Ralph J.M. Temmink, Kristiina Lång, Renske J.E. Vroom, Jens Leifeld, Christian Fritz, et al.
Agricultural Systems, Volume 231 | 2026
This study evaluates paludiculture, the productive agricultural use of wet peatlands, as an innovative alternative to conventional, drainage-based farming. By synthesizing ecological and socio-economic data, the authors demonstrate that wet agriculture effectively reduces greenhouse gas emissions, restores biodiversity, and directly contributes to ten of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. While challenges surrounding economic viability and land-use competition remain, paludiculture offers a promising pathway to generate new revenue streams for farmers while protecting vital peatland ecosystems and mitigating climate change.

Paludiculture: profitable farming on wet peat without subsidence

FIBSUN
Practice Abstract | EU CAP Network
Paludiculture means producing biomass on rewetted peat soils while keeping the peat wet. It can stop land subsidence and strongly cut carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions from peat oxidation compared with drained peat grassland or cropland. Methane can increase after rewetting, but overall climate performance is typically much better than continued drainage. Farmers can build new business cases with wetland crops: cattail and reed for insulation and building materials, bedding, biogas or thatching, and peat moss as a renewable growing-media ingredient.

Shallow topsoil removal before rewetting: low-cost methane mitigation and nutrient control

FIBSUN
Practice Abstract | EU CAP Network
Shallow topsoil removal (TSR) (5–10 cm) before rewetting can strongly reduce the “methane spike” that often follows flooding of drained agricultural peat. In controlled soil-core experiments, removing only 5 cm lowered methane emissions compared with no TSR and also reduced carbon dioxide (CO₂) losses. The practical reason: the fertilised, easily decomposable surface layer (roots and organic residues) is removed, so there is less “fuel” for methane production after rewetting. Compared with removing 30–60 cm, this can greatly cut earth-moving costs and disturbance.

Low-cost Sphagnum establishment: shallow topsoil removal, stable water table, and starter species

FIBSUN
Practice Abstract | EU CAP Network
Sphagnum establishment on rewetted agricultural peat can be accelerated without deep excavation, if you combine shallow topsoil removal with reliable water management and early vegetation control. Field results show that removing only 5–10 cm of the degraded grass sod achieved the same Sphagnum biomass after two years as the common 30 cm removal, whereas no removal led to strong vascular-plant dominance and very low Sphagnum cover. Shallow removal can therefore cut earth-moving costs and keep more peat carbon in place, while still creating a good seedbed for moss growth.

Seasonal variability and nutrient dynamics of Typha latifolia paludiculture

FIBSUN
Practice Abstract | EU CAP Network
Paludiculture has substantial potential for climate change mitigation on drained peatlands. Typha latifolia can be cultivated on rewetted peatlands and used in several commercial applications. Typha cultivation contributes to carbon sequestration and nutrient removal, enhancing ecosystem health and improving water quality. We assessed the seasonal variation in biogeochemical drivers and nutrient removal potential of Typha paludiculture. We analysed pore water, soil and biomass data collected from different seasons between 2020 and 2025 from a Dutch paludiculture site.

Economic viability of cattail paludiculture: A scenario-based assesment of fiber production pathways

FIBSUN
Practice Abstract | EU CAP Network
We studied the economic and agronomic viability of cattail (Typha latifolia) paludiculture as a source of natural fibers for insulation board production. A scenario integrated three years of yield and cost data from Dutch pilot sites and economic modeling (VIP-NL tool) and four distinct pathways were evaluated: a high-cost pilot model, a standard commercial operation, a technologically optimized commercial system, and an integrated biorefinery model.

Short Rotation Coppice Trees in Contaminated Sites: A Study of Wood Fibre Characteristics for Bioconcrete Applications

FIBSUN
Practice Abstract | EU CAP Network
Short rotation coppice trees, including poplar (Populus spp.), willow (Salix spp.), and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), present an exciting opportunity for sustainable biomass production, while also contributing to soil remediation efforts. Harnessing this biomass in construction concrete supports and aligns perfectly with the EU's ambitious 2030 emission targets. Therefore, this study evaluates metal and mineral accumulation and investigates the potential of utilizing wood aggregates as alternative biomass fillers in concrete.

Hemp fines as alternative lignocellulosic material for non-woven semi-rigid thermal insulation panels

FIBSUN
Practice Abstract | EU CAP Network
The incorporation of sustainable materials such as hemp fines, approximately 6 wt% of the byproduct generated from hemp processing, into thermal insulation panels present a promising opportunity for enhancing energy efficiency in construction. These hemp fines were characterized and incorporated with wood fibres at substitution rates of 25%, 50%, and 100% by mass to develop semi-rigid thermal insulation panels. The thermal and functional properties of the panels were evaluated to determine the optimal substitution rate.

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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 Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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