C5

Rural and peri-urban areas in North-West Europe are facing a number of interconnected challenges, including limited economic opportunities, low-value agricultural production and unused biomass resources, as well as polluted soils in some regions. Meanwhile, cities and construction companies are under pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and replace resource-intensive materials with more sustainable, bio-based alternatives.

The C5 project addresses both of these issues.

It links the cultivation of carbon-rich biomass, such as hemp, willow, agroforestry products, and agricultural residues, with circular applications in the construction sector.

In this way, C5 creates a bridge between rural production and urban demand for sustainable building materials.

Through pilot projects in partner regions across Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Ireland, the C5 project will demonstrate how alternative cropping systems, biomass conversion and material development can be integrated into practice. The project will explore various material pathways, from fibres and filaments for structural components to insulation and composite materials, as well as biochar-based products for building, purification and remediation applications.

C5 will not only test technical solutions. It will also develop a transnational Cultivation to Construction strategy, regional action plans, a recommender system for context-specific circular value chains and a capacity-building programme for farmers, businesses, public authorities and communities.

The long-term goal is to simplify and facilitate the application and replication of circular carbon value chains across North-West Europe. In doing so, C5 aims to support rural income opportunities, reduce construction-related emissions, and strengthen the transition towards a resource-efficient, circular economy.