ECOFUNC pioneers eco-friendly, functional and circular building materials for sustainable construction and beyond
Funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework ECOFUNC will drive market adoption and mainstream new bio-based materials
ECOFUNC is a novel European initiative focused on transforming the building and construction sector by developing circular building materials based on biodegradable polymers (PHA) for use in construction, automotive, and furniture industries. Funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework, ECOFUNC will run from 2025 to 2029 to drive market adoption and mainstream new bio-based materials.
Although the building and construction (B&C) sector is one of the largest industries worldwide, it is also a leading contributor to environmental degradation, accounting for a large portion of global energy consumption, carbon emissions, natural resource depletion, and solid waste generation.
ECOFUNC seeks to address these challenges by pioneering the next generation of eco- friendly, functional, and circular building materials that will be creating using carbon- negative polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) – biologically derived polymers produced by microorganisms that utilize CO2 as feedstock, thereby reducing the sector’s environmental footprint. These eco-friendly materials are resilient, versatile, fully biodegradable, and compostable, breaking down naturally in soil, marine, and freshwater environments without leaving harmful residues or microplastics behind.
To make it happen, European consortium of 17 leading research and industry organizations committed to redefine building practices by jointly establishing the first EU-based circular value chains for applications such as ventilated façade cladding, ceiling tiles, and internal partition walls. This will be achieved through the development of recyclable PHA-based panels with bio-based flame retardants, natural fibers, and PHA foams. Furthermore, advanced end-of-life strategies will be implemented, incorporating both chemical recycling to convert PHA back into virgin-grade material and mechanical recycling to re-purpose it for applications in furniture and automotive. Cross-validation across sectors together with real- world demonstrations and intensive stakeholder engagement will ensure that ECOFUNC contributes to promoting sustainable material practices.
ECOFUNC consortium
- Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus – VTT (Finland) / Coordinator
- Acciona Construccion SA (Spain)
- Avient Colorants Germany GmbH (Germany)
- Centre Scientifique & Technique del’Industrie Textile Belge ASBL (Belgium).
- Centro Ricerche FIAT SCPA (Italy)
- CO2BioClean GmbH (Germany)
- Cormatex Srl-Macchinario Tessile Impianti (Italy)
- Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung ev (Germany)
- Fundacion TECNALIA Research & Innovation (Spain)
- Fundacja UNIMOS (Poland) / Helian Polymers B.V (Netherlands)
- Kastamonu Entegre Agac Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi – Keas (Türkiye)
- MTU Civitta Foundation (Estonia)
- Next Technology Tecnotessile Societa Nazionale di Ricerca R L (Italy)
- The University of Birmingham (United Kingdom)
- VestaEco Nonwovens Sp. z o.o (Poland)
- Volar Plastic Oy (Finland)
Source: ECOFUNC, press release, 2025-09-30.