PRISMA: Plataforma de I&D em Pigmentos Microbianos Industriais Escaláveis

The PRISMA project’s main purpose is to bridge the gap between laboratory scale feasibility of microbial, bio based pigments and their reliable, cost competitive industrial deployment within the European textile value chain, by integrating scalable bioprocess development with enabling digital and manufacturing technologies and by translating validated results into operational production capacity. Strategic objectives: -Develop and industrially validate critical biotechnological and digital technologies that enable the EU to manufacture bio based textile colourants under industrially relevant conditions -Strengthen and safeguard EU value chains for textile inputs by reducing reliance on fossil derived dyes and extra EU supply, while increasing EU manufacturing capability in mid scale fermentation and downstream processing. -Accelerate market uptake through full value chain validation (from upstream production to industrial dyehouse demonstration) and by establishing a CMO ready production capability that supports exploitation beyond a single product. Scientific-technological objectives: -Alternative carbon source usage: Establish a fermentation system that can operate on low cost, locally available agro industrial side streams while maintaining productivity and pigment quality. • Screen and chemically characterise candidate Portuguese side streams and define selection criteria for supply reliability • Develop pre treatment, hydrolysis/clarification and (when required) detoxification protocols to obtain standardised fermentable media • Compare fermentation performance across feedstocks at lab/bench scale • Validate at least 3 qualified waste streams and demonstrate cost reduction targets while maintaining =85% of baseline titre/productivity in continuous operation -Geometry preserved scale up via additive manufacturing: Demonstrate predictable, geometry locked scale up of bioprocesses by using 3D printed bioreactors that preserve key geometric ratios across scales. • Translate process requirements into reactor design specifications for pigment production • Develop, prototype and benchmark small scale configurations against reference stirred tank systems to validate performance and define a design freeze • Manufacture and validate scale up steps from 20 L to 200 L, 500 L and 2,000 L, demonstrating controlled transfer with defined performance criteria (e.g., limited deviation and =85% productivity retention between scales) • Validate downstream processing compatibility at scale AI/ML based process intelligence: Develop and validate an AI driven process intelligence layer that improves interpretability, robustness and control of long duration bioprocesses. • Implement an integrated data infrastructure (data lake, metadata standards, traceability) linking bioreactor data, analytical results and textile performance data • Develop and validate sensing and soft sensing solutions for key variables, ensuring signal quality and long term stability • Train and validate predictive models/digital twins using multi scale datasets to support early deviation detection and scale aware optimisation, targeting high prediction accuracy for key outcomes (titre, yield, productivity) • Validate model-informed optimisation and decision support during pilot and pre industrial campaigns, including transfer learning across scales and reactor configurations Industrial bioproduction of textile compatible bio based pigments: Deliver pigment products and application protocols that meet industrial textile requirements and enable certification readiness and cost parity. • Develop and validate DSP routes targeting high recovery efficiency and reduced energy/operating costs. • Formulate pigments for dyeing/coating/printing across relevant fibres and validate performance using standard methods (e.g., colour strength and fastness testing aligned with ISO 105) • Demonstrate industrial dyehouse compatibility, shade reproducibility and batch-to-batch consistency under full scale conditions, generating evidence for regulatory/certification pathways (e.g., REACH/OEKO TEX®/EU Ecolabel readiness) • Achieve an industrial production target consistent with cost parity against commodity synthetic dyes and validate a production capacity suitable for early market uptake Productisation objective (Productive Innovation): Commission and operationally qualify a 2,000 L CMO ready bioproduction facility integrating fermentation, DSP, automation and digital infrastructure, enabling sustained industrial exploitation of PRISMA results and CMO service provision beyond the project.