Kufstein, Tyrol, Austria – 10 December 2025
As part of the Interreg Italy–Austria project BeSoGreat, experts and regional stakeholders met at FH Kufstein Tirol for a capacity-building workshop focused on turning beer spent grain into high-value bio-composite materials and viable circular business models for Tyrol.
The workshop combined technical inputs, demonstrations and a lab tour with an interactive discussion on how spent grain biocomposites can be applied locally. Participants explored concrete use cases, potential cooperation partners, and the technical, legal and economic requirements needed to move from promising prototypes to real-world implementation.
A key takeaway was the strong regional potential of spent grain as a currently underused raw material: large volumes could be processed into bio-composite products and integrated into circular value chains. The workshop highlighted several processing routes, including additive manufacturing (material extrusion and binder jetting) as well as injection molding, opening pathways for prototypes, small series and niche products supported by compelling “beer” storytelling.
At the same time, participants identified important barriers to market rollout—such as the classification of spent grain as waste, limited standards and verification methods, and still-high process and material costs. Priority application fields discussed included garden and agriculture products, packaging, construction/insulation materials, outdoor and leisure goods, design objects and beer-related consumer products.
The necessary steps for establishing this new biocomposite include further testing of the material and production process, the pilot production of clearly defined products, the development of regional networks and cluster structures, the involvement of schools and companies in testing and demonstrations, and the preparation of joint follow-up funding proposals.