Held in Brussels and organised by the Biorefine Cluster Europe and the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform, the ESNI-NERM 2026 Conference brought together researchers, Commission officials, industry representatives, and practitioners to discuss the future of nutrient recycling and bio-based fertilisers (BBFs) in Europe.
The conference featured discussions on legislative initiatives such as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the EU Biotech Act II, alongside presentations from bio-based fertiliser companies, EU-funded projects, and technology developers. Discussions focused on practical solutions to increase the market demand, competitiveness, and adoption of BBFs, particularly in response to ongoing challenges linked to mineral fertiliser availability and prices in European agriculture.
A key contribution came from Olivier Labrie, ECN’s Project Officer for Agriculture, who presented evidence showing that repeated compost application can improve long-term soil fertility, strengthen farm resilience, and reduce fertiliser dependency and costs over time.
The event reinforced that composting is already a scalable and proven nutrient recycling solution with strong potential to support Europe’s sustainability, soil health, and fertiliser resilience goals.
A link to ECN’s poster contribution can be found here.